Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport is a public airport northwest of

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn Ha ...

, United States, in

Bay County Bay County is the name of three counties: * Bay County, Florida, United States * Bay County, Michigan, United States * Baicheng County Baicheng County () as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Bay County (pronounced l ...

. The airport is owned by the Panama City-Bay County Airport & Industrial District, and is north of

Panama City Beach Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, near West Bay. It replaced Panama City–Bay County International Airport (Fannin Field, PFN), which was located in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

. The airport opened for commercial flights on May 23, 2010, and is the first international airport in the United States designed and built since the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

. The airport currently has no scheduled international flights, due to the small population in the surrounding areas and the fact that the demand for visitation to Panama City is mostly regional and/or national. The airport authority originally decided to name it Northwest Florida–Panama City International Airport, but airlines and the general public asked the airport authority to use a more regional name.

History

In the late 1990s, the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District (Airport Authority) started looking for ways to increase the air service in the Panama City area. The old airport had been built in 1932, with scheduled service beginning in 1948. However, it did not have enough room to expand. Proposed ideas included using the current airport property and extending the current short runways into St. Andrews Bay or into residential neighborhoods, relocation of the airport to a new site, or collocation with

Tyndall AFB Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...

. With strong opposition to extending the runways into an environmentally sensitive bay or into neighborhoods, the airport authority began to search for relocation sites. The authority received tentative approval to build a new airport in northwestern

in 2001. In 2005–2007 the authority obtained the needed permits. The relocation of the airport was controversial in Bay County. The county commission chose to proceed with building a new airport and closing down Fannin Field despite a majority of voters in a non-binding 2004 referendum voting against the plan. Some felt that the

St. Joe Company The St. Joe Company is a land development company headquartered in Panama City Beach, Florida. Founded in 1936 and until 1966 known as St. Joe Paper Company, the company still operates a forestry division but is primarily engaged in real estate d ...

, which owned the land the airport would be based on, would derive an unfair benefit at the taxpayers' expense. Suits were filed against the airport on environmental grounds but were not successful in halting its construction. Construction was completed in May 2010, however the planned crosswind runway was not built. This controversy continues as of May 2021. The airport's

IATA code IATA codes are abbreviations that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) publishes to facilitate air travel. They are typically 1, 2, 3, or 4 character combinations (referred to as unigrams, digrams, trigrams, or tetragrams, respecti ...

was originally supposed to be TFB, for "The Florida Beaches". However, this code was already taken by the Tifalmin Airport in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. By going through all available IATA codes, the group deciding the code came across ECP. After jokingly saying it could stand for "Everyone Can Party", the code stuck. A wind gust of was recorded at the airport as the eye of

Hurricane Michael Hurricane Michael was a very powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that became the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States since Andrew in 1992. It was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to ma ...

made landfall at Category 5 intensity just a few miles east of Panama City on October 10, 2018.

Facilities

The airport covers at an elevation of .

Runway

Runway 16/34 is the only runway. It is concrete/grooved, long and wide. There are plans to build one crosswind and one parallel runway as traffic increases. The elevation for Runway 16 is . The runway has a 4-aligned PAPI light system (glideslope: 2.83°), a MALSR approach lighting system, centerline lights, and touchdown zone lights. The runway has an instrument approach which includes S-ILS or LOC/DME, and GPS RNAV. For general aviation aircraft, the runway uses left traffic pattern. The opposite end of Runway 16, the elevation for Runway 34 is . This runway has a 4-aligned PAPI light system (glideslope: 2.83°) and centerline lights. This runway has a GPS RNAV or LOC/DME instrument approach. For general aviation aircraft, the runway uses left traffic pattern.

Terminal

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport-inside

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport-roadway

The new airport has a much larger terminal, designed by

HNTB HNTB Corporation is an American infrastructure design firm. Founded in 1914 in Kansas City, Missouri, HNTB began with the partnership made by Ernest Emmanuel Howard with the firm Waddell & Harrington, founded in 1907. Considered as one of the m ...

