Alexandria International Airport is a public use airport located four
nautical mile
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at t ...
s (5 mi, 7 km) west of the central business district of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, in
Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Rapides Parish () () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 130,023. The parish seat and largest city is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides'' is th ...
, United States.
The airport is operated by the England Authority, also known as the England Economic and Industrial Development District, an independent political subdivision of the State of
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. Although international commercial flight operations are not conducted, charter flights for the U.S. military to international destinations are routinely conducted from the airfield with this activity including the transportation of U.S. troops to overseas locations.
This airport is included in the
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. With the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of September 3, 1982, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was required to develop a ...
for 2011–2015, which
categorized it as a ''primary commercial service'' airport. As per
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
records, the airport had 142,223 passenger boardings (enplanements) in
calendar year
A calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days.
The Gregorian calendar year, which is in use as civil calendar in ...
2008, 154,736 enplanements in 2009, and 179,129 in 2010.
Prior to 1992, the facility was known as
England Air Force Base, which was a front-line
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
base which was opened during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and was used during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
.
History
Alexandria International Airport (AEX) traces its beginnings back to 1939 when it served as an emergency airstrip for
Esler Airfield, which was about 10 miles northeast of what would become Alexandria International. However, on the eve of World War II, the air strip was taken over by the Department of Defense and named Alexandria Army Air Base. The airbase was used for training pilots and aircrews of fighter and bomber airplanes of the Army Air Force. After World War II ended, the base was placed on standby status in early 1946 and was eventually turned over to the city of Alexandria for use as a municipal airport. With the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, the base was reactivated as Alexandria Air Force Base in 1950.
On June 23, 1955, Alexandria Army Air Base was renamed England Air Force Base in honor of Lieutenant Colonel John Brooke England, who died on November 17, 1954. John England was the commander of the 389th Bomber Squadron stationed at the base. England died while attempting to land in dense fog in France. During his approach, he ran out of fuel and sacrificed himself by steering away from a barracks and into a nearby field, where he crashed and was killed.
At the end of the Cold War, the United States Department of Defense wanted to close many of its military bases including England Air Force Base. The city of Alexandria feared that the economic impact of the airfield closing would devastate the economy, so the city of Alexandria created the England Economic and Industrial Development District (England Authority) to take over the base for the purpose of creating a major air transport resource for the region and the state.
After the application by the England Authority and the recommendation from the FAA, the Department of Defense granted all airside and landside areas to the England Authority. In August 1993, Alexandria International Airport opened for service. And in August 1996, Alexandria International began to receive commercial airline passenger service with flights to and from Atlanta (ATL), Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW), Houston (IAH) and Memphis (MEM), although service to Memphis was subsequently discontinued. Alexandria had previously been served by commercial airline flights operated from
Esler Airfield (ESF) located near Pineville, Louisiana.
Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Alexandria International Airport has played an important role in moving thousands of military personnel and millions of pounds of cargo in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States military, under a commercial lease with the England Authority, invested nearly $60 million in airfield facilities including the hazardous cargo loading/unloading aprons, a military passenger processing facility, Military Air Cargo Apron and resurfacing Runway 18.
Alexandria International Airport also played an important role in storm recovery efforts following hurricanes
Katrina and
Rita. The airport was designated by the Louisiana Department of Transportation as a disaster relief staging and support area, and also served as a command center location for the coordination of aircraft and supplies as well as acting as a staging location for troops and workers who were involved in the recovery effort.
Alexandria International Airport is also a primary point of departure that is used by ICE Air Operations as one of the nations largest deportee processing facilities is near by.
In February 2004,
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...
landed at the airport with President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
on board. This
Boeing 747-200B (
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
aircraft designation
VC-25A) is one of the largest aircraft to have ever visited AEX. President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
also landed at the airfield on board Air Force One during his presidency. However, the largest aircraft ever to have landed at the airport appears to be the
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy ...
military jet transport operated by the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
.
On November 4, 2010, the ''Memphis Business Journal'' reported that
Delta Connection
Delta Connection is a brand name under which Delta Air Lines has air service agreements with domestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to their network by serving passengers primarily in small and medium-sized cities in the domestic mark ...
, which operates passenger feeder services via a codesharing agreement with
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...
with regional jets, had ceased service on the Alexandria-Memphis route due to poor performance. This route had previously been flown by
Northwest Airlink
Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium- ...
when
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...
was operating a connecting hub in Memphis. Delta acquired the Memphis hub when its merger with Northwest was completed and has since consolidated many of the former Memphis routes to its larger Atlanta hub. Alexandria continues to be served on a nonstop basis to and from Atlanta by the Delta Connection.
Facilities and aircraft
Alexandria International Airport covers an area of 3,212 acres (1,300
ha) at an elevation of 89 feet (27 m) above
mean sea level
A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...
. It has two
runway
In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
s: 14/32 is 9,352 by 150 feet (2,850 x 46 m) with a concrete surface; 18/36 is 7,001 by 150 feet (2,134 x 46 m) with an
asphalt
Asphalt most often refers to:
* Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete
* Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
and concrete surface.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2022, the airport had 30,130 aircraft operations, an average of 82 per day: 51%
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
, 25%
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
, 13%
air taxi
An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand.
