Athens-Ben Epps Airport is a county-owned public-use
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located three
nautical mileThe nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian....
s (6 km) east of the
central business districtA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city...
of
AthensAthens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial creation of Athens and its subsequent growth...
, in
Clarke CountyClarke County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 101,489. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 114,063. Its county seat is Athens, Georgia, with which it is a consolidated city-county...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is mostly used for
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
. The airport is named after Ben T. Epps Sr., the first aviator in the state of Georgia, who opened the airport in 1917.
Until May 23, 2008, the airport was served by twice-daily flights to Charlotte on
Air MidwestAir Midwest, Inc. was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States and was a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. It operated flights as US...
operating as
US Airways ExpressUS Airways Express is an airline brand name, rather than a fully certificated airline, and as such, the US Airways Express name is used by several individually owned airlines or airline holding companies which provide regional airline and commuter service for US Airways.Operations are conducted...
. It is now served by daily flights to Atlanta and Macon by GeorgiaSkies.
Athens-Ben Epps Airport is a county-owned public-use
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located three
nautical mileThe nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian....
s (6 km) east of the
central business districtA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city...
of
AthensAthens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial creation of Athens and its subsequent growth...
, in
Clarke CountyClarke County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 101,489. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 114,063. Its county seat is Athens, Georgia, with which it is a consolidated city-county...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is mostly used for
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
. The airport is named after Ben T. Epps Sr., the first aviator in the state of Georgia, who opened the airport in 1917.
Until May 23, 2008, the airport was served by twice-daily flights to Charlotte on
Air MidwestAir Midwest, Inc. was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States and was a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. It operated flights as US...
operating as
US Airways ExpressUS Airways Express is an airline brand name, rather than a fully certificated airline, and as such, the US Airways Express name is used by several individually owned airlines or airline holding companies which provide regional airline and commuter service for US Airways.Operations are conducted...
. It is now served by daily flights to Atlanta and Macon by GeorgiaSkies. Wings Air covered the same routes but closed after only a few months in business. Wings Air added a check-in counter in the western end of the terminal, and it is now vacant. GeorgiaSkies took over the USAirways Express counter and security area.
Falcon Aviation Academy is the only flight school.
Facilities and aircraft
Athens-Ben Epps Airport covers an area of 425
acreThe acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre....
s (172
haA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
) at an
elevationThe elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, often the mean sea level. Elevation, or geometric height, is mainly used when referring to points on the Earth's surface, while altitude or geopotential height is used for points above the surface, such as an...
of 808 feet (246 m) above mean sea level. It has two
asphaltAsphalt is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits sometimes termed asphaltum...
paved
runwayA runway is a strip of land at an airport on which aircraft can take off and land and forms part of the maneuvering area. Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .By extension, the term has come to mean, in addition, any long, flat, straight area, such as that used in fashion...
s: 9/27 measuring 5,522 by 100 feet (1,683 x 30 m) and 2/20 measuring 4,000 by 100 feet (1,219 x 30 m).
For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2007, the airport had 53,357 aircraft operations, an average of 146 per day: 90%
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
, 6%
militaryMilitary aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
, 3%
air taxiAn air taxi is a for-hire passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis. It can be used to mean air charter, or the use of very light jets ....
and <1%
scheduled commercialAn airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight, generally with a recognized operating certificate or license. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit.Airlines vary...
. At that time there were 126 aircraft based at this airport: 56% single-
engineAn aircraft engine is a propulsion system for an aircraft. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines. This article is an overview of the basic types of aircraft engines and the design concepts employed in engine development for aircraft.- Engine design...
, 29% multi-engine, 13%
jetA jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes — as high as 10,000 to 15,000 meters . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances...
and 2%
helicopterA helicopter is an aircraft that is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades. Helicopters are classified as rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them from fixed-wing aircraft because the helicopter achieves lift with the...
.