Middle Georgia Regional Airport | |||||||||||||||
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| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Macon-Bibb County | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | TBI Airport Management Inc | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Macon, Georgia andWarner Robins, Georgia | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Bibb County, between Macon andWarner Robins, Georgia | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 354 ft / 108 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 32°41′34″N083°38′57″W / 32.69278°N 83.64917°W /32.69278; -83.64917 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | iFlyMacon.com | ||||||||||||||
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  MCN Location of airport in Georgia Show map of Georgia MCN MCN (the United States) Show map of the United States | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||
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Middle Georgia Regional Airport (IATA:MCN,ICAO:KMCN,FAALID:MCN) is a city-owned, public-useairport located nine nautical miles (10 mi, 17 km) south of thecentral business district ofMacon, a city inBibb County,Georgia,United States.[1] It is mostly used forgeneral aviation, but is also served by one commercial airline.
As per theFederal Aviation Administration, this airport had 10,029 passenger boardings (enplanements) incalendar year 2008,[2] 1,866 in 2009, and 1,296 in 2010.[3] TheNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015categorized it as aprimary commercial service airport based on enplanements in 2008 (more than 10,000 per year).[4]
Early in 1940, Macon's Chamber of Commerce began a campaign to bring war industries and defense installations to the city. Negotiations with theArmy Air Corps resulted in a tract of land in a highly developed agricultural area nine miles (14 km) south of the City known as Avondale being selected by the Air Corps.
The City of Macon and Bibb County obtained options on the desired tracts of land. Once the Army Air Corps finally decided to build an airbase at the site, it required the base be built as soon as possible. An informal agreement with the Army stipulated that when the War Department had no further use for the property, the deed would revert to the City and the County.
On August 17, 1941, the first class of BritishRoyal Air Force cadets arrived at Cochran Field under theArnold Scheme. Until June 1942, Cochran was used exclusively for British training. With the last British class graduating in early 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 27th Flying Training Wing (Basic) at Cochran and assigned it to the (redesignated) AAF Eastern Flying Training Command as a flying training unit. Peak training took place during 1943. From the beginning of 1944 flight training steadily diminished. The Air Force inactivated the base on 15 December 1945.
Following the war, Cochran was utilized for various purposes.Smart Field remained as Macon's municipal airport until 1947. After a tornado swept Smart Field, the airlines moved their operations to Cochran where they remain to this day. The passenger terminal was built in 1959 and extensively renovated in 2003.
The two Army built hangars still exist along with a few old warehouses. The Air Force at one time had a presence at the airport, hosting the202d Engineering Installation Squadron, a non-flying engineering unit of theGeorgia Air National Guard. However, this unit was relocated to nearbyRobins AFB at the end of Fiscal Year 2011 pursuant toBRAC action.
In June 2019, Brazilian regional jet manufacturerEmbraer announced it would open a repair and maintenance facility for itsERJ andE-Jet commercial aircraft at the airport, in a hangar previously occupied byHAECO.[5]
Middle Georgia Regional Airport has also previously been known asLewis B. Wilson Municipal Airport (named for the mayor of Macon between 1948 and 1953[6]),Macon Municipal Airport, andCochran Field.
From 1976 to 1977 and again from 1978 to 1980,Hawaiian Airlines had a mainland air cargo division called Hawaiian Air Cargo based at the airport, focused on theUnited States Air Force Logair domestic cargo program.Warner-Robins Air Force Base was a major point on the Logair network, so Macon was convenient. Hawaiian usedLockheed L-188 Electra freighter aircraft. The airline won an Air Force contract for 1976–1977,[7] but then lost the lease of the aircraft it was using and was unable to bid for 1977–1978.[8] In 1978 Hawaiian tried once more with a new batch of aircraft.[9] Hawaiian Air Cargo operated again 1978–1980. During this second stint, the airport built a hangar for Hawaiian. But in 1980, Hawaiian sold the operation toZantop International Airlines.[10][11][12]
Zantop International Airlines, (ZIA) a cargo airline based inYpsilanti, Michigan near Detroit, had a maintenance base at the airport until 1997, after buying out Hawaiian's cargo division. ZIA operated for Logair until 1991, when it lost the contract.[13] In 1982, a windstorm collapsed the ZIA hangar, crushing two Lockheed Electra aircraft.[14] The hangar was rebuilt, but larger, the next year.[15] ZIA's presence at the airport survived the loss of its Logair contract, and in 1996, ZIA gained a contract withValuJet to performC-checks at the airport.[16] However, ZIA sold its Macon operations in 1997.[17]
Commercial airlines historically serving the airport includedDelta Air Lines andEastern Airlines, both beginning in the 1940s usingDouglas DC-3 aircraft. Both carriers later upgraded withConvair 440 aircraft and during the 1970s decade both carriers operatedMcDonnell Douglas DC-9 jets from Macon on flights to Atlanta. Eastern ended their service in 1979 and Delta transferred their service toAtlantic Southeast Airlines operating asDelta Connection in the mid-1980s.Eastern Express operated byMetro Airlines on behalf of Eastern Airlines brought back a return of Eastern service in late 1986. Both carriers provided service to Atlanta using a variety of commuter prop aircraft. In 1988Piedmont Commuter operated byCCAir began service to Charlotte usingJetstream 31 prop aircraft. In 1989 Piedmont Airlines was merged intoUSAir at which time Piedmont Commuter becameUSAir Express. Eastern Airlines went out of business in early 1991 discontinuing its Eastern Express service while USAir Express discontinued service at nearly the same time.[18] Delta Connection, operated by ASA, continued service until 2008 at which timeGeorgiaSkies began serving Macon with flights to Atlanta under anEssential Air Service contract. GeorgiaSkies flew single engineCessna 208 Caravan aircraft. In 2013Silver Airways took over with flights to Atlanta and Orlando but soon discontinued service in late 2014. Under both GeorgiaSkies and Silver Airways, passenger traffic dropped precipitously due to the loss of the seamless connections ASA offered with Delta's flights from its Atlanta hub. The Macon airport then saw no commercial air service for nearly three years.[19]
On August 12, 2017Contour Airlines began offering daily flights to and from Baltimore using 30-passengerERJ-135 aircraft under an Alternative Essential Air Service contract.[20] resulting in a substantial recovery in passenger numbers from the GeorgiaSkies and Silver days.[21] Contour also briefly offered flights to and from Tampa between December 2018 and February 2019, with less success than its Baltimore route.[22] In addition to these scheduled flights, a number of irregular casino charters have been offered in recent years.[22]
Middle Georgia Regional Airport covers an area of 1,149acres (465ha) at anelevation of 354 feet (108 m) abovemean sea level. It has twoasphalt pavedrunways: 5/23 is 6,500 by 150 feet (1,981 by 46 m) and 13/31 is 5,000 by 150 feet (1,524 by 46 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2023, the airport had 19,725 aircraft operations, an average of 54 per day: 87%general aviation, 3%military, 9%air taxi, and 1%scheduled commercial. At that time 84 aircraft were based at this airport: 43 single-engine, 27 multi-engine, 11jet, and 3 helicopters.[1]
| Airlines | Destinations | Refs. |
|---|---|---|
| Contour Airlines | Baltimore (ends April 30, 2025),[23]Washington–Dulles (begins May 1, 2025)[23] | [24] |
| Carrier | Passengers (arriving and departing) |
|---|---|
| Contour Airlines | 24,430(100%) |
| Rank | Destination | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Baltimore, Maryland | 12,260 |
There are currently no cargo operations operating at Middle Georgia Regional Airport.
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