Fresno Yosemite International Airport (IATA: FAT, ICAO: KFAT, FAA LID: FAT), is a joint civil-military airport in Fresno, California. It is the primary commercial airport serving the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It offers scheduled passenger flights to several major airline hubs in the western United States and international service to Mexico. The airport is owned and operated by the city of Fresno and covers 1,728 acres (699 ha) and maintains two runways and one helipad. Its airport code 'FAT' stands for "Fresno Air Terminal," a former name for the airport.
The facility opened in June 1942 as Hammer Field, a military airfield. Due to its central location, the airport is home to several military, law enforcement, firefighting, and medical air units. The Fresno Air National Guard Base on the southeast corner of the airport is home to the 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard. The Fresno Air Attack Base on the eastern side of the airport supports aerial firefighting aircraft. Other government and military operators include the California Army National Guard, the California Highway Patrol, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, and the Fresno Police Department.
Video Fresno Yosemite International Airport
History
The Fresno Yosemite International Airport opened as a military airfield in June 1942, just six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, leading the United States to enter World War II. The new airfield was named Hammer Field and was used by the United States Army Air Forces as a training facility for the new pilots of the Fourth Air Force. It had a single northwest/southeast oriented runway with a length of 7,200 feet (now runway 11L/29R).
At the same time, civil and commercial aviation used renamed Chandler Field that opened in November 1929. Chandler is located just 1½ miles west of downtown Fresno, but is on a relatively small site. Less than a decade after it was open, it was already clear that small runway at Chandler would not be able to accommodate the increasingly larger airplanes used by the commercial airlines.
After World War II, Hammer Field was inactivated by the Army Air Forces, and the city of Fresno saw an opportunity to use the site to create a commercial airport much larger than Chandler Field. In 1946 the War Assets Administration reallocated the property to the city, which immediately began construction on a passenger terminal on the northeast side of the airfield. In 1948, the newly renamed Fresno Air Terminal (FAT) opened. Trans World Airlines (TWA) and United Airlines flights to San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles moved from Chandler Field to the newly opened airport. Chandler Field was retained as a reliever airport and continues to operate as the Fresno Chandler Executive Airport.
The California Air National Guard moved to the airport in 1950s and established the Fresno Air National Guard Base on the southeast corner of the airport. The guard also built munition storage bunkers along the northern edge of the airport. The 194th Fighter Squadron moved to the facility in late 1954, followed by the 144th Fighter Wing in 1957. As the guard moved in, the second parallel runway 11R/29L was also constructed and opened to traffic in 1956.
The current passenger terminal started to come together in 1959 along the southern portion of the airport. The main building comprised three areas: a baggage claim area, the central lobby, and the ticketing area. Although significantly renovated, that building still stands today and still serves the same functions. From the central lobby passengers used an underground tunnel to reach the open-air, remote concourse where they boarded planes from ground level boarding gates.
The current Air Traffic Control Tower was also constructed around the same time as the passenger terminal and opened shortly after in 1961.
The jet age arrived in Fresno in 1966 when Pacific Air Lines became the first airline to schedule jet service to the airport. The carrier used the Boeing 727-100 to operate nonstop service to both Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The first significant expansion to the passenger terminal came in 1978 when a concourse was built straight out from the central lobby. This building, unlike the original remote concourse, was both enclosed and climate controlled.
In the 1970s and 1980s service to Fresno was split evenly between major air carriers using mainline jets, primarily the Boeing 727, Boeing 737 and Douglas DC-8 and regional airlines using smaller aircraft. Most service was operated to major airline hubs in the Western United States or other airports in California. This period also saw service using the Douglas Super DC-8 series 61, which with over 200 seats, is the largest airliner ever scheduled into Fresno.
In 1988, the FAA designated the Fresno Air Terminal an "International Point of Entry," allowing flights from other countries to land at the airport and clear customs and immigration. Despite the designation, scheduled international commercial flights would not begin for nearly two decades.
In the 1990s, reflecting a national trend, there was a shift to smaller regional jet and turboprop aircraft operated by regional airlines on behalf of mainline air carriers; however, mainline jets continued to serve Fresno.
Fresno has been the headquarters for at least three airlines. In the mid-1980's Far West Airlines was founded in Fresno and used the airport as a small intrastate hub serving Burbank, Los Angeles, Modesto, Oakland, Orange County, Sacramento and San Jose. Air 21 was founded in Fresno in January 1994 and operated service between several western cities before ceasing operations in January 1997. Allegiant Air was founded in Fresno in January 1997, and its headquarters were located in the city until it declared bankruptcy in 2000, and the new CEO moved its headquarters to a suburb of Las Vegas.
