Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is a 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...
in
Jefferson ParishJefferson Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States that includes most of the suburbs of New Orleans. The seat of parish government is Gretna....
,
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is owned by the
City of New OrleansNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
and is located 10
nautical mileThe nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian....
s (19
kmThe kilometre , symbol km is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second....
) west of its
central business districtThe Central Business District is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the French Quarter/CBD Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Iberville, Decatur and Canal Streets to the north, the Mississippi River to the east, the New Orleans Morial...
. The airport's address is 900 Airline Drive in
Kenner, LouisianaKenner is a city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a suburb of New Orleans. The population was 70,517 at the 2000 census.- History :...
. A small portion of Runway 10/28 is located in unincorporated
St. Charles ParishSt. Charles Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Hahnville. In 2000, its population was 48,072.-Geography:...
. Armstrong International is the primary commercial airport for the
New Orleans metropolitan areaNew Orleans–Metairie–Kenner is a metropolitan area designated by the US Census encompassing seven parishes in the state of Louisiana, centering on the city of New Orleans...
and southeast
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The airport was formerly known as
Moisant Field, and it is also known as
Louis Armstrong International Airport and
New Orleans International Airport.
Sitting at an average of above sea level, MSY is the 2nd lowest-lying international airport in the world, behind only Amsterdam's Schiphol International Airport in The Netherlands, which lies eleven feet below sea level (4.5 meters below
Normaal Amsterdams PeilNormaal Amsterdams Peil or Amsterdam Ordnance Datum is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in The Netherlands, it was adopted by Prussia in 1879 under the name Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.Originally the zero level of NAP was...
). Prior to Hurricane Katrina, MSY served 9.7 million passengers per year, nearly all of them non-connecting. In 2008, it served 7,944,397 passengers, representing an increase of 5.5% over the previous year. MSY has one of the best safety records among U.S. airports.
In February 2008, U.S. News And World Report ranked the travel experience at MSY 4th of the 47 busiest United States airports based upon the relatively small number of flight delays and frequently lower onboard flight loads.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was once a major gateway for
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n travel from the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. That travel mostly goes through other cities which serve as hubs for international legacy-airlines.
MSY opened after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, replacing the older
New Orleans Lakefront AirportLakefront Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles northeast of the central business district of New Orleans, in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States...
(which kept the NEW and KNEW
airport codeAn airport code is a short code used to identify a specific airport. There are two international systems used:*IATA airport code, a three-letter code which is more commonly known to the public...
s and now serves
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...
) as the city's main airport. MSY was renamed in 2001 after
Louis ArmstrongLouis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, a famous
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
from New Orleans. The
National Weather ServiceThe National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
forecast
officeAn office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty...
for the area was once located at MSY, but has moved to the
suburbSuburbs are defined in various different ways around the world. They can be the residential areas of a large city, or separate residential communities within commuting distance of a city. Some suburbs have a degree of political autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city...
of
SlidellSlidell is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 25,695 at the 2000 census. The Greater Slidell Community has a population of about 90,000...
, and now uses the non-airport codes LIX and KLIX.
History
The airport was originally named after
daredevilA stunt performer or stuntman or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be. There is an inherent risk in the...
aviatorAn aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887 as a variation of the French 'aviation', from the latin 'avis', coined 1863 by G. de la Landelle in "Aviation ou Navigation Aérienne"...
John Moisant, who died in an airplane crash on this land (which was devoted to
farmingAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
at the time) in 1910. Its IATA code
MSY was derived from
Moisant
Stock
Yards, as Lakefront Airport retained the "NEW" code.
Plans for Moisant Field were begun in 1940, as evidence mounted that New Orleans' older Shushan Airport (
New Orleans Lakefront AirportLakefront Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles northeast of the central business district of New Orleans, in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States...
) was in need of expansion or replacement. With the advent of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the land became a government air base. It was returned to civilian control after the war, and commercial service began at Moisant Field in May 1946.
On September 19, 1947, the airport was temporarily shut down as it was flooded under two feet of water by the
1947 Fort Lauderdale HurricaneThe Fort Lauderdale Hurricane was an intense Category 5 hurricane that affected the Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi in September of the 1947 Atlantic hurricane season...
.
Starting in 1946, and for the next thirteen years, passengers arrived and departed from a large, hangar-like makeshift structure, until a new main terminal complex debuted in 1959 towards the end of Mayor DeLesseps "Chep" Morrison's administration. The core of this structure still forms much of the present day facility.
During the administration of Morrison's successor,
Vic SchiroVictor Hugo "Vic" Schiro , was an American New Orleans, Louisiana, politician who served on the City Council and as Mayor from 1961 - 1970.- Early life and political career :...
formal government-sponsored studies were undertaken to evaluate the feasibility of relocating Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to a new site, contemporaneous with similar efforts that were ultimately successful in Houston (
George Bush Intercontinental AirportGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport, is a Class B international airport in the city of Houston, Texas, United States serving the Greater Houston area. Located drive north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and U.S...
) and Dallas (
Dallas-Fort Worth International AirportDallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas....
