ORLANDO SANFORD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

'Orlando Sanford International Airport' is an airport in Sanford, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Due to heavy flight training at the airport, it is consistently in the top 30 busiest airports in the world in total operations (takeoff and landings). It functions as Orlando's secondary airport but is farther away from the attraction areas (Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida and SeaWorld Orlando) than the larger, primary airport Orlando International.
The airport is owned by the Sanford Airport Authority and managed by TBI plc, one of the world's leading airport operators which owns London Luton Airport, Cardiff International Airport, and Belfast International Airport in the United Kingdom as well as Stockholm-Skavsta Airport in Sweden, and operates airports in South America. Because of that affiliation, Sanford Airport is served primarily by British carriers. TBI is also the provider of ground handling services for airlines. Although it is primarily a landing point for European travel, Sanford is also a focus city for Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air.

Contents

History

Facilities

Incidents and accidents

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Terminal A (International)

Terminal B (Domestic)

Notes and References

External links and Resources

History

Orlando Sanford International Airport started life as 'NAS Sanford' (Naval Air Station) with the airport codes NRJ/KNRJ. Commissioned on November 3, 1942, the base initially operated PV-1 Venturas, PBO Hudsons and SNB Kansans. Peak wartime complement reached approximately 360 officers and 1400 men with 150 waves during 1943-1945. In 1944, fighter pilot training began using F4F and FM-1 Wildcat and F6F Hellcat carrier-based aircraft.
Decommissioned in 1946 and placed in a caretaker status, the base was recommissioned as Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Sanford in 1950 in response to the Korean War and the Cold War. Subsequently redesignated as NAS Sanford, substantial upgrades followed in order to turn the station into a Master Jet Base for the carrier-based Douglas A-3 Skywarrior nuclear attack aircraft of Heavy Attack Wing ONE. This included construction of additional new hangars, support buildings for the base, wing and squadrons, precision approach radar/ground controlled approach (PAR/GCA), non-directional beacon (NDB) and tactical air navigation (TACAN) navigational aids, a Navy Dispensary, Navy Exchange complex, base theater, swimming pools, recreational facilities and separate clubs for officers, chief petty officers and enlisted personnel. Due to the nuclear mission, Marine Corps personnel provided base security, leading to the establishment of Marine Corps Barracks Sanford.
On February 6, 1959, NAS Sanford was dedicated as 'Ramey Field' in honor of LCDR Robert W. Ramey, who lost his life by electing to guide his crippled plane away from a nearby residential area. In the early 1960s, the A-3 aircraft began to be replaced by the Mach 2+ North American A-5A Vigilante aircraft. In 1964, the strategic nuclear strike mission for carrier-based aircraft was eliminated and all Vigilante squadrons were converted to a tactical reconnaissance mission. Exisiting A-5A and A-5B aircraft were modified to the RA-5C Vigilante configuration and the North American production line shifted to producing all subsequent aircraft as RA-5Cs. Heavy Attack Wing ONE was renamed Reconnaissance Attack Wing ONE and NAS Sanford-based squadrons routinely deployed aboard both Atlantic and Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers of the FORRESTAL, KITTY HAWK and ENTERPRISE classes, seeing extensive action during the Vietnam War. Numerous flight crews and aircraft were lost to enemy action, with several pilots and naval flight officers becoming prisoners of war in Vietnam until repatriation in 1973.
Congress closed NAS Sanford in 1968, transferring the wing and squadrons to the former Turner AFB, renamed as NAS Albany, Georgia. The wing and squadrons subsequently relocated to NAS Key West, Florida during 1974-75, remaining at NAS Key West until the RA-5Cs retirement from active service in 1980. A commemorative memorial park, plaques and a retired RA-5C Vigilante aircraft on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation were dedicated in May 2003 and are positioned on the entrance road within the Orlando-Sanford International Airport perimeter in memory to NAS Sanford personnel who served their country during World War II, Vietnam and the Cold War. A PV-1 Ventura, also on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation, is in the process of being restored at the airport and will join the RA-5C on display. An A-3 Skywarrior has also been requested from the Navy for future restoration and display.

Facilities

Orlando Sanford International Airport covers 2,010 acres and has four runways:

★ Runway 9L/27R: 9,600 x 150 ft. (2,926 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt

★ Runway 9C/27C: 3,578 x 75 ft. (1,091 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt

★ Runway 9R/27L: 3,500 x 75 ft. (1,067 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt

★ Runway 18/36: 6,002 x 150 ft. (1,829 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
The dominant runway is 9L/27R, however parallel runways 9C/27C and 9R/27L are also used for light aircraft. The airport also has available runways 36 and 18 for rare northerly fronts in the winter, this runway is not used for normal commercial traffic.

Incidents and accidents

★ On March 29, 2007, Allegiant Air Flight 758, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft which took off from Pease International Airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, experienced a hydraulic failure which prevented the nose landing gear from deploying. The plane made a safe landing at Orlando Sanford, with only one minor injury sustained in the aircraft evacuation.^[1][2]

★ On July 10, 2007, five people were killed and several others injured when a Cessna 310 on a flight from Daytona Beach to Lakeland crashed into two houses 3.8 miles from the airport while attempting to make an emergency landing.

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Terminal A (International)

★ First Choice Airways (Bristol (UK), Glasgow-International, London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK), Nottingham-EastMidlands)

★ Flyglobespan (Belfast-International, Glasgow-International)

★ Icelandair (Reykjavik-Keflavik)

★ Monarch Airlines (Belfast-International, Dublin, Glasgow-International, London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK), Newcastle, Shannon)

★ MyTravel Airways (Belfast-International, Birmingham (UK), Cardiff, Glasgow-International, London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK))

★ Thomas Cook Airlines (Glasgow-International, London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK))

★ Thomsonfly (Belfast-International, Birmingham (UK), Cardiff, Doncaster-Sheffield, London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK), Newcastle [begins Summer 2008])

★ Travel City Direct (Cardiff, Glasgow-International, London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK))

★ XL Airways (Cardiff, Glasgow-International, London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK))

Terminal B (Domestic)

★ Allegiant Air (Allentown, Bangor [begins November 7], Belleville/St. Louis, Blountville/Tri-Cities, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Chattanooga, Chicago/Rockford, Des Moines, Fort Wayne, Greensboro, Greenville (SC), Gulfport/Biloxi, Huntington, Kinston (NC), Knoxville, Lansing, McAllen [seasonal], Peoria [begins November 16], Roanoke, Shreveport, Sioux Falls, South Bend, Springfield/Branson, Tri-Cities (TN), Toledo, Wichita, Youngstown-Warren)

Notes and References

1. http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/11441698/detail.html
2. http://www.wesh.com/news/11442253/detail.html

External links and Resources

★ Orlando Sanford International Airport

★ FlySanford.com