General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||
 An aerial view of Peoria International Airport | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Peoria, Illinois | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Limestone Township, Peoria County | ||||||||||||||
| Opened | May 19 1932; 93 years ago (May 19 1932) | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 661 ft / 201 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°39′51″N089°41′36″W / 40.66417°N 89.69333°W /40.66417; -89.69333 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www.FlyPIA.com | ||||||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||||||
 FAA airport diagram | |||||||||||||||
 Interactive map of General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Sources: Airport[1] andFAA[2][3] | |||||||||||||||
General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport[4] (IATA:PIA[5],ICAO:KPIA,FAALID:PIA) is a civil/military public airport five miles west of downtownPeoria, inPeoria County,Illinois, United States.[2] It is on the northwest edge ofBartonville, nearBellevue. It is owned by the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria,[2] which often refers to it asPeoria International Airport.[6][7] It was formerly theGreater Peoria Regional Airport.[8][9]
TheFederal Aviation Administration (FAA)National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021categorized it as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.[10]Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 638,378 total passengers in 2023 followed by 687,601 in 2024.[11][failed verification]
On May 19, 1932, the citizens of Peoria voted to have an airport. On 195 acres (0.8 km2), American Airways (nowAmerican Airlines) andChicago and Southern Airlines brought in airmail and passenger services on four shale-surfaced runways. The land was purchased by 261 Peoria businessmen who formed the Peoria Airport, Inc.[12] It was turned over to the Peoria Park District in 1937, then to the newly formed Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria in 1950.
American Airlines and Chicago and Southern started flights to Peoria in 1945; C&S pulled out in 1949-50 and American left in 1962, then returned for a couple years starting in 1991.TWA served Peoria 1947 to 1960 and 1983 to 1991;Continental from 1977 to 1983;United from 1984 to 1995;Republic/Northwest 1986 to 1988; andOzark from 1950 until it merged into TWA. Peoria's first jets were OzarkDC9s in 1966. A curious artifact of airline regulation: Peoria never had nonstop flights beyond Chicago until Ozark was allowed a nonstop to New York La Guardia in 1969.
On April 25, 2007, the Greater Peoria Airport Authority announced that a new nine-gateterminal would be built and the old building demolished. On October 10, 2008, the airport was renamed "General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport" during a groundbreaking ceremony attended byRoss Perot, a friend of the lateWayne A. Downing.[4][13][7] The new terminal, designed byReynolds, Smith & Hills of Jacksonville, Florida and the Dewberry architecture firm of Peoria, and built byTurner Construction, opened on April 27, 2011.[14][15] As of August 24, 2012, the airport was in negotiations for international flights using a temporary customs facility.[16]
In 2016, the Ray Lahood International Arrivals Terminal was completed, with more gates, TSA services, and a US Customs Port of Entry facility.[17][18]
In December 2020,Delta Air Lines pulled all its flights from Peoria.[19]
The airport authority selected a site for a new control tower in 2012, with a design phase from 2013 to 2015 and finalized in 2017; however, funding dried up before a new tower was built.[20] As of May 2023, the airport planned to use funds from theBipartisan Infrastructure Bill and update design plans to incorporate FAA requirement changes since 2017.[20]
Peoria International Airport covers 3,800 acres at an elevation of 661 feet (201 m). It has two runways: 13/31 is 10,104 by 150 feet (3,080 x 46 m) concrete; 4/22 is 8,004 by 150 feet (2,440 x 46 m) concrete.[2][21][7]
For the 12-month period ending August 31, 2023, the airport had 38,805 operations, an average of 106 per day: 57%general aviation, 16%military, 14%commercial, and 14%air taxi.[22] At that time, 63aircraft were based at this airport: 33 single-engine, 5 multi-engineairplanes, 14military, 8jet, 2helicopters, and 1 ultralight.[2]
The airport is co-located with thePeoria Air National Guard Base, home to the182d Airlift Wing (182 AW) of theIllinois Air National Guard. ThisAir National Guard unit is operationally-gained by theAir Mobility Command (AMC) and consists ofLockheed C-130H Hercules aircraft.[7] The airport is also home to theIllinois Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility No. 3 and 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment, currently operating theBoeing CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter.[7]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| UPS Airlines | Chicago/Rockford,Louisville,Miami |
| Carrier | Passengers (arriving and departing) |
|---|---|
| Allegiant | 342,000(46.18%) |
| PSA | 132,000(17.84%) |
| SkyWest | 126,000(16.95%) |
| Envoy Air | 86,190(11.63%) |
| Air Wisconsin | 38,260(5.16%) |
| Other | 16,660(2.25%) |
| Rank | City | Passengers | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois | 94,780 | American,United |
| 2 |  Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | 52,830 | American |
| 3 |  Charlotte, North Carolina | 46,640 | American |
| 4 |  Phoenix–Mesa, Arizona | 33,530 | Allegiant |
| 5 |  Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers, Florida | 30,420 | Allegiant |
| 6 | St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida | 23,190 | Allegiant |
| 7 |  Denver, Colorado | 22,220 | Allegiant,United |
| 8 | Orlando/Sanford, Florida | 18,120 | Allegiant |
| 9 |  Las Vegas, Nevada | 16,090 | Allegiant |
| 10 | Sarasota, Florida | 14,230 | Allegiant |
Public transit service to the airport is provided by theGreater Peoria Mass Transit District. Route 7 operates daily from downtown Peoria to the airport.[29]
Aviation inIllinois | ||
|---|---|---|
| Primary airports |
|  |
| Military |
| |
| Airlines |
| |
| Aviation-related | ||
| Air shows |
| |