). This attempt got as far as recommending a site in
New Orleans EastEastern New Orleans is a large section of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Developed extensively from the 1960s onwards, it was originally marketed as "suburban-style living within the city limits", and has much in common with the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans...
; a man-made island was to be created south of
I-10Interstate 10 is the southernmost east-west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway in the United States. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica, California to Interstate 95 in Jacksonville, Florida...
and north of
U.S. Route 90U.S. Route 90 is an east-west United States highway. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route; it has always ended at Van Horn, Texas...
in a bay of
Lake PontchartrainLake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest saltwater lake in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana....
. However, in the early 1970s it was decided that the current airport should be expanded instead, leading to the construction of a lengthened main terminal ticketing area, an airport access road linking the terminal to I-10, and the present-day Concourses A and B. New Orleans Mayor
Sidney BarthelemySidney John Barthelemy was a Democratic mayor of New Orleans from 1986 to 1994. The second African American to hold that office, he was previously a member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1974 to 1978 and a member at-large of the New Orleans City Council from 1978 to 1986.- Early life and...
, in office from 1986 to 1994, later reintroduced the idea of building a new international airport for the city, with consideration given to other sites in New Orleans East, as well as on the Northshore in suburban
St. Tammany ParishSt. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. The parish seat is Covington. As of 2000, the population was 191,268. In 2004, the population was estimated to have grown to 212,000, and after the...
. Only a couple months before Hurricane Katrina's landfall, Mayor
Ray NaginClarence Ray Nagin, Jr. is the mayor of New Orleans. He was first elected on March 2, 2002, to succeed his fellow Democrat, Marc Morial...
again proposed a new airport for New Orleans, this time to the west in
Montz, LouisianaMontz is a census-designated place in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,120 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Montz is located at ....
. These initiatives met with the same fate as 1960s-era efforts in new airport building for New Orleans.
Historically,
Eastern Air LinesEastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...
provided extensive service from MSY, including
Boeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner. The first Boeing 727 flew in 1963 and for over a decade it was the most produced commercial jet airliner in the world. When production ended in 1984, a total of 1,831 aircraft had been produced...
Whisperjet service to Dallas, Tampa, and Miami, as well as to New York City and Atlanta. Utilizing such aircraft as 727s,
Douglas DC-8The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972. Launched later than the competing Boeing 707, the DC-8 nevertheless established Douglas in a strong position in the airliner market, and remained in production until 1972 when much larger designs, including the DC-10,...
s, and DC-10s,
National AirlinesNational Airlines was founded in 1934 and was headquartered on the grounds of Miami International Airport in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States near Miami.- History :Under the leadership of its president and founder, George T...
at different times served Miami, Amsterdam, Tampa, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Through 1979,
Southern AirwaysSouthern Airways was a regional airline operating in the United States from its founding by Frank Hulse in 1949 until 1979 when it merged with North Central Airlines to become Republic Airlines, which on October 1, 1986 became part of Northwest Airlines, which in 2008 became a part of Delta Air...
Douglas DC-9sThe McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner. It was first manufactured in 1965 with its maiden flight later that year. The DC-9 was designed for frequent, short flights. The final DC-9 was delivered in October 1982.The DC-9 was followed in subsequent modified forms by...
frequented Armstrong International, a busy stop on its regional short-haul network.
Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a United States airline based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Delta operates an extensive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Australia...
was another leading carrier at MSY, and for years carried more passengers out of New Orleans than any other airline. Its nonstop jet service to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles from New Orleans was advertised for decades on a prominent billboard sited on
Canal StreetCanal Street is a major thoroughfare in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.Forming the up-river boundary of the city's oldest neighborhood, the French Quarter , it formed the dividing line between the older French/Spanish Colonial era city and the newer American sector, the Central Business...
downtownThe Central Business District is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the French Quarter/CBD Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Iberville, Decatur and Canal Streets to the north, the Mississippi River to the east, the New Orleans Morial...
.
Southwest AirlinesSouthwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline. Southwest is the largest airline in the world by number of passengers carried per year . Southwest, the 6th largest U.S. airline by revenue, maintains the third-largest passenger fleet of aircraft among all of the world's commercial airlines....
now carries the most passengers in and out of New Orleans.
MSY was also the hub for short-lived
Pride AirPride Air is a defunct United States airline which operated for three months during 1985. Pride Air was based out of New Orleans International Airport. Flights were scheduled to begin on August 1, 1985.-History:...
, an airline which operated for three months in 1985 using Boeing 727 aircraft.
On July 11, 2001, the airport was renamed after jazz musician
Louis ArmstrongLouis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
in honor of the centennial of his birth.
Pan Am Flight 759
On July 9, 1982,
Pan Am Flight 759Pan Am Flight 759, operated by a Boeing 727-235, N4737 Clipper Defiance, was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Miami to Las Vegas, with an en route stop at New Orleans...
