Orlando International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.146.41.211 (talk) at 00:33, 14 December 2007 (→‎Airside 1 (gates 1-29)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"KMCO" redirects here. For other uses, see KMCO (disambiguation).
"MCO" redirects here. For other uses, see MCO (disambiguation).
Orlando International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGreater Orlando Aviation Authority
ServesOrlando, Florida
Elevation AMSL96 ft / 29 m
Coordinates28°25′46″N 081°18′32″W / 28.42944°N 81.30889°W / 28.42944; -81.30889
Websitewww.OrlandoAirports.net
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17L/35R 9,000 2,743 Concrete
17R/35L 10,000 3,048 Concrete
18L/36R 12,005 3,659 Asphalt/Concrete
18R/36L 12,004 3,659 Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 44 13 Concrete
Statistics (2005)
Aircraft operations357,4090
FAA diagram of Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Orlando International Airport (IATA: MCO, ICAO: KMCO, FAA LID: MCO)[2] is a public airport located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district of Orlando, a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is the busiest airport in Florida (by the number of passengers) owing to Orlando's popularity as a tourist destination and its enormous residential and commercial growth.

The airport serves as a secondary hub for AirTran Airways, and a mini-hub for Delta Connection carriers Chautauqua Airlines and Freedom Airlines. MCO is a focus city for Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines. The airport also hosts AirTran's corporate headquarters, though the airline maintains its main hub of operations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. The airport will also be home to a JetBlue training facility. Southwest Airlines is currently the airport's largest carrier in terms of passengers traveled; SWA carried 1/5 of all passenger traffic at MCO in 2006. [3].

In 2006 it was visited by 34.8 million passengers, making it the 13th busiest airport in the United States and the 24th-busiest in the World. It is the 15th busiest international gateway in the United States, behind Philadelphia International Airport; JFK International in New York City ranks first.[4]

Floridians often joke that the airport code MCO stands for "Mickey's Corporate Office" or "Mickey and Co." – Orlando being the location of the Walt Disney World Resort – but it actually stands for the airport's former name, McCoy Air Force Base, named for Colonel Michael N. W. McCoy, who died during an annual competition held at the base.

The Greater Orlando area is also served by Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB), and more indirectly by Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) and Melbourne International Airport (MLB). The Miami airspace, however, is still larger as it includes the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Miami International Airport, and Palm Beach International Airport.

History

View of MCO main terminal atrium, showing the on-site hotel rooms (Hyatt Regency)

Before 1974, the land the airport now sits on was largely owned by the United States Air Force, which operated an airbase there. The base was known as McCoy Air Force Base and the civilian airport was known as the Orlando Jetport at McCoy. Commercial service to the Jetport began in 1962 as flights were migrated from the old Herndon Airport, now the Orlando Executive Airport. The airport was turned over to the City of Orlando in 1974, and in 1975 the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) was founded. Their mission was to manage and build the Orlando International Airport and the Orlando Executive Airport. The airport gained its current name and international airport status a year later in 1976, but kept its old IATA airport code MCO and ICAO airport code KMCO. It became a U.S. Customs Service foreign trade zone in 1978, and an FAA large hub airport in 1979.

In 1978, construction of the North Terminal and Airside 1 began. They opened in 1981. The International Concourse, now known as Airside 3, opened in 1984. Funding to commence developing the east side of the airport was bonded in 1986, with Runway 17/35 (now 17R/35L) completed in 1989 and Airside 4 opened in 1990. Airside 3, which filled out the North Terminal, was completed in 2000, with the last additional gates added in 2006. Runway 17L/35R was opened in 2003.

In 1978, MCO handled 5 million passengers. By 2000, that number had soared to 30 million. Today, MCO covers 23 square miles (60 km²), and is the third-largest airport in the United States by area (after Denver and Dallas). MCO also has North America's second tallest control tower.

MCO is a designated Space Shuttle emergency landing site. The west-side runways, Runway Complex 18/36, were designed to accommodate B-52 Stratofortress bombers; and due to their proximity to John F. Kennedy Space Center, were an obvious choice for an emergency landing should an attempt to land at KSC fall short. [1]

Eastern Air Lines used Orlando as a hub during the 1970s and early 1980s, and became "the official airline of Walt Disney World." Following Eastern's demise, Delta Air Lines assumed this role, although it later pulled much of its large aircraft operations from Orlando, and focused its service there on regional jet flights, specifically with Comair, Freedom Airlines, and Chautauqua Airlines - all part of the Delta Connection system.

In 2004, Hurricane Charley caused some damage to the airport when it struck on the evening of August 13.

On February 22, 2005, MCO became the first airport in Florida to accept E-Pass and SunPass toll transponders as a form of payment for parking. The system allows drivers to enter and exit a parking garage without pulling a ticket or stopping to pay the parking fee. The two toll roads that serve the airport, SR 528 (Beachline Expressway) and SR 417 (Central FL GreeneWay), use these systems for automatic toll collection.

In October 2006, MCO opened a 100-space Cell Phone Parking Lot for drivers to use while waiting for passengers to arrive. The lot is set-up as a free Wi-Fi Hotspot enabling drivers to use their mobile devices to access the Internet, check e-mail, and monitor flight status. Around the same time MCO opened an Express Pickup service at each terminal allowing drivers to park their vehicles temporarily at a secure location just outside of baggage claim and meet their arriving party in person. A fee is charged for this service and is only available to E-Pass and SunPass users.

