BROWNSVILLE/SOUTH PADRE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

'Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport' is a public airport located four miles (6 km) east of the central business district (CBD) of Brownsville, in Cameron County, Texas. It also serves South Padre Island. The airport covers 1,700 acres and has three runways. It is mostly used for general aviation, but is also served by two commercial airlines, both doing business as Continental Express.
It is a convenient airport for flying into the Rio Grande Valley and Northern Mexico. Most cities in the Rio Grande Valley are accessible from BRO by automobile within 30-60 minutes.
Fares for flights leaving out of Brownsville are usually cheaper for most Continental destinations than that of nearby airports, mainly McAllen-Miller International Airport in McAllen and Valley International Airport in Harlingen, with last-minute full-fares to destinations such as Houston and Austin even beating that of low-cost rival Southwest Airlines (Harlingen).
The National Weather Service forecast office for the Rio Grande Valley is located within the airport.

Contents

History

Airlines and destinations

Former Airlines/Routes

Facilities

Terminal

Transportation

Amenities

Website

Trivia

References

External links

History

★ On March 9, 1929, Charles Lindbergh landed in BRO after a five hour, 38 minute historic flight from Mexico City to the United States. This established the first leg of Airmail Service to Mexico

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★ In honor, an event in which Amelia Earhart attends is held, a crowd of over 20,000 greeting Lindbergh upon his arrival. This event has been described as an international event of great significance.

★ Pan-American Airways started service on the airport on June 4th, 1929, the beginning of a 30 year relationship between BRO and PanAm.

★ In the 1940s, the first American jet engine flight was tested in Brownsville

★ In the 1960s, the 16th weather radar system in the nation was installed at BRO

★ In 1983, the airport was officially renamed the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport

Airlines and destinations

★ Continental Airlines - Gates 1 & 2

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★ Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental)

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★ Continental Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental)
ExpressJet Airlines utilizes Embraer ERJ 135 & ERJ 145 aircraft out of Brownsville. Chautauqua Airlines utilizes Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft & Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft out of Brownsville. Previously, ExpressJet Airlines utilized ATR-42 aircraft, and Continental Airlines utilized Boeing 737-300 & 737-500 aircraft.

Former Airlines/Routes

★ Pan American World Airways

★ Braniff International

★ Mexicana (1920s-1930s) (1990s)

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★ Service to Tuxpan & Tampico in the 1920s

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★ Service to Guatemala City in the 1930s
Additionally, Continental Airlines previously operated mainline service before transitioning solely to Continental Express.

Facilities

Terminal

The Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport features a full-service passenger terminal with four gates (1, 1A, 2 & 2A).

★ Prior to security check-point

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★ Locally-owned restaurant

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★ Coffee, smoothie and muffin stand adjacent to restaurant

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★ Complimentary WiFi Internet Access (provided by the City of Brownsville)

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★ Television monitors throughout the terminal broadcast the latest news, provided usually by either CNN or New York CBS affiliate WCBS-TV

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★ Information booth for tourists

★ After security check-point

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★ Complimentary WiFi Internet Access

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★ Television monitors broadcasting the latest news

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★ Four gates

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★ Gates 1 & 2 (Jetway Gates)

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★ Gates 1A & 2A (Exit-Door Gates) (Used mainly for overflow)

Transportation

Several transportation options are available for arriving passengers.

★ Car rental agencies housed within the airport, just prior to baggage claim

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★ Rental Cars on-site

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★ Rental Cars available to be driven into Mexico (3 miles south)

★ Taxi cabs on-demand

★ Hotel shuttles (usually available by calling the appropriate hotel)

★ Brownsville Urban System - Brownsville's Mass Transit bus system

★ Shuttle service to/from Port Isabel, TX and South Padre Island, TX

Amenities

★ Complimentary Wi-Fi Internet Access throughout the passenger terminal

★ Free parking with no posted maximum stay limit, as well as free 2-hour parking

★ Television monitors displaying the latest news

★ Home/Hotel delivery of late/lost luggage (through Continental)

★ Very fast turnaround time for passenger aircraft (as low as 10-15 minutes)

Website

The Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport is the first airport in Texas to offer flight status notification via text-messaging through its website. When the system was launched, it was one of only three airports in the nation, between Michigan and Alabama, to offer such a service.
In addition to flight status text-messaging notification, the site also features current fares to popular routes, including Houston, Atlanta, Toronto, Minneapolis/St. Paul & Querétaro.

Trivia

★ The Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport has two gates with a jetway (gate 1 and 2) and two exit-door gates beside each jetway gate (gate 1A and 2A), yet all gates are referred to as "Gate 1," both for boarding reasons and in eTickets. Gates 1A and 2A are used mainly for overflow.


★ Most mornings, the televisions around the airport are tuned in to CBS to catch The Early Show. The CBS affiliate broadcasted, however, is not local KGBT-TV, but rather New York affiliate WCBS-TV

★ Prior to the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, Continental Airlines operated daily Boeing 737-300/500 service from Brownsville to Houston-Intercontinental

★ The airport is the largest air cargo handling airport in the Rio Grande Valley metro at 1,815 acres.

★ Gates 1A & 2A, which do not have jetways, are used primarily for Chautauqua Airlines flights since some of Chautauqua's ERJs and CRJs have airstairs that make it a hassle to properly fit in a jetway, even though Brownsville does have an airstair-jetway kit. Gates 1A & 2A, though, are occasionally used for Chautauqua aircraft without built-in airstairs, and seldom used for ExpressJet aircraft.

References

★ Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport (official site)

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★ Airport adds text messaging service for customers

External links

★ Ernie the Attorney: Brownsville Airport Has Free Wi-Fi

★ Rio Grande Valley Wing of the Commemorative Air Force

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