Gainesville Regional Airport is a public

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

three miles northeast of Gainesville, in

Alachua County, Florida Alachua County ( ) is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida. History Prehistory and ear ...

, United States. It is owned by Gainesville-Alachua County Regional Airport Authority. 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 categorized it as a ''primary commercial service'' airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). Gainesville Regional Airport had 177,282 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 ...

2011 and 159,499 enplanements in 2010. They also had 217,355 passenger boardings (enplanements) in 2015, more than 2% higher than 2014. Gainesville Regional Airport had 558,246 passengers in 2019. The airport annually hosts the Gator Fly In at the general aviation facilities. The event includes military aircraft displays, a classic car show, food trucks, live music, and aircraft rides aboard a

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American Trimotor, three-engined transport plane, transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, afte ...

, a

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company. Construction of the airport began in April 1940 as a Works Project Administration project. In 1941 initial construction was completed. Upon conclusion of the construction by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the facility was known as the Alachua Army Airfield and was used by the Army Air Corps and the Army Air Forces. The airfield was declared surplus in September 1945 and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on October 1, 1946. The War Assets Administration deeded the facility to the city of Gainesville in 1948 as a civil airport. The field was known as John R. Alison Airport or Gainesville Municipal Airport; the city operated, maintained, and improved the airport, which was renamed the Gainesville Regional Airport in October 1977. The airline terminal was dedicated to John R. Alison in 1979.

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

served Gainesville beginning in the 1950s, with flights to Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Ocala, eventually offering nonstop flights to Atlanta and Miami by the 1970s. Eastern served Gainesville until its bankruptcy in 1991 and was consistently a profitable destination for the company.

Air Florida Air Florida was an American low-cost carrier that operated under its own brand from 1972 to 1984. During the period from 1972 to 1978 Air Florida was an intrastate airline. Until a high-profile 1982 aircraft crash in Washington DC, Air Florida ...

served Gainesville in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with flights to Miami, Tampa and Ocala. In 1986 the State Legislature passed a bill that established the Airport as the Gainesville-Alachua County Regional Airport Authority. The Airport Authority has nine board members, five selected by the City of Gainesville, three by the Governor and one by Alachua County, and continues to oversee the Airport. On October 31, 2004 Gainesville Regional Airport hosted

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 ...

during

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 ...

's re-election campaign. 17,000 people attended the event. They hosted

Air Force Two Air Force Two is the air traffic control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the vice president of the United States, but not the president. The term is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified ...

in 2023 after

Hurricane Idalia Hurricane Idalia was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that caused significant damage across parts of the southeastern United States, especially in North Florida, in late August 2023. The ninth tropical cyclone naming, named storm, thi ...

In recent years the Airport has substantially completed several projects: the refurbishment of its primary runway (11/29), piping of an open ditch parallel to that runway, and completion of two phases of the Terminal Renovation project. Three passenger boarding bridges have been installed.

Eclipse Aviation The Eclipse Aviation Corporation was the Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States–based manufacturer of the Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ), and also at one time proposed developing the Eclipse 400 single-engined jet. The company was founde ...

, maker of the

Eclipse 500 The Eclipse 500 (model EA500) is a very light jet (VLJ) originally produced by Eclipse Aviation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The company was founded in 1998 to develop the 1997 Williams V-Jet II demonstrator. The prototype first ...

, operated its first factory service center in Gainesville until the company declared bankruptcy in 2009. In 2012

Silver Airways Silver Airways was a regional airline in the United States with its headquarters in Hollywood, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale. It was founded in 2011 with assets from the former Gulfstream International Airlines, and la ...

moved its maintenance facilities from Ft. Lauderdale into the existing Eclipse Aviation facility. Silver provided commercial airline service to several destinations around Florida and Bahamas at the time. In April 2015, Silver Airways moved its maintenance to Orlando International. However, in 2023,

announced they would return to Gainesville with service to

Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport is a major public airport located in Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States, roughly southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale and north of Mi ...

