Valley International Airport (VIA) is owned by the City of Harlingen, in

Cameron County, Texas Cameron County, officially the County of Cameron, is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 421,017. Its county seat is Brownsville. The county was founded in 1848 and is named for C ...

, United States. It is operated by a nine-member airport board appointed by the mayor. HRL is centrally located in the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. ...

and is referred to as the "Gateway to South Padre Island" with travel amenities and door to door transportation to

South Padre Island South Padre Island is a barrier island in the U.S. state of Texas. The remote landform is located in Cameron County, Willacy County, and accessible by the Queen Isabella Causeway. South Padre Island was formed when the creation of the Port Man ...

. With over HRL is the largest airport in the RGV with room for future expansion. HRL has the longest runways in the area with modern aircraft approach systems that minimize chances of delays during bad weather. Current airlines are

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 ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

(via

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 ...

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

(via American Eagle),

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The ca ...

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 ...

(seasonally via

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 ...

)

Sun Country Airlines Sun Country Airlines is an American Low-cost carrier, ultra-low-cost passenger airline, passenger and cargo airline, and the List of largest airlines in North America, eleventh largest in the US by passengers carried. Based at Minneapolis–Sai ...

(seasonal service) and most recently Mexican air carrier VivaAerobús. Destinations served nonstop from the airport include

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

(ORD),

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

(both

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Ai ...

and

Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 10, 2008 It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened. Love Field covers an area of ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

(both

Houston 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 ...

and Houston Hobby Airport),

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

, Minneapolis/St. Paul,

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is ancho ...

, 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 re ...

. The airport is also a large air cargo port ranked in the top 80 airports in the United States and is served by

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

and

DHL DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. ...

wide body jet freighters. The

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''primary commercial service'' airport.

History

Harlingen Air Force Base closed in 1962; a 1961 budget by President John F. Kennedy proposed to close 70 air bases in the U.S., and the military airfield was turned over to the City of Harlingen and then converted to civil use as Valley International Airport after 1967 following

Hurricane Beulah Hurricane Beulah was the second tropical storm, second hurricane, and only major hurricane during the 1967 Atlantic hurricane season. It tracked through the Caribbean, struck the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico as a major hurricane, and moved west-n ...

flooding the original Harlingen civil airport (at , where the Harlingen Country Club is now located).

Past airline service

From 1947–48 to 1960, Trans-Texas Airways (TTa)

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

s served Harlingen Air Force Base; in 1960 Harvey Richards Field received a new 4900-ft runway and TTa moved their operations there until the airline moved its flights back to the former air force base following

. The first jet service into Harlingen was operated by Trans-Texas Airways 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 ...

s at the end of 1967. In 1968, Trans-Texas DC-9s flew nonstop to Corpus Christi and Houston Hobby Airport as well as direct to

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

and

Memphis, Tennessee 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-mo ...

.http://www.timetableimages.com, August 1968 Trans-Texas timetable Trans-Texas flights to Mexico started in 1967; in 1968, TTa Convair 600 turboprops flew nonstop to

Monterrey, Mexico Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

and

Tampico, Mexico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

with one-stop service to Veracruz, Mexico. TTa Convair 600s also flew to

, Corpus Christi,

, Laredo,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

and other Texas cities. Flights from Harlingen to Mexico ended in 1971–72. Trans-Texas Airways subsequently changed its name to Texas International Airlines and continued to serve Harlingen. In 1978, all Texas International (TI) flights from the airport were operated with DC-9 jets with nonstops to Austin and

Houston 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 ...

; TI flew direct to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

( LAX) via Houston,

and

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

. Texas International pulled out of HRL in 1979, but later merged with

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started ...

which in turn began serving Harlingen. Continental then merged with

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

which continues to serve the airport at the present time via

with Canadair CRJ-700s operated by

SkyWest Airlines SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah, United States. SkyWest is paid to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by a partner mainline airline. Th ...

