GENERAL MITCHELL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

'General Mitchell International Airport' is an airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US. It is named after United States Army Air Service General Billy Mitchell, who was raised in Milwaukee and is often regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. The airport is the main hub of Midwest Airlines. In 2006, 7,299,294 passengers used the airport, an increase of 0.43% over 2005.[1]
The airport owned and operated by Milwaukee County. Mitchell's 13 airlines offer roughly 235 daily departures (plus 240 daily arrivals). Approximately 90 cities are served nonstop or direct from Mitchell International. It is the largest airport in Wisconsin. The airport terminal is open 24 hours a day.
Along with being the primary airport for Milwaukee, Mitchell International has sometimes been described as Chicago's third airport, as many Chicago travelers use it as an alternative to Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway.^[1] It is also used by travellers throughout Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. An Amtrak railway station opened at the airport in 2005, providing daily round-trip service to and from Chicago and Downtown Milwaukee.
In October 2006, a ''Condé Nast Traveler'' poll ranked Milwaukee County’s General Mitchell International Airport as best in the nation for business travelers in the following categories: Ease of Connections, Customs/Baggage, and Safety/Security. Among U.S. airports, Mitchell garnered the most first-place rankings in individual categories, and tied for fifth overall with Pittsburgh International Airport.^[2]

Contents

History

Expansion

Airlines and destinations

Concourse C

Concourse D

Concourse E

Incidents

References

External links

History

The building houses the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, a non-profit museum on the concession level; and a small branch of Renaissance Books which is believed to be the world's first used book store in an airport. An observation lot along the northern edge of the airport is open to the public, and tower communications are rebroadcast using a low-power FM transmitter for visitors to tune in on their car radios. A Wisconsin historical marker documenting the airport's history is also located there.The original airfield was established in 1920 as 'Hamilton Airport' by business owner Thomas Hamilton. Milwaukee County purchased the land on October 19, 1926, for the 'Milwaukee County Airport'. Kohler Aviation Corporation began providing passenger service across Lake Michigan on August 31, 1929. A passenger terminal was later constructed in 1940, and on March 17, 1941, the airport was renamed "General Mitchell Field" after Milwaukee's military airpower advocate, Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell.^[3] On January 4, 1945, Mitchell Field was leased to the War Department for use as a World War II prisoner-of-war camp. Over 3,000 prisoners and 250 enlisted men stayed at the work camp. Escaped German prisoners were often surprised to find a large German and Polish population just beyond the fence.^[4] The present terminal opened in 1955 and was expanded significantly between 1984 and 1990. On June 19, 1986, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors officially renamed Mitchell Field to General Mitchell International Airport.

Expansion

Mitchell is currently undergoing an expansion process. This expansion includes an extension with 10 new gates on Concourse C (completion in July 2007), new rampside boarding gates for Midwest Connect in Concourse D (after which, US Airways will be moved to Concourse C, leaving all of D for Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect), and renovation of the Concourse E stem.
There is also a "Master Plan" idea to significantly increase terminal area by either stretching the existing terminal (in some cases, to almost double the size) or begin construction of an entirely separate terminal. Nearly all cases will involve major reconstruction on the airport itself, and will have a huge impact on the airport's future traffic.
Mitchell International is also considering expanding the buffer zone on their runways, after the accident on January 21, 2007, when Northwest Airlines Flight 1726 skidded off the runway after aborting takeoff. According to the FAA, most airports are supposed to have a buffer zone no shorter than 1,000 feet, although many airports do not meet this requirement.

★ Master Plan

Airlines and destinations

General Mitchell International Airport has 50 gates on 3 concourses in one terminal:

Concourse C

Concourse C has 19 gates: C6 - C25

★ Air Canada Gate C11

★
★ Air Canada Jazz (Toronto-Pearson)

★ American Airlines Gates C10, C12

★
★ AmericanConnection operated by Chautauqua Airlines (St. Louis)

★
★ AmericanConnection operated by Trans States Airlines (St. Louis)

★
★ American Eagle (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth)

★ Delta Air Lines Gates C20, C21 (Atlanta)

★
★ Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)

★
★ Delta Connection operated by Comair (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)

★
★ Delta Connection operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)

★
★ Delta Connection operated by SkyWest (Atlanta, Salt Lake City)

★ Frontier Airlines Gate C14 (Cancún [seasonal; begins December 15], Denver)

★ United Airlines Gates C9, C11, C15

★
★ United Express operated by SkyWest (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver)