, compared to the terminal at the previous airport. The terminal, 105,000 sq. feet, has seven gates. Gates 1–5 have jet bridges, while Gates 6 and 7 are on ramp level for regional aircraft. The airport has a

US Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

inspection facility for arriving international flights. It was anticipated that the new terminal building will be the first airport terminal to attain a

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

rating for being a green building as well. As of July 2011, it has yet to receive this. A new terminal building at

Appleton International Airport Appleton International Airport , formerly Outagamie County Regional Airport, is an airport located in Greenville, Wisconsin, United States, west of Appleton. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integra ...

has since become the first LEED-rated terminal building in the world.

General aviation

General aviation is handled at the general aviation facility south of the main passenger terminal. 111 GA aircraft were based at the airport in January 2018. 84 are 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 gen ...

, 16 are multi-engine, 10 are jets, 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 ...

. There are no gliders or ultra-lights based at the airport. As of 2012, 75% of based aircraft belong to corporations. About 75% of GA operations are business/corporate related, 65% of which are business jets. The only FBO as of August 2011 is SheltAir. Flight training based at KECP has fallen off as ATP Flight School closed prior to the relocation of the airport. Island Air Express and Precision Flight Training, LLC now offer flight training.

Air cargo

The cargo facility is between the control tower and general aviation ramp. Flight Express is the primary air cargo service to KECP.

Aircraft operations

In the 12-month period ending February 28, 2018, the airport had 67,121 aircraft operations, average 184 per day: 55%

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 ...

, 25%

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 ...

, 12%

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

, and 8%

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) an ...

Ground transportation

Ground transportation to and from the airport includes on-airport car rental, taxis, shuttles, and limousines.

Airlines and destinations

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

began service in May 2010 with eight daily

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...

flights, two each to Baltimore-Washington (BWI), Houston–Hobby (HOU),

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

(BNA), and

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

(MCO).

then started daily seasonal nonstop service to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

(STL) on June 3, 2012. Effective in early March 2016,

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 List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

was operating up to six nonstop flights a day to

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 ...

(ATL) operated with

Boeing 717 The Boeing 717 is an American five-abreast single-aisle airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The twin-engine airliner was developed for the 100-seat market and originally marketed by McDonnell Douglas as the MD-95. It was a shor ...

McDonnell Douglas MD-88 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

and

McDonnell Douglas MD-90 The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) MD-90 is an American five-abreast single-aisle airliner developed by McDonnell Douglas from its successful model MD-80. The airliner was produced by the developer company until 1997 and then by Boeing Com ...

jetliners. Delta has also operated

jets into the airport in the past.

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 ...

had operated regional jet aircraft on their flights to Atlanta but currently does not serve the airport. According to

FlightAware FlightAware is an American multi-national technology company that provides real-time, historical, and predictive flight tracking data and products. , it is the world's largest flight tracking platform, with a network of over 32,000 ADS-B gro ...

, Delta currently operates

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...

and

jetliners on its mainline service between the airport and Atlanta.

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 ...

utilizes

Mesa Airlines Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Gr ...

and

CommutAir CommuteAir, operating as United Express, is a U.S. regional airline founded in 1989. Today, CommuteAir operates more than 1600 weekly flights to over 75 U.S. destinations and 3 in Mexico, with Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft, from its bases at Denver, ...

regional jets on their nonstop flights to

George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 ...

(IAH). Seasonally, flights are operated by

Air Wisconsin Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin near Appleton. Air Wisconsin originally operated as one of the original United Express partners in 1985, and operated the ...

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

. On January 18, 2018, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport announced the beginning of

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

nonstop flights to Charlotte Douglas (CLT) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), which commenced on June 7, 2018. There are two flights per day to both destinations operated by American Eagle regional carriers

PSA Airlines PSA Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered at Dayton International Airport in Dayton, Ohio, United States. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group and it is paid by fellow group member American Air ...

and

, respectively with regional jets.

Passenger

Scheduled nonstop passenger flights include:

Statistics

Cargo airlines

References

External links

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport
official site * * {{Panama City, Florida Airports in Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Bay County, Florida 2010 establishments in Florida Airports established in 2010 Panama City, Florida