. Mainline jets operated into the airport in the past included

Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter f ...

s and

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...

s and

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 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 ...

s.http://www.departedflights.com, April 25, 1982 Braniff timetable In 1982, Braniff 727s flew nonstop to Dallas/Fort Worth three times a day with continuing direct service to Chicago, Denver and Omaha In 1987, Continental was operating

DC-9 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. Afte ...

nonstops to Houston (IAH) with continuing service to Baton Rouge, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Omaha. In 1989, American flew four nonstop 727-200s to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and one 727-200 nonstop to Houston (IAH) while Continental had three daily nonstops to Houston (IAH), one 727-100 and two DC-9-10s. By 1999, American Eagle

ATR-72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

turboprops had replaced American jets with nonstop service to Dallas/Fort Worth while

Continental Express Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of the merger ...

ATR-42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and ...

turboprops had replaced Continental jets with nonstop service to Houston Intercontinental.

began serving Harlingen as an intrastate airline in 1975 with

Boeing 737-200 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 u ...

jets.https://www.southwest.com, Company, Our History Harlingen was the fourth new destination served by Southwest following its initial flights from Dallas Love Field, Houston Hobby Airport and San Antonio in 1971. In 1979, Southwest

s and Boeing 737-200s served HRL. In 1986, Southwest was operating ten weekday 737 flights from the airport with seven nonstops to Houston Hobby Airport, two nonstops to San Antonio and one nonstop to Austin. In addition, eight flights a day operated by Southwest served Dallas Love Field on a direct one stop basis. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mexicana de Aviacion

s flew nonstop to Mexico City and to Monterrey.

flew

s and wide body

McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long- range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...

s into the airport from Minneapolis/St. Paul during winter months in the past and continues to serve Harlingen seasonally with

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

began seasonal

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 fam ...

service to Harlingen in 2013 from its Minneapolis/St. Paul hub;

also operated the route seasonally with Canadair CRJ-900 regional jets, but that service was suspended following the COVID-19 Pandemic. Delta will once again operate the route daily from February-April 2023.

commenced nonstop service with

s between

Chicago–O'Hare 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 Loop busines ...

(ORD) and Harlingen on November 18, 2018. The service then ceased in November 2019. The ORD-HRL route was subsequently picked up by

via American Eagle) regional jet flights on March 6, 2021. Frontier continues to serve Harlingen at the present time.

Facilities

Valley International Airport covers at an elevation of . It has three asphalt

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, concrete ...

s: 17R/35L is 8,301 by 150 feet (2,530 x 46 m); 13/31 is 7,257 by 150 feet (2,212 x 46 m); 17L/35R is 5,949 by 150 feet (1,813 x 46 m). In the year ending January 31, 2021, Valley International Airport had 49,534 aircraft operations, averaging 136 per day: 28%

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 ...

, 50% military, 13% airline, 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) ...

. 45 aircraft were then based at the airport: 31 single-engine, 10 multi-engine, and 4 jet.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

- serves Harlingen with wide body

Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. West ...

freighters

Statistics

Airport traffic

Top destinations

Airport design

* The Valley International Airport has seven gates. Frontier and Sun Country operate at Gate 1, Delta at Gate 2, American at Gate 4, Southwest at Gates 5 and 6, and United at Gate 7.

Services

* Shopping and dining options include Island Restaurant and Coffee, Jackson Street Café & Bar, The Paradies Shops, Padre Pub, and Pelican Bar. * A parking lot shuttle and a shuttle to South Padre Island are available.

Incidents

On April 2, 2012,

flight 4128 made an emergency landing at Corpus Christi due to when it suffered damage to its front landing gear and also experienced a flat tire. The flight originated in Harlingen and was heading to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. There were 37 passengers on board and there were no injuries. The aircraft was an Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet operated by ExpressJet on a

code sharing In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...

flight on behalf of

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

Area airports

* Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport (BRO) – Brownsville, Texas (20 miles) *

McAllen-Miller International Airport McAllen International Airport is in McAllen, in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a small hub ''primary commercial service'' airport. Runways McAllen Intern ...

(MFE) – McAllen, Texas (40 miles)

References

External links

Valley International Airport
official site
Valley International (HRL)
at

Texas DOT The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...

airport directory
Aerial image as of January 1995
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, ...

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 prov ...

'' * * * {{Authority control Airports in Texas Buildings and structures in Harlingen, Texas Transportation in Cameron County, Texas