★
★ United Express operated by Trans States Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver)

★ US Airways Gates C18, C19

★
★ US Airways operated by America West Airlines (Phoenix)

★
★ US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin (Charlotte, Philadelphia)

★
★ US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines (Charlotte)

Concourse D

Concourse D has 20 gates: D27 - D53

★ Midwest Airlines Gates D30, D34, D36 - D49 (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers [seasonal], Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, Omaha, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco [seasonal], Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa, Washington-Reagan)

★
★ Midwest Connect Gates D27 - D29, D52

★
★ Midwest Connect operated by Skyway Airlines (Appleton, Cleveland, Dayton, Des Moines, Duluth, Escanaba, Flint, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Iron Mountain, Louisville, Madison, Manistee, Marquette [ends September 30], Muskegon, Nashville, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Rhinelander, St. Louis, Toronto-Pearson, Wausau)

★
★ Midwest Connect operated by SkyWest (Baltimore/Washington, Charlotte [begins September 16], Columbus, Hartford, Madison, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham)

Concourse E

Concourse E has 10 gates: E60 - E69

★ AirTran Airways Gates E60, E61 (Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington [seasonal], Fort Myers [seasonal], Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix [seasonal; begins December 20], Tampa [seasonal])

★ Continental Airlines Gates E62, E63

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

★ Northwest Airlines Gates E64 - E69 (Cancún [seasonal], Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul)

★
★ Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines (Detroit) [begins September 17]

Incidents

★ On 4 August 1968, a Convair CV-580, flying as North Central Airlines flight 261, collided in mid-air with a privately owned Cessna 150. The Cessna cabin remained attached to the Convair's forward baggage compartment. The Convair made a safe emergency landing at Milwaukee. The 3 Cessna occupants were killed. The Cessna was on a VFR flight from Lombard, IL to Sheboygan, WI. It was determined that the inability of the Convair 580 flight crew to detect the Cessna 150 visually in sufficient time to take evasive action, despite having been provided with three radar traffic advisories caused the crash. Visual detection capabilities were reduced by the heavy accumulation of insect smears on the windows of the Convair. Visibility was further reduced by haze, smoke and sunglare, and by the inconspicuous colour and lack of relative motion of the Cessna.

★ On September 6 1985, Midwest Express Flight 105 crashed upon takeoff from Milwaukee. This was Midwest's first (and, as of 2006, only) fatal accident, when a Douglas DC-9 of the airline crashed while taking off from Milwaukee, bound for Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. According to NTSB reports, the crash was caused by improper pilot reaction when the plane's right engine failed due to stress corrosion cracking. The improper flight control inputs caused an uncommanded roll and accelerated stall. The 31 people on board died.

★ On August 31, 2005 a Midwest Airlines, Boeing 717 bumped a weed spraying truck and damaged the plane's left wing. No one was hurt in the incident.

★ A Northwest Airlines DC-9, Northwest Airlines Flight 1726 skidded off the end of a snowy runway 7R on January 21, 2007 at Milwaukee International Airport. The accident was due to an explosion in one of the engines, forcing the pilot to abort takeoff. Of the 104 people aboard, only one back injury was reported.

★ On January 23, 2007 two Freight Runners Express cargo planes collided and burned on a taxiway. Both pilots were able to escape without injury. The planes were a Cessna 402 and a Beech 99. Investigation found Air Traffic Control to be at fault for the incident.

★ On June 4, 2007 A Cessna Citation II crashed on take off after reporting a runaway trim tab. The pilot issued a distress signal within five minutes after taking off from KMKE. The plane then crashed into Lake Michigan two miles off shore. The plane was carrying an organ transplant team. There was a crew of two and four passengers aboard. All six died.

References

1. Mitchell Offers Delay-Weary Chicago Travelers Timely Alternative
2.
3. Historic Markers - General Mitchell Field WI221
4. Stalag Wisconsin: Inside WW II prisoner-of-war camps, , Betty, Cowley, Badger Books, 2002,


★ Airport Master Record (FAA Form 5010), also available as a ★ class=wikiexternal target=_blank>A&fn=MKE printable form (PDF)

★ General Mitchell International Airport (official web site)

★ Airliners Magazine No.94 July/August 2005

External links

★ Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station

★ Wisconsin Airport Directory: General Mitchell International Airport (PDF)

★ Michigan Airport Directory: General Mitchell International Airport (PDF)

★ flyertalk.com Guide to the Milwaukee Airport

★