In 1996, the airport's name was changed from Fresno Air Terminal to Fresno Yosemite International Airport to attract out-of-state and international visitors to Yosemite National Park to the airport. At the time, airport managers petitioned the FAA for a new identifier code to replace FAT, which carries a negative connotation and no longer matched the initials of the airport. The request was denied, with the FAA reaffirming its long-standing policy to only issue a new identifier code when an airport physically moves to another location (such as in 1995 when Denver Airport moved from Stapleton).
At the turn of the 21st century, the city began an ambitious series of projects that would expand and completely remodel the airport.
The first and most notable project was the expansion of the concourse building. The project, designed by DMJM Aviation extended the terminal further northeast and created a new two-level section with six jetbridges. Before this project passengers boarded all planes using stairs or ramps. When completed in 2002, the new concourse building received praise for its design and was named one of the top 10 projects in Fresno Architecture for the decade with critics commending the use of steel and the curved glass facade.
A new Federal Inspection Services facility for international arrivals was completed in early 2006, giving federal officials space to check passports and complete customs work. Completion of that facility allowed Fresno to begin receiving scheduled international commercial flights. The first international service started in April 2006 with Mexicana operating flights between Fresno and Mexico City with an intermediate stop in Guadalajara.
With the new concourse extension and international arrivals facilities completed, older portions of the terminal building were given a major renovation. The project was designed CSHQA and completed in several phases lasting between 2006 and 2010. While keeping the facility operational, nearly every part of the building was updated including the baggage claim area, security checkpoint, central lobby, ticketing area, and low-level concourse. The centerpiece of the project was the construction of a life-size, replica sequoia forest in central lobby, reflecting the airport's role as a gateway to the nearby national parks. The giant trees appear to be supporting the roof of the terminal and are surrounded by the split rail fencing and granite curbs that visitors see at national parks.
A consolidated rental car facility opened at the airport in 2009. The $22 million project allows customers of most rental car companies to pick up and drop-off vehicles just outside the terminal. The project also included the construction of maintenance buildings and storage lots on a nearby, 11-acre site.
Direct international service from Fresno briefly ended in August 2010 when Mexicana ceased operations. International service resumed, with more flights, less than a year later when both Aeroméxico and Volaris added service between Fresno and Guadalajara in April 2011.
The secondary runway, 11R/29L was widened, lengthened and strengthened in a $30 million project completed in October 2012.
Maps Fresno Yosemite International Airport
Airline service
The majority of scheduled commercial flights to Fresno use smaller regional jet aircraft operated by regional airlines, and the airport is home to a significant operations base for SkyWest Airlines, the nation's largest regional airline. Fresno does still see mainline jet service on the busiest routes, and while only a few international flights operate to Mexico each day, they are some of the airport's most well patronized.
SkyWest carried over 60 percent of the passenger traffic between September 2016 and August 2017. The regional airline operates under contract with mainline partners as American Eagle, Alaska SkyWest, Delta Connection and United Express. SkyWest has a 17-acre maintenance and overnight parking facility on the east side of the airfield with 21 aircraft positions, and an approximately 92,000 square foot hangar. SkyWest also uses Fresno as a crew base for pilots and flight attendants.
Mainline air carrier service includes Allegiant Air service to Las Vegas operated with the Airbus A320, American Airlines service to Dallas/Fort Worth operated with the Boeing 737-800, and United Airlines service to San Francisco with the Boeing 737-800. Frontier Airlines is scheduled to add mainline jet service to Denver with the Airbus A319 in May 2018.
International carriers also use mainline jets on their service to Mexico. Aeroméxico and Volaris both operate service between Fresno and Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city and a major airline hub in the country. Additionally, Volaris also operates service to Morelia, the capital of and largest city in Mexico's Michoacán state. Direct international service from Fresno began on April 1, 2006, and are now some of the busiest flights from the airport. As of 2016, international service on Aeroméxico and Volaris accounted for about six percent of all flights to Fresno but carried more than 13 percent of all passengers flying to the airport, a combined total of almost 201,000 people.
Fresno is the largest city in the continental United States not served by Southwest Airlines.
The longest continuously operating carrier out of Fresno Yosemite International Airport is United Airlines, which was one of the first airlines to serve the airport. For about two decades, United did not operate mainline service to Fresno, shifting service to its regional airline partner SkyWest, which operates flights as United Express in the mid-1990's. United resumed mainline jet service on August 15, 2017, between Fresno and its hub in San Francisco, reflecting the increased traffic on the route.
Infrastructure
Airfield
Fresno Yosemite International Airport covers 1,728 acres (699 ha) at an elevation of 336 ft (102 m) above mean sea level, with two paved asphalt runways: 11L/29R (primary) and 11R/29L (secondary). Runway 11L/29R is 9,539 by 150 ft (2,907 by 46 m), and runway 11R/29L is 8,008 by 150 ft (2,441 by 46 m).