. But after about 1 year of service to Gainesville,

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

announced in August 2024 that they would shut down their service due to low demand and a 28% on-time rate The airport's control tower operates from 6:45a to 10:30p daily. KGNV Tower

After the death of musician

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

, a Gainesville native, on October 2, 2017, a

change.org Change.org is a website which allows users to create and sign petitions in an attempt to advance various social causes by raising awareness and influencing decision-makers. The site is a US-based for-profit company and claims to have 551 million ...

petition was started to have the airport renamed "Tom Petty - Gainesville Regional Airport". In 2021, Gainesville Regional Airport added a 15,200 square-foot expansion onto their terminal. The new expansion adds a mother lactation room, a pet relief area, two new gates, hundreds of new seats with charging ports, a departure and arrival board, and an area for a food/store vendor. In addition to the expansion, the existing terminal was given a renovation. The project cost $16 million dollars, funded mostly by a $12 million dollar grant from the FAA. GNVParkingGarageJan2025

In February 2024, the airport broke ground on a new four story 418-space parking garage to alleviate parking concerns. The garage will also house new ride-sharing pickup points and bus service and is expected to open by July 2025. In September 2024, the Gainesville Regional Airport announced an agreement to install an electric charging station that can charge electric aircraft. The airport served a record 578,000 passengers in 2024.

Facilities and aircraft

Aircraft

The airport covers and has two

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 ...

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: 11/29 is 7,504 by 150 feet (2,287 x 46 m) and 07/25 is 4,158 by 100 feet (1,267 x 30 m). In August 2021, the Gainesville City Commission approved FAA grants to cover engineering costs for improvements to the apron and taxiway and costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the year ending September 30, 2022 the airport had 68,032 aircraft operations, average 186 per day: 78%

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 ...

, 9%

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

, 7%

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 ...

, and 6%

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 ...

. 173 aircraft at that time were based at the airport: 98 single-engine and 18 multi-engine

airplanes An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, ...

, 51 jet, and 6

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 ...

Facilities

FBO

Gainesville Regional Airport has one full service FBO, University Air Center. There were previously two: Gulf Atlantic Airways and Flight Line. Flight Line's contract with the airport authority expired and Gulf Atlantic became University Air Center. University Air Center has a pilots lounge with TV, snack machines, aircraft rentals and charters, flight instruction, and fuel.

Terminal

Gainesville Regional Airport's terminal has 5 gates. Gates 3, 4, and 5 are used by American Eagle. Gates 1 and 2 are used by

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The airport terminal has a snack bar and a gift shop, operated by Tailwind. The airport's ground transportation is served by taxis; rental car companies; an

RTS RTS may refer to: Medicine * Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim * Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma * Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...

bus stop serving routes 25, 26, and 39; and hotel shuttle buses. Renovations that were completed in 2021 added 2 additional gates to the facility, in addition to a larger baggage screening area, and additional parking spaces. The terminal expansion and improvement project was completed July 29, 2021, and also added additional restrooms, additional food and beverage areas, a lactation room, an airport chapel, and a pet relief area, in addition to 2 additional gates

Airlines and destinations

Dsg Gainesville Regional Airport Interior West Lobby 20050507

Gaineville has airline service on American Airlines – which serves Charlotte, Dallas, and Miami – and Delta, which flies to Atlanta.

Passenger

Statistics

Total passengers

Top destinations

Accidents and incidents

* On April 26, 2001, a

Cessna 210 The Cessna 210 Centurion is a six-seat, high-performance, retractable-gear, single-engined, high-wing general-aviation light aircraft. First flown in January 1957, it was produced by Cessna until 1986. Development The early Cessna 210 (21 ...

operating a Part 135 cargo flight experienced a

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 at the Gainesville Regional Airport. The pilot noted a problem with the airplane's radios earlier in the flight, which lead him to notice a troubleshoot a larger electrical problem. The pilot shut down the airplane's electrical system before operating its landing gear, though he did feel the landing gear motor operate normally; he could not see the landing gear position light due to sunlight. After touchdown, the main landing gear collapsed; the nose landing gear did not collapse. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's delay in securing all non-essential electrical equipment in-flight resulting in battery depletion before complete gear extension was accomplished using the normal system and subsequent collapse of the main landing gear. * On April 15, 2002, a Pitts S1C Special collided with terrain and nosed over during landing at the Gainesville Regional Airport. After a sequence of touch-and-go landings, the pilot made a slight turn to the left on approach to Runway 10. The airplane then made a right turn into the ground. The airplane came to rest in a nose low attitude. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the ground during an attempted

go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on Final_approach_(aeronautics), final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for var ...

