Erie International Airport
Erie International Airport Tom Ridge Field is a public airport five miles southwest of Erie, in Erie County. Airline service at Erie faces stiff competition from the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Toronto airports, all within three hours of Erie by car. In 2004 Erie was the third-fastest-growing airport in the United States, and the fastest-growing airport in Pennsylvania. It is from Pittsburgh, from the Canada–US border, from Cleveland, Ohio and from Buffalo, New York.
The airport is named for former Pennsylvania governor and Erie native Tom Ridge.
History
History
In 1924, Roger Griswold purchased of land west of Erie at the intersection of West Lake and Asbury Roads for use as an airfield. Soon after, a flight training school was based at the field. In 1927, as part of a nationwide tour by Charles Lindbergh after his transatlantic flight, Erie was selected as one of the cities where Lindbergh would make a brief stopover. However, as Griswold Field proved inadequate for the larger Spirit of St. Louis to land and an alternative site could not be located, a flyover by Lindbergh had to suffice.This event showed the need for a proper airport and prompted the Erie City Council to examine to possibility of establishing a municipal airport. City Council was, initially, favoring a site east of Wesleyville for a municipal airport; however, Lieutenant Jimmy Doolittle commented on the distance between it and the city; Dolittle noted that "you might as well take 40 minutes more and go on to Cleveland." After recommendations made by Lindbergh to a Congressional committee that no airport less than be approved, the planning commission for Erie's airport began to reevaluate the site they chose.
Griswold Field officially closed in 1929 when Griswold moved to Long Island, but aircraft and the flight school continued to use it. That year two airfields were established: one on land adjacent to the former Griswold Field, and another in Kearsarge that is now the site of the Millcreek Mall.
American Airlines. began Port Erie Airport's first commercial passenger and airmail service in June 1938.
Prior to September 11, 2001 the airport was at its height with US Airways mainline jets to Pittsburgh and international service to Toronto. After 9/11 US Airways replaced 737s and DC-9s with regional jets. As air service rebounded in the mid-2000s, US Airways Express flew to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Charlotte; Northwest Airlink to Detroit; Continental Connection to Cleveland; and Delta Connection to Cincinnati and Atlanta. US Airways discontinued Charlotte flights in 2006. Delta Air Lines discontinued Atlanta flights on September 6, 2007. In early 2008 US Airways discontinued Pittsburgh flights.
On August 22, 2018, Derek Martin was named Executive Director of the airport.
On February 24, 2020, non-stop service to Washington Dulles International Airport on United Express was announced. The service was made possible by a $292,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Community Air Service Development Program.
On June 5, 2020, Delta announced it would indefinitely suspend service starting July 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current Operations
As of August 2019, American Eagle service is two flights daily to Charlotte and one flight daily to Chicago-O'Hare on the ERJ-145; Delta Connection has three flights daily to Detroit with CRJ-200 regional jets; and United Express has two flights daily to Chicago–O'Hare also with ERJ-145 or E-170 aircraft..Runway extension
The extension of runway 6/24 was opened on November 8, 2012. The total cost of the project was $80.5 million, or approximately $5 million under budget. Owing to a mild winter in 2011-2012 that did not hinder construction work, the extension was also completed two years ahead of schedule.Facilities
Erie International/Tom Ridge Field covers and has two runways:- Runway 2/20:, Surface: Asphalt
- Runway 6/24:, Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
In August 2019, the public waiting area and in-terminal restaurant were renovated. The entrance to the restaurant was reconfigured to provide airside access from the secure side of the terminal.
The terminal has 7 gates, 3 with jetbridges for regional aircraft. Current regularly occupied gates are:
Gate 1- United Express, Gate 5- Delta Connection, Gate 7- American Eagle
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
| Destinations map |
Cargo
Statistics
Top destinations
Annual traffic
Ground transportation
Taxis can reach the airport. Two Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority bus routes stop at the airport. Avis Rent a Car System, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, The Hertz Corporation, and National Car Rental have car rental counters.Accidents and incidents
- February 21, 1986: A USAir McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31, registration number N961VJ, operating as Flight 499 on a scheduled flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport, overran runway 24 during a tailwind landing. The aircraft struck a runway light and a fence and came to rest on a perimeter road. One passenger suffered minor injuries, while the other 17 passengers and 5 crew were uninjured; the aircraft was badly damaged and was written off. Weather was reportedly poor, with low ceilings, snow, and fog; unable to land on runway 6 due to inadequate visibility, the pilots instead chose to land on runway 24 due to more favorable visibility minimums, although the pavement was reported as wet and snowy with fair-to-poor braking action, and tailwind landings were not authorized under such conditions. The aircraft touched down 1,800 to 2,000 ft past the displaced threshold at an airspeed over Vref. Braking on the snowy runway was poor, and the spoilers did not automatically deploy, due to inadequate nosewheel spin-up on the slippery pavement; the pilots manually deployed the spoilers. The crash was attributed to the pilot in command's improper decision-making and failure to perform a go-around; contributing factors were the adverse weather conditions, the improper touchdown point, and the displaced threshold.
- June 8, 2000: A Beechcraft BE-55 Baron, registration number N777K, lost engine power on approach after the pilot noticed that the left-hand fuel indicator was indicating an inadequate fuel supply, and he attempted to cross-feed the left-hand engine from the right-hand fuel tank. The aircraft was destroyed in the subsequent crash and post-crash fire; the pilot, who was the sole aircraft occupant, suffered minor injuries. The accident was attributed to fuel starvation caused by the pilot's fuel system mismanagement; a contributing factor was inadequate preflight fuel planning.
- August 13, 2005: A Piper PA-28-180, registration number N7534W, lost engine power on approach and struck trees during an attempted forced landing about short of runway 24, killing the pilot and 2 passengers; another passenger suffered serious injuries. The accident was attributed to fuel exhaustion caused by the pilot's inadequate preflight planning.