Manhattan Regional Airport


Manhattan Regional Airport in Riley County, Kansas is the second-busiest commercial airport in Kansas. It is owned by the city of Manhattan, Kansas, and is about five miles southwest of downtown Manhattan. American Airlines serves the airport with five daily flights to Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The airport is also used for general aviation and for planes chartered by the military and college sports teams.
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2013–2017 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.
Traffic at the airport multiplied after American Eagle began its service in August 2009. Between 2008 and 2012, Federal Aviation Administration records show that annual passenger boardings at the airport grew from 16,489 to more than 69,000. The most recent statistics show 70,705 enplanements in 2018.

Facilities

Manhattan Regional Airport covers 680 acres at an elevation of 1,066 feet.
In 2017 the airport had 24,260 aircraft operations: 81% general aviation, 4% airline, 9% air taxi and 6% military. 42 aircraft were then based at this airport: 33 single-engine, 7 multi-engine and 2 jet.
The airport has two concrete runways: 3/21 is 7,000 by 150 feet and 13/31 is 5,000 by 75 feet. There are five taxiways and two parking aprons; they can support aircraft as large as the Boeing 767 or C-17.
Three navigation systems and multiple lighting systems guide aircraft; an FAA control tower and two Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting vehicles round out the airside support. Any aircraft with 30 passenger seats or more, or over landing weight requires prior permission from the Airport Director to land. Aircraft as large as the Boeing 767 land occasionally as charters for the military or sports teams.
Airbus A321 gated at the new Manhattan, Kansas terminal. This flight was a Big 12 Conference athletics charter flight bringing the TCU Horned Frogs to Manhattan for an NCAA college football game.

Services

The first phase of the airport's new terminal facility opened in March 2015, housing American Airlines, Hertz Rent-a-Car, Enterprise Car Rental, and other services. The expanded facility includes two gates, an expanded TSA security checkpoint, and additional passenger circulation space. There are also accommodations for a future airport restaurant. The terminal replaces a terminal opened in 1997, which was demolished and replaced due to increased commercial airline traffic. The terminal is located at 5500 Skyway Drive, adjacent to the FAA control tower and FBO.
The FBO facility, next to the passenger terminal, is occupied by Kansas Air Center, which has been operating at the Manhattan airport since May 1989. It is a full service FBO, providing fuel, charter service, flight instruction, aircraft rental and management services.
An older terminal building built in 1958 is now home to the airport administrative offices. This facility is at 1725 South Airport Road, east of the passenger terminal.
Heartland Aviation uses an stone maintenance hangar, constructed in 1940, next to the old terminal building for servicing and repairing aircraft. The Kansas State University Flying Club, an airport tenant for over 50 years, has office space in this facility for instruction and flight planning.
Other facilities include a fire station, 48 hangars, storage areas, a fuel farm, and an air traffic control tower.
The airport has free parking next to the passenger terminal.

Airline and destinations

Destinations map

Statistics

RankAirport namePassengersAirline
1Dallas/Fort Worth43,130American
2Chicago O'Hare26,160American

History

On June 13, 1939, construction began with the planting of temporary grass runways. The facility was dedicated in November 1940. The first "Manhattan Municipal Airport" terminal was dedicated on April 19, 1953, with U.S. Senator Frank Carlson giving a speech. Continental Airlines DC-3 flights began that month.
The current airline terminal opened in two phases between 2015-2016, replacing the 1997 terminal. The $18 million project has three jet bridge parking positions from two gates, and can accommodate aircraft as large as the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320. The new terminal has more space for ticketing, baggage claim, car rental, and security screening. There is space for a restaurant, but as of August 2017 a tenant has not been found.
Since the 1950s a number of airlines have served Manhattan Regional Airport.

Service history

;Continental Airlines
The first scheduled airline at Manhattan was Continental Airlines, which began DC-3 flights to Wichita in April 1953. Continental pulled out in 1961, replaced by Central.
;Capital Air Service
Capital Air Service, Inc., was headquartered in Manhattan from the 1960s until the company ceased flights in 1989, after having twice been grounded by the FAA for multiple safety and records keeping violations. Capital Air provided point-to-point air service to cities throughout northeastern Kansas.
In the 1970s Capital Air, an air taxi service, suffered two crashes, one with fatalities. In the 1980s one of its aircraft was tipped over by a gust of wind while waiting for take off clearance, and another aircraft, a Twin Otter, clipped the side of a terminal building, both incidents occurring at Kansas City International Airport.
At its height Capital Air served Manhattan; Salina, KS ; Topeka, KS ; Lawrence, KS ; and Kansas City, MO using two 20-passenger de Havilland Canada Twin Otters and smaller piston-engine aircraft.
;Frontier Airlines
Starting when it merged with Central Airlines in 1967, the original Frontier Airlines flew from Manhattan to Salina; Topeka ; Wichita ; and Kansas City on 44-seat Convair CV580s. By the early 1980s Frontier's Convairs were gone, replaced with a single daily non-stop Boeing 737 to Denver that ended in at the beginning of 1983.
;Air Midwest
From the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, before its sale to Mesa Air Group in 1991, Wichita-based Air Midwest flew Manhattan to Salina and Kansas City on 19-passenger Fairchild Metroliner IIIs.
For several years in the mid-1980s Air Midwest was an Eastern Air Lines affiliate and flew 30-passenger Saab 340As in Eastern paint to Kansas City.
When Eastern closed its hub at Kansas City, Air Midwest sold their Saabs and signed a new codeshare agreement with the second incarnation of Braniff Airlines, which had started a small hub at MCI, and began flights to Kansas City on Fairchild Metroliner IIIs.
;Mesa Air Group
Beechcraft 1900D at Manhattan Regional in 2009
In 1991 Air Midwest was sold to the Mesa Air Group of Nevada. Subsequently, Air Midwest, acting under a codeshare agreement with U.S. Airways and operating as US Airways Express, served Kansas City, Missouri from Manhattan, Kansas with three daily flights using 19-passenger Beechcraft 1900D turboprop aircraft. The service ended with Air Midwest's bankruptcy in 2008, when all Essential Air Service contracts and flights operated by Mesa were closed.
;Great Lakes Airlines
Great Lakes Airlines flew to Manhattan between March 30, 2008, and April 7, 2010, taking over after Mesa left and ending service after American Eagle announced additional expansion. There were three daily flights, most days to Kansas City, and initially two daily flights to Denver. The flights to Denver were later cut back to once daily. Great Lakes used Beech 1900Ds.
;Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air operated a short-lived service of twice-weekly flights between Manhattan and Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport from November 7, 2013, to February 23, 2014.
;American Eagle
American Eagle flies to ORD and DFW. Flights to DFW are on Skywest Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 series and by Envoy Air on Embraer ERJ-140s. Flights to ORD are on Envoy Air ERJ-140s.

Accidents and incidents