History
The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...
, and 11%
scheduled commercial. 55 aircraft were then based at this airport: 31 single-
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
, 7 multi-engine, 13
jet, and 4
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
.
The James L. Meyer Terminal is named for the first chairman of the England Airpark Authority. James Meyer, a Rapides Parish native who died in 1998, was a partner in the Alexandria-based civil engineering firm, Meyer, Meyer, LaCroix, and Hixson, and worked to establish the new airport. The terminal was dedicated in 2011, with Meyer's widow, Joy Sumner Meyer (1933–2013), speaking at the ceremony.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Destinations map
Both airlines serving Alexandria operate Canadair Regional Jet -700 and -900 aircraft. In addition to scheduled passenger airline services, the airport has also handled numerous charters performed by large, widebody passenger aircraft (with an example being the
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner manufactured by American manufacturer McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing.
Following McDonnell Douglas DC-10, DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 ...
jetliner) that were supporting military personnel transportation requirements.
Statistics
Governance
Alexandria International Airport is owned by the England Economic and Industrial Development District (England Authority). Sandra McQuain is the executive director of the England Authority and Scott Gammel is the Airport Manager.
The England Authority has ten members of the Board of Commissioners. William Barron is the chairman of the board of Commissioners. Brady Baudin is the vice-chairman and Bart Jones is the Secretary/Treasurer. The other members of the Board include Richard Bushnell, Dennis Frazier, Curman Gains, Scott Linzay, Joe McPherson, and Charlie Weems.
Noise mitigation program
Alexandria International Airport and the England Authority are implementing a Neighborhood Noise Mitigation Program, with funding from the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Program and the Louisiana Department of Transportation. The Neighborhood Noise Mitigation Program includes residential and other noise sensitive buildings in areas surrounding the Airport. The program was approved by the FAA on August 14, 2007, as part of AEX's Airport Noise Compatibility Program. The Noise Compatibility Program determined that eligible buildings should be prioritized to family residences, institutions, and community facilities.
As of November 2010, the England Authority has received $21 million from the FAA for their Noise Mitigation Program. The funding has been used for land acquisitions, relocation programs, and acoustical treatment programs.
The Neighborhood Noise Mitigation Program is divided into two areas. The primary area includes the areas that are located where they are subjected to 70 DNL or greater. The secondary area includes areas that are located in areas that are subjected to 65 to 70 DNL. The areas affected were designated from the 2010 Part 150 Noise Study.
Three options were approved for the primary areas. The first is the Property Acquisition and Relocation Assistance Program. The program was designed by the FAA to provide homeowners on a voluntary basis the opportunity to sell their property and move away from areas impacted by aircraft noise.
The second option is the Aviation Easement Acquisition Program. The program gives interested homeowners a single cash payment in exchange for providing the England Authority with a signed Aviation Easement document.
The third option is an Acoustical Treatment Program. This provides a range of acoustic modifications to participating homes. The program may include window and door modifications, wall and attic insulation, and ventilation modifications. All modifications done to the home through the program are free to the homeowner.
Properties in the Secondary Area are eligible only for the Aviation Easement Acquisition and the Acoustical Treatment Programs.
England AFB Heritage Park
A sign at the heritage park, also known as Flying Tiger Heritage Park, reads: "A symbol of all airmen past, present, and future, the England Air Force Base Heritage Park is a proud reminder of the Air Force’s role in our nation’s military history. Each of the five aircraft displayed here valiantly contributed to the defense of our country. They are suspended in simulated flight as a permanent reminder of the courage, dedication, and sacrifice of the men and women who have served their country as members of the finest Air Force in the world."
The aircraft at the heritage park are described below, as seen at the park, from left to right (west to east, clockwise).
Accidents at or near AEX
On September 6, 1955, a
USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
Kaiser-Frazer
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) is an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, Litter (rescue basket), litte ...
crashed after takeoff due to engine failure 3.1 miles north of then Alexandria-England AFB. Four of the six crew on board were killed.
On April 20, 2018, A
McDonnell Douglas MD-83
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...
(registration N807WA) operated by
World Atlantic Airlines
Caribbean Sun Airlines Inc., trading as World Atlantic Airlines is an airline in the United States operating on-demand and scheduled charter services. Its corporate headquarters are located in Virginia Gardens, Florida.
History
The airline was ...
suffered a right-hand main
landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...
collapse during landing rollout. Due to the gear failure, the right wing dragged on the runway, creating a friction fire which was quickly put out by the airport rescue and firefighting personnel. The aircraft operated on a flight on behalf of the
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...
and originated from
Chicago-O'Hare International Airport. None of the 101 passengers on board were injured, but the aircraft suffered significant damage and was later written off as irreparable. As of April 5, 2024, it still occupies the South Ramp.
See also
*
List of airports in Louisiana
This is a list of airports in Louisiana (a U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such as airports t ...
References
External links
Alexandria International AirportAerial image as of January 1998from
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...
''
The National Map
''The National Map'' is a Collaboration, collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the eff ...
''
*
*
*
{{Alexandria, Louisiana
Airports in Louisiana
Buildings and structures in Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Airports established in 1939
1939 establishments in Louisiana