Panama City–Bay County International Airport | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Defunct | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Panama City–Bay County Airport and Industrial District | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Panama City, Florida | ||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1932 (1932) | ||||||||||||||
| Closed | October 1, 2010 (2010-10-01) (general aviation) | ||||||||||||||
| Passenger services ceased | May 22, 2010 (2010-05-22) | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 20 ft / 6 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 30°12′44″N085°40′58″W / 30.21222°N 85.68278°W /30.21222; -85.68278 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www.pcairport.com (archived) | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
 Interactive map of Panama City–Bay County International Airport | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2007) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||||||
Panama City–Bay County International Airport (IATA:PFN,ICAO:KPFN,FAALID:PFN) was a publicairport 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest ofPanama City, inBay County,Florida. It was owned and operated by the Panama City–Bay County Airport and Industrial District.[2] All airline services moved to theNorthwest Florida Beaches International Airport on May 22, 2010, but the airfield was open togeneral aviation aircraft until October 1, 2010. The grounds will eventually be turned over to LUK-MB1 LLC, which plans to remove the runways and build homes, shops, walking trails and a marina.[3]
Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN) began as a private field owned by J. B. Atkinson, Jr., a citizen of Panama City. The facility had 292 acres (1.2 km2) of land with grass landing strips. In 1932 Atkinson and his wife donated the property to the Panama City Chamber of Commerce so a city airport could be established. At that time the airport was namedAtkinson Field. In 1938 Panama City and the Bay County Commissioners joined forces to develop the airport through the construction of an airport terminal and extensive airfield expansion. The facility's $604,000 development project included the construction of a small passenger terminal and two 4,000-foot (1,200 m) intersecting runways. After the expansion was completed, the airport was renamedFannin Field in honor of Panama City's then-mayor, Harry G. Fannin.
Through World War II the airport was aCivil Air Patrol facility, the location of Coastal Patrol Base 14. In 1943 the Florida legislature approved the formation of an airport authority, the Panama City–Bay County Airport and Industrial District, to manage Fannin Field, or Panama City–Bay County Airport, as it became known. In 1948 commercial scheduled passenger airline operations began.
In 1992 the airport was equipped with on-call customs and immigrations facilities provided through the Port of Panama City and was designated as an international airport and renamed Panama City–Bay County International Airport. The airport was declared a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), allowing special customs procedures. These permit domestic activity involving foreign items to take place as though they were outside of U.S. Customs territory.
In 1995 the airport went through extensive development, demolishing the old terminal building and building a new 55,573-square-foot (5,162.9 m2) facility with six gates, two with jetbridges. The terminal had concession areas, a passenger hold room, ticketing counters and airline office space, airport administration offices, public and rental car parking lots, and a larger apron. Service includedDelta Connection to Atlanta,US Airways Express to Charlotte (and other destinations initially in Florida) andNorthwest Airlink to Memphis.
However, by the late 1990s, it was obvious that the airport was nearing the end of its useful life. The runways were very short by modern standards, but could not be expanded without either extending them into nearbySt. Andrews Bay or residential neighborhoods. It was eventually decided to build a new airport in Panama City Beach, which eventually becameNorthwest Florida Beaches International Airport. The new airport opened May 23, 2010 with flights operated byDelta Air Lines with a mainline jetliner service to Atlanta as well as new service operated bySouthwest Airlines withBoeing 737 jetliners.