Plans to build a South Terminal, which initially would be dedicated to international traffic, and possibly more runways on the south side of the property, evaporated during the recession immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Structure and function

People mover stop
People mover infrastructure
Interior of people mover tram

Orlando International Airport has a single main terminal building, connected by people mover to four airside terminals. There are passenger check-in and baggage claim facilities on the main terminal building's north side (referred to as Terminal A), and on the building's south side (referred to as Terminal B). Airsides 1 and 2 use baggage claim "A", while airsides 3 and 4 use baggage claim "B." MCO's airsides are much larger in capacity than their smaller counterparts at Tampa International Airport.

Arriving international passengers who require immigration and/or customs clearance are processed through those checkpoints in the airside terminal where they arrive. After clearing US immigration, passengers collect their baggage and clear US customs. They may either turn in their baggage to have it transported or take it with them to the main terminal. International passengers then ride the people mover to the main terminal, where, if they did not take it with them, they can reclaim their baggage a second time in one of the main terminal's baggage claims. Because the people mover is located inside the secure part of the airport, international passengers must either go through a security inspection upon leaving the customs area or, at Airside 4, usually, be corralled towards the people mover system and the main terminal. In March 2008, it is expected that walkways and escalators will allow arriving international passengers to completely bypass the security screening area at Airside 4 and proceed directly to the people mover platform. Only those passengers connecting to a flight in the same airside and airport employees will use the checkpoints at Airside 4.

Virgin Atlantic, with their Boeing 747 service to Orlando, is currently the largest aircraft type operator at the airport.

British Airways also directly competes with Virgin on the London Gatwick route. It currently operates one Boeing 777 a day, but soon this will increase to two.[5]

Lufthansa opened a gate in Orlando on October 30, 2007, providing the first direct link between Orlando and a major international hub (in this case, Frankfurt, Germany) as part of a regional effort to diversify the local economy beyond tourism. At the moment, one Lufthansa Airbus A330 arrives and departs six times a week between MCO and Frankfurt Airport, providing connections throughout Europe.[6]

The Airbus A380, the worlds largest airliner, landed at Orlando International Airport on Tuesday 14th November. Orlando was one of the first airports in the world to be "Airbus A380 ready" although only two current carriers have an Airbus A380 order, Virgin Atlantic and BA.[7]. Virgin Atlantic are not taking any deleiveres untill 2013 and have stated that it is "way too early" for the airline to discuss on which routes they are going to be used.

Airside 1 (gates 1-29)

Airside 2 (gates 100-129)

  • JetBlue Airways (Aguadilla, Bogotá [pending gov't approval][8], Boston, Buffalo, Burlington (VT) [begins January 10], New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Newburgh, Ponce (PR), Portland (ME) [begins January 10], Rochester (NY), San Juan (PR), Santo Domingo [begins March 8], Syracuse, Washington-Dulles, White Plains)
  • Southwest Airlines (Albany, Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham (AL), Buffalo, Chicago-Midway, Cleveland, Columbus (OH), Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Hartford, Houston-Hobby, Indianapolis, Jackson (MS), Kansas City, Las Vegas, Long Island/Islip, Louisville, Manchester (NH), Nashville, New Orleans, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Oklahoma City [begins March 8], Omaha [begins March 8], Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh/Durham, St. Louis, Salt Lake City [begins March 8], San Antonio, Tulsa [begins March 8], Washington-Dulles)

Airside 3 (gates 30-59)

Airside 4 (gates 60-99)

  • Aer Lingus (Dublin)
  • Aeroméxico (Mexico City)
  • AirTran Airways (Akron/Canton, Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Bloomington, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago-Midway, Dallas/Fort Worth, Dayton, Detroit, Flint, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Moline/Quad Cities, New York-LaGuardia, Newburgh, Newport News/Williamsburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland (ME), Raleigh/Durham [begins February 14], Richmond, Rochester (NY), St. Louis, San Diego [seasonal], San Juan (PR) [begins March 5], Washington-Dulles, White Plains)
  • British Airways (London-Gatwick)
  • Condor (Frankfurt)
  • Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Boston, Cancún [begins February 2], Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Hartford, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Salt Lake City, San Juan (PR) [ends January 8])
    • Delta Connection operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Birmingham (AL) [begins January 4], Columbus, Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, Greenville/Spartanburg, Little Rock, Louisville, Nashville, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Tallahassee)
    • Delta Connection operated by Comair (Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, Greenville/Spartanburg, Raleigh/Durham)
    • Delta Connection operated by Freedom Airlines (Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham (AL), Charleston (SC), Columbia, Fort Lauderdale, Huntsville, Key West, Knoxville, Lexington, Little Rock, Louisville, Miami, Nashville, Nassau, New Orleans, Panama City (FL), Pensacola, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Tallahassee)
  • Frontier Airlines (Denver, Memphis [ends January 7])
  • Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
  • Virgin Atlantic Airways (Glasgow-International [seasonal], London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK))

See also

References

  1. ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for MCO PDF, effective 2007-03-15
  2. ^ Great Circle Mapper: MCO / KMCO - Orlando, Florida
  3. ^ Southwest Airlines is MCO's largest carrier [in terms of passenger traffic
  4. ^ http://www.bts.gov/publications/us_international_travel_and_transportation_trends/html/table10.html#1
  5. ^ http://aviation.beloblog.com/archives/2007/09/slots_for_heathrow.html
  6. ^ http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-frankfurt2907oct29,0,4467733.story
  7. ^ http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/sep2007/gb20070927_205723.htm?
  8. ^ http://www.eltiempo.com/economia/2007-11-17/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3818485.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orlando International Airport.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orlando_International_Airport&oldid=177781146"