History
Up until World War II, Tri-Cities Airport in Endicott, New York had served as the primary airport of the Binghamton, New York region. Plane size increases and the demand for night-time flying caused this airport to become inadequate for the area's needs. Construction of a new airport on Mount Ettrick in Maine, New York began in 1945, and concluded in 1951 when the airport was opened.
The main runway which is oriented north northwest-south southeast was 5,600 feet in length initially, but was later extended by about 700 feet to the south to 6,298 feet in 1969. Starting in about 1988 the main runway was extended again, this time on the north end, to 7,500 feet (2,286 m) and was commissioned for use in late October 1990. The crosswind east-west runway is 5002 feet long.
During the 1980s, the airport was a hub for the commuter airline Brockway Air, which operated a fleet of Fokker F-27 and Beechcraft 1900 tuboprop aircraft. The airline ran flights to regional destinations like Rochester and Buffalo, and to business centers such as New York and Boston. Brockway Air later became a Piedmont Airlines affiliate carrier, and later a TWA affiliate carrier.
In recent years, the main runway was shortened to 7,100 feet to add engineered materials arrestor beds to both ends of the runway. The arrestor beds - better known as Engineered Material Arresting Systems, or EMAS - are a crushable concrete surface that slows an aircraft in the event of an overrun. Given that the airport was built on a mountaintop, the terrain drops off abruptly shortly after the runway ends, prompting the need for the EMAS beds. Fifty years after its opening, the airport finally received a major renovation in 2001. In July 2004 the airport opened four new jet bridges that can accommodate regional and mainline jets. The airport finished extending Taxiway Alpha for the full length of Runway 16-34 in 2010.
Before the regional jets took over the commuter market, US Airways (previously USAir) frequently operated DC-9's, Boeing 737's, and Fokker Jets out of BGM servicing Pittsburgh International Airport and the surrounding regional airports.
In September 2011, the airport secured a federal grant for $12.3M to extend Runway 34 by 200 feet and replace the aging EMAS system originally installed in 2002. In order to complete the runway extension, Commercial Drive was relocated so large amounts of fill could be added to the end of the existing threshold. The project, which was completed in November 2012, extended Runway 16-34 to 7,300 feet and features a displaced threshold for Runway 34.
Read more about this topic: Greater Binghamton Airport
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