Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport , nicknamed Airport City, 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 ...

located in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Jones County,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. The airport is adjacent to

Interstate 59 Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia. ...

, approximately nine nautical miles (10 mi, 17 km) northeast of

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the populat ...

and 23 miles southwest of

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

. It is mostly used for

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 ...

, but is also served by one commercial airline,

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

. Scheduled passenger service is currently subsidized by the federal

Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...

(EAS) program. The runway is long enough to handle

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its mai ...

s and Boeing 767s chartered by college football teams visiting Hattiesburg to play at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

. The airport's IATA code (PIB) refers to its former name, Pine Belt Regional Airport. Hattiesburg is located halfway between Mississippi's two major airports –

Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport is a joint civil–military public-use airport three nautical miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district of Gulfport, a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It is ...

in Gulfport and Jackson–Evers International Airport in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

. The three cities are linked by the four-lane U.S. Highway 49. As per the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

, this airport had 12,576 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 12,972 in 2009, and 13,766 in 2010. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a '' primary commercial service'' airport.

Facilities and aircraft

The airport is located in

Jones County,

. The airport has a Moselle post office address,Contact
" Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport. Retrieved on July 15, 2011. "Our Address Airport Director, 1002 Terminal Dr. Moselle, MS 39459" but it is not located in the Moselle

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

. Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport covers an area of 1,170 acres (473 ha) at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

of 298 feet (91 m) above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ari ...

. It has one

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 ...

designated 18/36 with an asphalt surface measuring 6,502 by 150 feet (1,982 x 46 m). For the 12-month period ending March 1, 2022, the airport had 37,560 aircraft operations, an average of 103 per day: 95%

, 4% scheduled commercial, and <1%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. At that time 58 aircraft were based at this airport: 41 single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

, 8 multi-engine, 8 jet, and 1

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

. In late 2011 the airport began an extensive refurbishment of the main terminal building. In early 2022, FedEx Ground announced it would begin construction on a $12 million distribution center in the airport. The project will add over 200 jobs and cover over 200,000 square feet of space.

Historical airline service

Southern Airways Southern Airways was a regional airline (known at the time as a "local-service air carrier" as designated by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board) in the United States, from its founding by Frank Hulse in 1949 until 1979, when it merged with ...

had begun serving Laurel by 1955 with Douglas DC-3 aircraft flying a daily round trip routing of

Memphis, TN Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-most ...

- Greenville, MS -

Vicksburg, MS Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vi ...

Jackson, MS Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at th ...

- Laurel - Gulfport, MS -

Mobile, AL Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama, ...

. By 1960, Southern was serving both Laurel and Hattiesburg as each city had its own airport at this time with the respective three letter airport codes being LUL and HBG according to the airline's system timetable with Southern operating daily round trip DC-3 service on a routing of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Anniston, AL Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,106. Acc ...

Birmingham, AL Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

- Selma, AL -

Meridian, MS Meridian is the seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County and the principal city of the Merid ...

- Laurel - Hattiesburg - Gulfport -

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. According to the

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight st ...

(OAG), by 1975 Southern was operating all of its flights into the current Hattiesburg-Laurel airport (PIB) with

Douglas DC-9-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

jets with two daily flights operated on round trip routings of Atlanta - Birmingham - Meridian - Hattiesburg/Laurel and Memphis - Columbus, MS - Meridian - Hattiesburg/Laurel. Southern Airways then merged with

North Central Airlines North Central Airlines was a regional airline in the Midwestern United States. Founded as Wisconsin Central Airlines in 1944 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, the company moved to Madison in 1947. This is also when the "Herman the duck" logo was bo ...

to form

Republic Airlines Republic Airlines was an American airline formed by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways on July 1, 1979. Their headquarters were at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, in what is now Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Fort ...

which in turn was continuing to serve the airport in 1979 with Douglas DC-9-10 jets as well as with larger

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. Aft ...

jets in addition to

Convair 580 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

turboprop aircraft with nonstop and direct one stop DC-9 flights from Atlanta, nonstop Convair 580 flights from New Orleans, direct one stop Convair 580 flights from Memphis, and nonstop DC-9 and Convair 580 flights from Meridian.Dec. 1, 1979 Official Airline Guide, North American edition, Laurel/Hattiesburg flight schedules Also in 1979, Universal Airways, a commuter airline, was operating nonstop service between the airport and New Orleans with three round trip flights every weekday operated with small

Beechcraft 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, derived from the earlier Be ...

turboprops. Republic was continuing to provide scheduled passenger service into PIB in the summer of 1984; however, according to its April 28, 1985 route map the airline was no longer serving the airport by this time. Two regional airlines were serving the airport in late 1989 including the

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to ope ...

operated by

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) was a regional U.S. airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier on behalf of Delta Air Lines via a code sharing agreement and, as of ...

