St. Louis Regional Airport is a public
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
four miles (6 km) east of
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
, in
Madison County,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, United States.
It is in the village of
Bethalto but its mailing address is
East Alton.
Its operations are paid for by an airport taxation district created in 1946, which collects taxes from property owners in the Madison County townships of
Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
,
Wood River Wood River may refer to:
Rivers In Canada
* Wood River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Columbia River via Kinbasket Lake
* Wood River (Saskatchewan), a river in south-west Saskatchewan
In Ireland
* Wood River (County Clare), Kilru ...
,
Foster and
Fort Russell.
History
Civic Memorial Airport opened in 1946 and received its current name in 1984. The property was purchased by Colonel Milton Waltson after his discharge from the Army Air Corps after WWII. Walston also purchased some surplus Quonset huts and airplanes from the military. The name Walston Aviation is still visible on one of the still remaining original buildings at the airport.
Facilities
The airfield sits at 544 ft (166 m) MSL. It has an 8,099 by 150 ft (2,469 by 46 m)
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...
that runs roughly east–west (11/29) and a 6,500 by 100 ft (1,981 by 30 m) crosswind runway that runs north–south (17/35).
With an
ILS approach and tower controlled class D
airspace, the facility can accommodate a
Boeing 747.
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2017, the airport had 39,828 aircraft operations, an average of 109 per day: 85%
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
, 13%
air taxi
An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand.
In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...
, 2% military and less than 1% commercial service. In March 2018, there were 79 aircraft based at this airport: 73 single-engine, 4 multi-engine and 2 jet.
West Star Aviation is the largest
fixed-base operations (FBO) company at the airport. In 2008, Premiere Air changed its name to West Star aviation, and the company has remained since that time. The company provides a wide range of services from engine repair, interior and exterior paint services,
avionics
Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...
installation and repair, refurbishing, aircraft part sales, and
airframe inspections.
The airport is popular with
blimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hy ...
crews, being a frequent stop for blimps on transcontinental flights across the United States.
Ground transportation
Public transit service to the airport is provided by
Madison County Transit
Madison County Transit, or MCT for short, is a bus and bike trail transportation system that serves the citizens of Madison County, which is located in Illinois approximately northeast of St. Louis. It was created in 1980 by the Madison County ...
.
See also
*
List of airports in Illinois
This is a list of airports in Illinois (a U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such as airports that ...
*
Alton station
References
External links
St. Louis Regional Airport official website
West Star Aviation*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Louis Regional Airport
Airports in Illinois
Airports established in 1946
Metro East
Airports in Greater St. Louis
Transportation buildings and structures in Madison County, Illinois