Aircraft
For the year ending March 31, 2017 the airport had 99,559 aircraft operations, an average of 273 per day: 61% general aviation, 18% scheduled commercial, 15% air taxi, and 6% military. At that time there were 179 aircraft based at the airport: 56% single-engine, 14% multi-engine, 13% military, 9% jet, and 7% helicopter.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Top destinations
Annual passenger traffic
In 2016, Fresno Yosemite International Airport had 1,540,623 departing and arriving passengers, representing a 10% increase from 2015.
In 2015, Fresno Yosemite International Airport totaled 1,408,922 passengers, marking a notable 21% increase in passengers since 2009.
In 2014, 1,442,026 passengers flew through Fresno Yosemite International Airport, breaking the previous record from 2013.
In 2013, 1,401,582 passengers arrived and departed through Fresno Yosemite International Airport, exceeding the previous record of 1,318,493 passengers in 2007 by 6.3%. This increase is contributed to the introduction of larger jet aircraft and new destinations. Flights to and from Fresno Yosemite International Airport averaged a load factor of 82% in 2013.
In 2011 over 1.2 million passengers traveled through Fresno Yosemite International Airport, a 6.4% increase from 2010.
Fresno completed 2006 with 1.281 million passengers traveling through Fresno Yosemite International Airport, an increase of 7.54% over 2005.
Fresno completed 2007 with 1.382 million passengers traveling through Fresno Yosemite International Airport, an increase of 3.13% over 2006.
Military and government operations
The 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard is based out of the Fresno Yosemite International Airport. The California Army National Guard also maintains an Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot (AVCRAD) at the airport. The mission of this unit is to perform high-level maintenance and repair of Army aircraft. Its jurisdiction covers a 15-state region in the Western United States.
Both the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry operate an Air Attack Base at the airport for fighting forest fires with aerial tankers.
Ground transportation and access
Highways
The airport is located about a mile away from California State Route 180 (SR 180), with vehicles using Peach Avenue to connect between the airport and the highway. California State Route 180 connects to all of the other freeways in the Fresno area, California State Route 41, California State Route 99, and California State Route 168. Yosemite National Park can be accessed by California State Route 41 and Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park can be accessed by California State Route 180.
Parking
The city of Fresno offers paid on-site parking in a large lot located just west of the airport. The lot is divided into a short-term area with 283 stalls and a long-term area with 1,879 stalls. There is also a separate cell phone waiting lot located off the airport's main driveway with 47 stalls, designated for drivers waiting for arriving passengers.
Public transportation
Fresno Area Express (FAX) operates two public transit buses to the airport, each with half-hourly service. Route 26 Palm / Butler runs between the airport and North Fresno via Southeast and Downtown Fresno (where passengers may transfer to other FAX routes). Route 39 FYI/Clinton runs between the airport and West Fresno.
The City of Visalia operates the V-Line bus between the airport and the Visalia Transit Center (where passengers can connect to Visalia Transit routes) and the Visalia Airport (which offers V-Line passengers free long-term parking for up to ten days).
Rental car facility
The airport offers a consolidated rental car facility at the north end of the terminal. Nine rental car companies have passenger service counters inside the terminal near the baggage claim area and up to 400 cars can be parked in a lot just north of the terminal building. The 11-acre rental car facility opened in 2009 and was built at a cost of US $22 million which will be paid for by fees on car rentals.
Accidents and incidents
- On December 14, 1994, a private jet on a military training mission, attempting to land at Fresno, crashed on a Fresno street and careened into an apartment complex, killing both pilots and injuring 21 people on the ground. The Learjet 35A, piloted by two civilians and belonging to a Georgia-based company, Phoenix Air Group, was contracted by the US Air Force to provide training for Air National Guard pilots. The plane had finished chasing an F-16 fighter jet during a war game and was returning to the Fresno airport before noon. En route, the flight crew declared an emergency due to engine fire indications flew toward their requested runway, but the airplane continued past the airport. On radio transmissions, the flight crew was heard attempting to diagnose the emergency conditions and control the aircraft until it crashed, with landing gear down on Olive Avenue near Recreation Avenue, about two miles southwest of the airport. It appeared that the flight crew was attempting to land on Olive Avenue, hitting several power poles before crashing into two buildings of an apartment complex and exploding in a fireball. 12 apartment units in two buildings were destroyed or substantially damaged by impact and fire. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable causes of the accident were: improperly installed electrical wiring that led to an in-flight fire which damaged the aircraft's systems causing a loss of control and improper maintenance and inspection of the aircraft.
- On September 13, 2015, an MD-87 of Aero Air LLC had an engine failure after taking off from Fresno Yosemite International Airport. Pieces of the engine struck a car, damaging it. The aircraft was able to return to the airport safely.
References
External links
Media related to Fresno Yosemite International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Fresno Yosemite International Airport, official web site
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective February 1, 2018
- FAA Terminal Procedures for FAT, effective February 1, 2018
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KFAT
- ASN accident history for FAT
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KFAT
- FAA current FAT delay information
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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