Greater Binghamton Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Greater Binghamton Airport
nativename = Edwin A. Link Field
nativename-a =
nativename-r =


image-width =
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IATA = BGM
ICAO = KBGM
type = Public
owner =
operator = Broome County
city-served =
location = Binghamton, New York
elevation-f = 1,636
elevation-m = 498.7
coordinates = Coord|42|12|31|N|75|58|47|W|type:airport
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 16/34
r1-length-f = 7,100
r1-length-m = 2,164
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 10/28
r2-length-f = 5,002
r2-length-m = 1,525
r2-surface = Asphalt
stat-year =
stat1-header =
stat1-data =
stat2-header =
stat2-data =
footnotes =

Greater Binghamton Airport Airport codes|BGM|KBGM is a medium-sized regional airport located in Maine, New York that serves the Southern Tier of New York, primarily Broome and Tioga counties.

The airport was originally named Broome County Airport and that name remained through the 1970s. It was later renamed to honor the inventor of the aircraft instrument simulator, the Link Trainer, as Edwin A. Link Field-Broome County Airport, a name it kept until the 1990s when it was again renamed to the Binghamton Regional Airport. The name Greater Binghamton Airport was chosen in 2003 to match the area's new marketing campaign under a unified name. The field on which the airport lies is still named in Link's honor.

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. In 1988 the main runway was extended again, this time on the north end, to 7,500 feet (2,286 m). The crosswind east-west runway is 5002 feet long. 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 are a crushable concrete surface that slows an aircraft in the event of an overrun. These arrestor beds are better known as Engineered Material Arresting Systems or EMAS. Given that the airport was built on a mountaintop, the terrain drops off abruptly shortly after the runway ends. 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.

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.

Airlines and destinations

*Northwest Airlines
**Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Detroit)
*United Airlines
**United Express operated by Colgan Air (Washington-Dulles)
*US Airways
**US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin (Philadelphia)
**US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines (Philadelphia)

References

* [http://binghamtonairport.com/ Greater Binghamton Airport] (official site)
*FAA-airport|ID=BGM|use=PU|own=PU|site=14904.*A
* [http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.binghamtonairport.com/ Web Archive for BGM Website]

External links

*FAA-diagram|00020
*PDFlink| [https://www.nysdot.gov/portal/page/portal/divisions/operating/opdm/aviation/repository/air_dir/bgm.pdf New York State DOT Airport Diagram]