(ASA) on behalf of

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...

on a code sharing basis with direct one stop

Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as a modular series of ...

turboprop flights from Atlanta via Meridian, and

Northwest Airlink Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium-siz ...

operated by

Express Airlines I Endeavor Air is an American regional airline that operates as Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines. The airline was founded as Express Airlines I in 1985 and was renamed Pinnacle Airlines in 2002. In 2012, Pinnacle's parent company filed for Cha ...

on behalf of

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...

on a code sharing basis with direct one stop

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marcon ...

BAe Jetstream 31 and

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different o ...

turboprop flights from Memphis also via Meridian. By the spring of 1995, Northwest Airlink was the only airline serving the airport with nonstop and direct one stop flights from Memphis as well as nonstop flights from

, Meridian and

Tupelo, MS Tupelo () is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North M ...

operated with BAe Jetstream 31 and Saab 340 turboprops.April 2, 1995 OAG Desktop Flight Guide, North American edition, Laurel/Hattiesburg flight schedule

Airline and destinations

Statistics

Non-scheduled and charter service

With its close proximity to the

, the airport sees numerous charters operated with such jetliners as the

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

and

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

transporting teams to and from athletic events.

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket DOT-OST-2001-10685
from the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

: *
Notice of Termination of Service (September 21, 2001)
Express Airlines I d/b/a Northwest Airlink submits notice of its intent to terminate service to Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi, effective January 1, 2002. *
Order 2002-5-28 (June 3, 2002)
selects Mesaba Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Northwest Airlink, to provide two nonstop round trips a day between Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Memphis beginning when the carrier inaugurates service at an annual subsidy rate of $1,056,991. *
Order 2004-8-11 (August 17, 2004)
re-selecting Mesaba Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Northwest Airlink, to provide essential air service (EAS) at Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for the period from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2006, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,100,253. *
Order 2006-6-7 (June 9, 2006)
re-selecting Mesaba Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Northwest Airlink, to provide essential air service (EAS) at Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2006, at an annual subsidy rate of $917,129. *
Order 2008-4-2 (April 4, 2008)
re-selecting Mesaba Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Northwest Airlink, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at the hyphenated communities of Hattiesburg and Laurel, Mississippi, through the Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2008, for an annual subsidy of $1,191,435 with 34-seat Saab 340 turboprop aircraft. *
Order 2010-5-16 (May 13, 2010)
selecting Mesaba Aviation, Inc. d/b/a Delta Connection, to continue providing subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2010, at the annual subsidy rate of $1,398,798. *
Ninety Day Notice (July 15, 2011)
from MESABA AVIATION, INC. and PINNACLE AIRLINES, INC. of termination of service at Laurel/Hattiesburg, MS. *
Order 2012-5-17 (May 22, 2012)
selecting Silver Airways, formerly Gulfstream International Airways, to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Greenville, Laurel/Hattiesburg, and Tupelo, Mississippi, and Greenbrier/White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia (Lewisburg), using 34-passenger Saab 340 aircraft, for a combined annual subsidy of $16,098,538. *
Order 2012-6-3 (June 6, 2012)
extending the Essential Air Service obligation of the two wholly owned subsidiaries of Pinnacle Airlines Corporation—Mesaba Aviation, Inc. and Pinnacle Airlines, d/b/a Delta Connection at the eight communities listed below (Muscle Shoals, AL; Alpena, MI; Iron Mountain/Kingsford, MI; Brainerd, MN; International Falls, MN; Greenville, MS; Laurel/Hattiesburg, MS; Tupelo, MS) for 30 days, through, July 9, 2012. *
Notice of Intent (April 9, 2014)
of Silver Airways Corp. ... to discontinue subsidized scheduled air service between Atlanta, Georgia (ATL) and each of Muscle Shoals, Alabama (MSL), Greenville, Mississippi (GLH), Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi (PIB), and Tupelo, Mississippi (TUP). Silver Airways intends to discontinue this service on July 8, 2014 or such earlier date as permitted by the Department in any final order terminating the eligibility of any of these communities under the essential air service (EAS) program. *
Order 2014-4-24 (April 22, 2014)
prohibits Silver Airways Corp., from terminating service at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Greenville, Laurel/Hattiesburg, Meridian, and Tupelo, Mississippi, for 30 days beyond the end of the air carrier’s 90-day notice period, i.e. August 7, 2014. We are also requesting proposals from air carriers interested in providing Essential Air Service (EAS) at Muscle Shoals, Greenville, Laurel/Hattiesburg, Meridian, and/or Tupelo.

External links

*
Aerial image as of January 1996
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to pro ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport Airports in Mississippi Essential Air Service Hattiesburg, Mississippi Laurel micropolitan area Buildings and structures in Jones County, Mississippi Transportation in Jones County, Mississippi