Rochester International Airport


Rochester International Airport is a nonhub primary airport located seven miles southwest of the central business district of Rochester, a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States. It is the second busiest airport in Minnesota. It used to be called "Rochester Municipal Airport", which was its name before adding customs and immigration facilities specifically for Mayo Clinic purposes in 1995.
The airport covers and has two runways: a concrete primary runway and a concrete secondary runway.
Commercial air service is provided by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines using commuter jets only. Charter service is occasionally offered by Sun Country Airlines using narrow body Boeing 737 aircraft. The airport also has a large FedEx Express terminal in addition to a general aviation terminal.

History

The original Rochester International Airport was founded in 1928 by the Mayo Foundation as a way to get patients from far-flung locations to the Mayo Clinic. It originally was located in what is now southeast Rochester and occupied 285 acres. The following year, 'Rochester Airport' was officially dedicated, and the Rochester Airport Company was founded as a subsidiary of the Mayo Foundation. Northwest Airlines began running Ford Trimotors to Rochester from its hub in St. Paul. Rochester was one of the first destinations from the Twin Cities in Northwest Airlines history, behind Chicago, Winnipeg, Green Bay, and Fargo.
In 1940, the existing runways were paved, and additional land was acquired, bringing the airport's total area to 370 acres. During World War II, the Army Air Corps conducted training operations from the airport. In 1945, the Mayo Foundation gave the airport to the city of Rochester, but the Rochester Airport Company continued to operate the field under an agreement with the city. The airport was renamed Lobb Field in 1952. In the 1940s through the 1960s, the airport was served by Braniff Airways, North Central Airlines, Ozark Airlines, and other small air carriers in addition to Northwest.
In 1960 it was decided to replace Lobb Field with a new airport southwest of the town because it could not be expanded to accommodate the larger airliners and was too close to the urban area of Rochester. The original Rochester Airport was closed in 1961.
In 1960, Rochester Municipal Airport opened at its current location south of downtown Rochester. American Airlines began service to Chicago O'Hare in 1988. 1995 saw the addition of a US Customs post and it became the Rochester International Airport. TWA operated flights to St. Louis in early 2001, but these routes were dropped very soon due to the merger with American Airlines. On September 15, 2005, the primary runway was lengthened from 7,533' to 9,034' following a three-month closure for renovations. At the same time, runway centerline and touchdown zone lighting were both added. The change was made primarily to accommodate large wide body aircraft, which were heavily weight-restricted upon departure prior to the extension.
In 1970 Imperial Airways offered scheduled helicopter service to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On December 4, 1970 Imperial Airways announced it was canceling its scheduled helicopter service flights in Minnesota. Other routes that where cut its routes from Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport to Rochester, Minnesota and to downtown Minneapolis.
In 2020 the airport received a $2,479,991 CARES Act award.

2009 tarmac stranding incident

The Rochester International Airport was the site of the six-hour 2009 tarmac stranding incident that made international news and resulted in the first fines ever imposed on airline carriers by the U.S. Department of Transportation for stranding passengers on a tarmac.

Future

Plans for a new Terminal Building were recently updated to reflect continued use and investment into the existing Terminal including the addition of a US Customs Facility.
In March 2019, plans for construction of an additional gate and jet bridge were announced. The proposal for the addition came after a large increase in passengers over the past year and recent congestion issues.
In July 2019, the Rochester Airport Commission began accepting bids for the jet bridge project. The commission also discussed repaving parts of runway 02/20 as well as additional dining and shopping options in the terminal.
At the end of July 2019, the airport received $3.3 million in federal grants to make improvements, such as the jet bridge project and runway reconstruction.
In February 2020, the airport was awarded $750,000 in grant money by the US Department of Transportation for attracting new service, with the federal grant's stated purpose being "revenue guarantee and marketing program to attract new service to Denver, Co., on United Airlines." Airport directors noted that the grant does not guarantee the new destination yet and also does not exclude possible other destinations.

Airlines and destinations

Destinations map

Airport directors from the airport are attempting to get more air service into Rochester. The airport directors have recently contacted the current providers, American and Delta, about adding more destinations, and have also contacted United and Frontier, to bring new nonstop destinations to the airport. On February 26, 2017, United announced it was adding three daily flights to Chicago–O'Hare beginning June 8. The new flight will compete with existing service from American Airlines.
In August 2012, just days after Allegiant Air announced flights between Rochester and Phoenix, the United States Department of Transportation gave the airport $500,000 and the city of Rochester gave the airport $250,000 to help recruit more airlines and non-stop destinations.
On May 31, 2018, Elite Airways announced that they would be launching service direct to Phoenix, Arizona and St. Augustine, Florida starting in July 2018. This service will allow Mayo Clinic staff, patients, and families to easily move back and forth between Mayo's headquarters in Rochester and its other main facilities in the Phoenix and Jacksonville metropolitan areas. They canceled the service on August 22, 2018, and cited low bookings for the reason.

Cargo destinations

Top destinations

General Aviation Facilities

Rochester Aviation is the general aviation terminal at the airport. It is owned and operated by Hiawatha Aviation, Inc. The terminal provides line services, refueling services, and caters largely towards business aviation. On April 1, 2006, the ownership of Rochester Aviation was passed onto Regent Aviation of St. Paul. In November 2007, Regent Aviation in turn sold its ownership stake in Rochester's general aviation terminal to Signature Flight Support, a worldwide fixed-base operator provider. Aircraft rental and flight instruction at RST are available through Spectrum Pilot Services, with various aircraft providing flight instruction with a group of Certified Flight Instructors. The airport is also home to the Southeastern Minnesota Flying Club, which has had a presence at both RST and its predecessor Lobb Field for over 50 years.

Access

Transportation to Rochester International Airport is available from downtown Rochester via $30 taxi or $15 shuttle service.
Rochester Yellow Cab, Rochester Taxi, and Med-City Taxi service the airport with both cabs and shuttles.

Accidents near RST