Tallahassee International Airport

Tallahassee International Airport
IATA: TLH ICAO: KTLH FAA LID: TLH WMO: 72214
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of Tallahassee
Serves	Tallahassee, Florida
Location	within Tallahassee city limits.
Elevation AMSL	81 ft / 25 m
Coordinates	30°23′48″N 084°21′01″W / 30.39667°N 84.35028°W / 30.39667; -84.35028Coordinates: 30°23′48″N 084°21′01″W / 30.39667°N 84.35028°W / 30.39667; -84.35028
Website	http://www.FlyTallahassee.com
Map
TLH Location of airport in Florida / United States TLH TLH (the United States) Show map of FloridaShow map of the United StatesShow all
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 09/27 8,000 2,438 Asphalt 18/36 7,000 2,134 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Aircraft operations 66,869 Based aircraft 110 Total Passengers 864,432
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] and web page[2]

Air Florida DC-9 parked at Tallahassee Airport

Tallahassee International Airport (IATA: TLH, ICAO: KTLH, FAA LID: TLH) is a city-owned airport five miles southwest of downtown Tallahassee, in Leon County, Florida. It serves the state capital of Florida, and its surrounding areas; it is one of the major airports in north Florida, the others being Pensacola International Airport, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, and Jacksonville International Airport. Despite its name, it does not yet service any international destinations.^[3]

History[]

Mayor Joe Cordell and the City Commission photographed at the new Tallahassee Municipal Airport on March 28, 1961.

The airport began as Tallahassee Municipal Airport with a ceremony on April 23, 1961. The flag of the United States was presented to the City of Tallahassee by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I fighter ace and Chairman of the Board of Eastern Airlines. An aerial demonstration was performed by U.S. Army aircraft from Fort Rucker, Alabama. Tallahassee Municipal replaced the city's first airport, Dale Mabry Field, which closed that year.

Eastern Airlines opened the airport by ferrying city, state and chamber of commerce officials. Aboard the flight were Tallahassee Mayor Joe Cordell, State Comptroller Ray Green, Tallahassee City Commissioners Davis Atkinson, George Taff, Hugh Williams, Tallahassee City Manager Arvah Hopkins, Tallahassee City Clerk-Auditor George White, Airport Manager Flagg Chittenden, and Ernest Menendez, Frank Deller, James Calhoun, John Ward and Jeff Lewis, all of the Tallahassee-Leon County Chamber of Commerce.

In June 1961, less than two months after it opened, the airport was the site of Freedom Rider protests. The airport restaurant, Savarin, was designated "Whites Only" and closed rather than serve a racially-mixed group of clergy and activists.^[4] The protestors were arrested and removed, and later served prison sentences after the Supreme Court rejected their case in Dresner vs City of Tallahassee on a technicality.^[5]

From the airport's opening until the early 1980s, the airport's primary runway was Runway 18/36, a 6,076-foot runway with an ILS approach, enabling all-weather approaches, and a USAF certified High TACAN approach for practice by Air Force aircraft based at Tyndall AFB, near Panama City. Runway 09/27 was 4,000 feet long and supported general aviation operations. By the 1970s, the airport had scheduled flights on Eastern Airlines, Delta Air Lines, National Airlines and Southern Airways, mainly on Boeing 727s, Boeing 737s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9s.

By the 1980s the terminal was becoming obsolete, and the 6,100 foot runway was too short for the Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 coming into service. Runway 09/27 was converted to a taxiway and a new Runway 09/27, 8,003 feet long with ILS, was built just to the south. A new passenger terminal was built just north of the new runway. On December 3, 1989, the city opened the $33 million terminal, and on February 20, 2000, the terminal was renamed the Ivan Munroe Terminal in honor of Tallahassee aviation pioneer Ivan Munroe. Munroe was the first man in Tallahassee to own a plane.

On July 20, 2002, FedEx Express Flight 1478 crashed a half mile short of the Runway 9 while attempting to land. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the crash was due to a combination of pilot fatigue and pilot error. All three crewmembers survived.^[6]

On June 26, 2015, Tallahassee Regional Airport was renamed Tallahassee International Airport. On June 29, 2015 the City of Tallahassee and the FAA announced the name change. International passengers are allowed to exit the airport via Tallahassee International Airport due to the facility's full-service "service port" for U.S. Customs.^[7] The change allows international cargo and general aviation flights to directly come to Tallahassee, which is the leading cargo handler in the Panhandle area of Florida. Tallahassee handles 9.5 million pounds of cargo a year, more than the next city, Pensacola, which handles around 6.8 million pounds.^[8]

On January 27, 2021, the airport was struck by an EF0 tornado, causing minor damage and temporary closure to assess the damage. A small plane was flipped and minor damage was done to a hangar. No injuries were reported. ^[9]

Facilities[]

The airport covers 2,485 acres (1,006 ha) at an elevation of 81 feet (25 m). It has two runways: 09/27 is 8,000 by 150 feet (2,438 by 46 m) and 18/36 is 7,000 by 150 ft. (2,134 by 46 m).^[1] Helicopter operations are generally confined to the Runway 18/36 area, or direct approaches to the Million Air FBO ramp area.

In the year ending March 31, 2019, the airport had 74,004 aircraft operations, average 203 per day: 52% general aviation, 13% air taxi, 23% military and 12% airline. 98 aircraft were then based at this airport: 70 single-engine, 9 multi-engine, 7 jet and 12 helicopter.^[1]

The terminal has two concourses, A & B. Delta Air Lines utilizes Gates B1 and B3, American Airlines uses Gates A1, A3, and A5. Silver Airways utilizes Gate A4. United Airlines utilized Gate B6 when it offered United Express flights to Houston-Bush Intercontinental Airport which was discontinued on Oct. 1st, 2021.

Airlines and destinations[]

Passenger[]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (January 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Destinations map[]

Destinations map
Tallahassee Charlotte Dallas/Fort Worth Miami Washington–National Atlanta Fort Lauderdale Tampa class=notpageimage| Destinations from Tallahassee International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination

Cargo[]

Statistics[]

Top destinations[]

Busiest domestic routes from TLH (August 2019 - July 2020)^[11]

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Carriers
1	Atlanta, Georgia	132,940	Delta
2	Charlotte, North Carolina	56,380	American
3	Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas	42,420	American
4	Miami, Florida	32,500	American
5	Washington–National, D.C.	10,190	American
6	Tampa, Florida	7,640	Silver
7	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	4,670	Silver

See also[]

• Florida World War II Army Airfields

References[]

External links[]

• Tallahassee International Airport, official site
• http://www.flytallahassee.com/ Flight Instruction in TLH
• Eagle Aircraft
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective February 24, 2022
• FAA Terminal Procedures for TLH, effective February 24, 2022
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KTLH
  • ASN accident history for TLH
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KTLH
  • FAA current TLH delay information