From the 1950s until the late 1970s, two airlines served Panama City:National Airlines andSouthern Airways. In the early 1950s NationalLockheed Lodestars flew toJacksonville andNew Orleans via various stops.[4] Southern began service in the mid 1950s withDouglas DC-3s toAtlanta via several stops.[5] In 1967 NationalLockheed L-188 Electra propjets flew direct toMiami,New Orleans,Orlando,Jacksonville,Mobile andKey West and nonstop toPensacola andTallahassee.[6] The first jets were SouthernDouglas DC-9-10s in 1967. In 1968, Southern DC-9s flew direct toAtlanta viaDothan, AL while theirMartin 4-0-4 prop aircraft flew nonstop to Atlanta, Dothan andFort Walton Beach (viaEglin AFB), and direct toBirmingham,Montgomery and New Orleans.[7] In 1969 NationalBoeing 727-100s flew direct to Miami,Tampa, New Orleans,Houston, Mobile, Jacksonville andMelbourne, FL and nonstop to Pensacola and Tallahassee.[8]
By the spring of 1975 all National and Southern flights to Panama City were operated with mainline jets (National withBoeing 727-100 and727-200s with Southern operatingDouglas DC-9-10s) with a combined total of fourteen jet flights arriving every weekday into the airport.[9] In 1976 National Boeing 727-200s flew direct to Panama City fromNew YorkJFK Airport,Washington D.C.National Airport (nowReagan Airport),Las Vegas,San Francisco, Houston, New Orleans, Miami,Charleston,Norfolk, Jacksonville and Mobile as well as nonstop from Tampa, Tallahassee and Pensacola.[10] Southern Douglas DC-9-10s andMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s flew nonstop from Atlanta, Dothan, Eglin AFB and Tallahassee and direct from Miami and Orlando.[10] In 1977 South Central Air Transport (SCAT), a commuter airline, was flying to New Orleans, Montgomery, Mobile and Fort Walton Beach (via Eglin AFB) withHandley Page Jetstream propjets.[11]
National Airlines was no longer serving Panama City by 1979.[12] Southern Airways had merged withNorth Central Airlines to formRepublic Airlines which flew nonstopDC-9-10,DC-9-30 andDC-9-50 jets to Atlanta, Orlando and Tallahassee and direct toChicago O'Hare Airport,Memphis,Huntsville and Miami.[13][14] Also in 1979,Air Florida, a new start-up airline, was serving Panama City as well withBoeing 737-200 andDouglas DC-9-10 jets nonstop to Pensacola and Tallahassee and direct to Tampa and Miami.[15][16]
Metro Airlines (operatingcode sharing flights asEastern Metro Express on behalf ofEastern Airlines) was flyingBAe Jetstream 31 andde Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprops nonstop between Panama City and Atlanta beginning in the mid 1980s.[17]
In 1986 Republic Airlines was acquired by and merged intoNorthwest Airlines which in 1987 flewDouglas DC-9-10s andMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s nonstop between Panama City and its hub in Memphis.[18]
Air New Orleans (operatingcode sharing service asContinental Express on behalf ofContinental Airlines) was flying smallBeechcraft C99 commuter turboprops nonstop to Orlando and Tampa and direct to New Orleans in 1987.[19] Air New Orleans was initially based in Panama City.
By 1991Delta Air LinesMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s flew nonstop to Atlanta. Previously in 1989,Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA)de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 andEmbraer EMB-120 Brasilia propjets flew nonstop to Atlanta operating as theDelta Connection on acode sharing basis on behalf of Delta and these flights then continued in tandem with Delta's mainline jet service.[20][21]
In 1994Delta Air LinesBoeing 737-200s andMcDonnell Douglas MD-80s flew nonstop to Atlanta and direct toDallas/Fort Worth,Louisville and Norfolk with Delta operating the only mainline jet service into Panama City at the time.Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) was continuing to fly nonstop from Atlanta withEmbraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops.Northwest Airlink was flying nonstop from Memphis withSaab 340 turboprops on acode sharing basis on behalf ofNorthwest Airlines.US Airways ExpressBeechcraft 1900C commuter turboprops were serving the airport on behalf ofUS Airways withcode sharing flights nonstop from Orlando, Tampa andFort Walton Beach.[22]
In 2007 Delta ConnectionCanadair CRJ-200,CRJ-700 andEmbraer ERJ-145 regional jets as well asATR 72 turboprops were flying nonstop to Atlanta. Delta ConnectionEmbraer ERJ-145s also flew nonstop to Orlando while theirCanadair CRJs flew nonstop toCincinnati on Saturdays only withNorthwest AirlinkCanadair CRJ regional jets flying nonstop to Memphis.[23]
Other commuter airlines serving the airport over the years including Dolphin Airlines,Mackey International Airlines, Scheduled Skyways and Sun Air.
Panama City–Bay County International Airport covered 745acres (301 ha) at anelevation of 20 feet (6 m). It had twoasphaltrunways: 14/32 was 6,308 x 150 ft (1,923 x 46 m) and 5/23 was 4,884 x 150 ft (1,489 x 46 m).[1]
In 2006 the airport had 88,059 aircraft operations, average 241 per day: 72%general aviation, 13%air taxi (11,080), 10% military and 5% airline. 160 aircraft were then based at the airport: 58% single-engine, 18% multi-engine, 9% jet and 15%helicopter.[1]