. * On September 10, 2004, a Maule M4 flipped over while landing at the Gainesville Regional Airport. During the landing rollout, the pilot-rated passenger inadvertently applied both wheel brakes and the airplane nosed over. * On April 16, 2006, a Beech B-60 Duke crashed just after departure from the Gainesville Regional Airport. A witness reported the airplanes banked sharply to the left just after liftoff before stabilizing and turning towards the east; however, the airplane turned sharply left and rolled inverted before going into a sharp dive and impacting the west end of the airport's terminal. The reason for the loss of control could not be determined. * On February 14, 2008, a

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.Partenavia P.68 The Partenavia P.68, now Vulcanair P68, is a light aircraft designed by Luigi Pascale and initially built by Italian company Partenavia. It made its first flight on 25 May 1970, its type certification was granted on 17 November 1971 and was tran ...

crashed while on approach to the Gainesville Regional Airport. The flight was a medical evacuation flight operating under Part 135 carrying a patient to treatment at the University of Florida hospital. The pilot started an ILS approach to the airport before dropping off radar. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain the proper glidepath during an instrument-landing-system approach. * On November 1, 2009, a Beech 77 Skipper crashed while approaching the Gainesville Regional Airport. During the roundout and flare, the airplane veered left and its right wing lifted. The pilot initiated a go-around, but the airplane was "already in a stall" and impacted a sign before ultimately coming to rest in the grass. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during landing. * On March 19, 2011, a

Christen Eagle II The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic sporting biplane aircraft that has been produced in the United States since the late 1970s. Design The aircraft was intended to compete with the Pitts Spe ...

crashed while landing at the Gainesville Regional Airport. According to the air traffic controller on duty, the airplane was on final when it yawed, rolled right, and nosed into the ground. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while turning from base leg to final approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and collision with the ground. * On October 12, 2011, a

Cessna 182 Skylane The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area. Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a ...

was damaged while landing at the Gainesville Regional Airport. The airplane descended rapidly on short approach; though the pilot added engine power to arrest the descent, the airplane landed hard, causing substantial damage to the engine firewall. * On August 11, 2014, a

Piper PA-34 Seneca The Piper PA-34 Seneca is a twin-engined light aircraft, produced in the United States by Piper Aircraft. It has been in non-continuous production since 1971. The Seneca is primarily used for personal and business flying as well as multi-engine ...

was damaged during landing at the Gainesville Regional Airport. After diverting to Gainesville due to thunderstorms in the area, the aircraft bounced on landing, resulting in substantial damage to the forward bulkhead and windshield center post. * On April 29, 2018, a

Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the second twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production; the first was the Cessna T-50. It was used by the ...

struck a tree while on its approach to land in Gainesville. The pilot recovered and landed normally. * On May 31, 2018,

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air is an American ultra low-cost carrier, ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline focuses on serving leisure traffic from small and medium-sized cities which it considers to be underserved, using an ult ...

Flight 1304 made an emergency landing in Gainesville due to a medical emergency involving the pilot. On the flight from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

to Punta Gorda, the pilot had a

seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

, and the flight diverted to Gainesville. The pilot was immediately brought to the

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

. There were no other injuries or deaths.

References

https://web.archive.org/web/20150407100148/http://www.expressjet.com/wp-content/uploads/routemaps/2015/ExpressJet_DeltaSystem(Apr15).pdf

External links

Gainesville Regional Airport
(official site) * brochure fro
CFASPP
* * {{Florida airports Airports in Florida Airports established in 1941 Transportation buildings and structures in Alachua County, Florida 1941 establishments in Florida