Lehigh Valley International Airport
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| Lehigh Valley International Airport | |||
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| IATA: ABE – ICAO: KABE – FAA: ABE | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority | ||
| Location | Allentown, Pennsylvania | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 393 ft / 120 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 6/24 | 7,600 | 2,316 | Asphalt |
| 13/31 | 5,797 | 1,767 | Asphalt |
Lehigh Valley International Airport (IATA: ABE, ICAO: KABE, FAA LID: ABE), formerly Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton International Airport, is a public airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
The airport is located three miles (5 km) northeast of Allentown, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, the third most populated metropolitan region in the state (after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh).
It is owned and operated by the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority. The airport is served primarily by regional airlines, operating feederliner aircraft. 788,511 people used the airport in 2006.[1]
In recent years, Lehigh Valley International Airport has encountered stiff competition from nearby airports such as Philadelphia International Airport (60 miles away) and Newark Liberty International Airport (90 miles away). These airports often offer a greater selection of flights and sometimes lower fares. This was exacerbated by the completion of the Pennsylvania extension of Interstate 78 in 1990, which allowed for a faster drive to Newark; and the opening of Interstate 476 in 1991 that made it easier to connect to Interstate 95 near Philadelphia.
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[edit] Facilities
Lehigh Valley International Airport covers 2,629 acres (1,064 ha) and has two runways:
- Runway 6/24: 7,600 x 150 ft. (2,316 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
- Runway 13/31: 5,797 x 150 ft. (1,767 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
[edit] Airlines and destinations
- Air Canada
- Air Canada Jazz operated by Air Georgian (Toronto-Pearson)
- Allegiant Air (Fort Lauderdale, Orlando-Sanford, St. Petersburg/Clearwater)
- Continental Airlines (Newark) [bus service]
- Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Cleveland)
- Delta Air Lines
- Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Atlanta)
- Delta Connection operated by Comair (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)
- Northwest Airlines
- Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines (Detroit)
- United Airlines
- United Express operated by Colgan Air (Washington-Dulles)
- United Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare)
- United Express operated by SkyWest (Chicago-O'Hare)
- US Airways (Charlotte)
- US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin (Philadelphia)
- US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines (Philadelphia)
- US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines (Charlotte)
[edit] History
Allentown Airport opened in 1929 and is one of the very few in the nation that still serves its community from its original location. Scheduled airline service began on September 16th, 1935 by United Airlines with Boeing 247 service. At the time, the airport hangar served as the passenger terminal. The first terminal building at the airport was built in 1938 as a Works Projects Administration (WPA) project.
During World War II the U. S. Navy V-5 flight training program was conducted at the airport in conjunction with ground training held at Muhlenberg College. In addition, Headquarters of Group 312 of the Civil Air Patrol was at Allentown-Bethlehem Airport. One of its activities was to provide a courier service for cargo defense plants. Allentown CAP pilots also patrolled the Atlantic coastline, and was active in recruiting young men for the air cadet program of the Army Air Force.
By January 1944, work on a new runway was completed and a Class A United States Weather Bureau station had been installed. About 1,000 Naval Aviation Cadets had been trained during 1943, and a large increase in the amount of civilian and military air traffic had occurred. In late July, the War Production Board approved the construction of a second story addition to the administration building. The building housed the Lehigh Aircraft Company, the weather bureau station, the Civil Aeronautic communications station, and the office and waiting room of United Air Lines. In August, the V-5 flight training program ended when the Navy decided to move all flight training to naval air bases under Navy pilots.
In the immediate postwar years, in April 1946, the Lehigh Airport Authority was created to own and manage the airport. This made the airport a public enterprise. 1948 saw the beginning of construction for a new passenger terminal, being finished in 1950. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton (ABE) airport, as it was now called, also expanded passenger service by offering flights with United, Trans World Airlines (TWA), and Colonial airlines. DC-4 and DC-6 service was offered with the addition of 5,000 ft of runway.
Throughout the 1950s, both passenger service as well as air cargo service expanded at ABE. Eastern and Allegheny Airlines began service. In 1960, both Vice-President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy made campaign stops at ABE. Construction began in late 1972 for the new terminal, which was opened on December 14th, 1975.
Today Lehigh Valley International Airport continues to serve the Lehigh Valley.
 Allentown PA Airport in the early 1930s before the addition of hard-surfaced runways. |
 Naval pilot training graduation ceremony at the Allentown PA Airport - 1943. |
 Lehigh Valley International Airport before terminal expansion. |
[edit] References
- Airport Master Record (FAA Form 5010), also available as a printable form (PDF)
- Lehigh Valley International Airport (official web site)
- Allentown 1762-1987 A 225-Year History, Volume Two, 1921-1987. Mahlon H. Hellerich, editor, Lehigh County Historical Society, 1987.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Pennsylvania Bureau of Aviation: Lehigh Valley International Airport
- FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 5 June 2008
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KABE
- ASN accident history for ABE
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KABE
- FAA current ABE delay information
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