, en route from Miami to Las Vegas, departed New Orleans International. The Boeing 727-200 plane took off from the east-west runway (Runway 10/28) traveling east but never gained an altitude higher than . The plane traveled 4,610 feet (1405 m) beyond the end of Runway 10, hitting trees along the way, until crashing into a residential neighborhood. A total of 153 people were killed (all 145 on board and 8 on the ground). The
National Transportation Safety BoardThe National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. Government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
determined the probable cause was the aircraft's encounter with a
microburstA microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to but distinguishable from tornadoes which generally have convergent damage. There are two types of microbursts: wet microbursts and dry microbursts...
-induced
wind shearWind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere...
during the liftoff. This atmospheric condition created a downdraft and decreasing
headwindIn aerodynamics, a headwind is a wind that blows against the direction of travel of an object. A headwind reduces the object's speed and increases the time required to reach its destination. Headwinds are commonly measured in relation to the speed of vehicles — commonly air and watercraft...
forcing the plane downward. Modern wind shear detection equipment, protecting flights from such conditions, is now in place at Armstrong International and at most commercial airports.
Hurricane Katrina
The airport was closed to commercial air traffic on August 28, 2005, shortly before
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
struck New Orleans, and it remained closed as floods affected the city. The
Associated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported on August 31 that MSY would receive humanitarian flights, and that the airport "has no significant airfield damage and had no standing water in aircraft movement areas", although the airport did, as the article put it, "[sustain] damage to its roofs, hangars and fencing." In early September, the airport opened only to
military aircraftA military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is in the current employ of a military power. Fixed-wing military aircraft are also known as Warplanes....
and humanitarian flights, and served as a staging center for
evacueesEmergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
. The airport reopened to commercial flights on September 13, 2005.
February 2006 tornado
At about 2:30 EST in the morning on February 3, 2006, a tornado touched down on the grounds of MSY. The damage from the tornado was significant but primarily confined to Concourse C, where
American
,
United-Countries:United is used in a countries name, when any number of states or regions are combined to make a united Country. Countries with united in their name include:* United States of America...
,
AirTran AirwaysAirTran Airways is a Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport based low-cost airline with headquarters in Orlando, Florida, USA. It is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings. AirTran operates over 750 daily flights, primarily in the eastern and midwestern United States...
, and international arrivals were based. Many temporary repairs dating from Hurricane Katrina failed, including one roof patch, forcing airlines based in the concourse to relocate operations to vacant gates. Jetways and other ground equipment also sustained damage. As of late 2006, all of this had been repaired.
Post-Katrina capacity restoration
MSY reopened to commercial flights on September 13 2005, with four flights operated by
Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a United States airline based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Delta operates an extensive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Australia...
to Atlanta and a
Northwest AirlinesNorthwest Airlines, Inc. , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, Inc., is a major United States airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport...
flight to
MemphisMemphis is a city in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4
th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River....
. Slowly, service from other carriers began to resume, with limited service offered by
Southwest AirlinesSouthwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline. Southwest is the largest airline in the world by number of passengers carried per year . Southwest, the 6th largest U.S. airline by revenue, maintains the third-largest passenger fleet of aircraft among all of the world's commercial airlines....
,
Continental AirlinesContinental Airlines is a United States certificated air carrier. Based in Downtown Houston, Texas, it is the fourth-largest airline in the US based on revenue passenger miles. Since 1998, Continental's marketing slogan has been "Work Hard, Fly Right."Continental operates flights to destinations...
, and
American Airlines
.
Eventually, all carriers announced their return to MSY, with the exception of
Frontier AirlinesFrontier Airlines, Inc. is a low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado, United States. The carrier operates flights throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Frontier is a major low-cost airline with two thirds of its US destinations west of the Mississippi River...
,
Midwest AirlinesMidwest Airlines is an airline subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, operating from the city's General Mitchell International Airport...
,
America West AirlinesAmerica West Airlines was one of the United States's ten major airlines. The airline was based in Phoenix, Arizona, and is now a part of US Airways Group....
(which merged into
US AirwaysUS Airways, Inc., an operating unit of US Airways Group, is the fifth largest airline in the United States.A member of the Star Alliance, the airline has a fleet of 353 mainline jet aircraft and 319 regional jet and turbo-prop aircraft connecting 200 destinations in North America, Central America,...
two weeks later) and international carriers
Air CanadaAir Canada is Canada's largest airline and flag carrier. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to 96 destinations worldwide. Its largest hub is Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario. Its main base is Montreal-Pierre...
and
TACATACA may refer to:* the Gaelic word for "support"* Grupo TACA, a Central American airline composed of various Central American airliners* TACA international, an international property and construction management consultancy* Talk About Curing Autism...
. In early 2006
Continental AirlinesContinental Airlines is a United States certificated air carrier. Based in Downtown Houston, Texas, it is the fourth-largest airline in the US based on revenue passenger miles. Since 1998, Continental's marketing slogan has been "Work Hard, Fly Right."Continental operates flights to destinations...
became the first airline to return to pre-Katrina flight frequency levels, and in September 2006, to pre-Katrina seat capacity levels.
MSY served 7,944,397 passengers in 2008, or 82% of the all time high of 9,733,179 passengers who used Armstrong International in 2004.
As of September 2009, MSY's operations will be at ???% of their pre-Katrina status, measured by airlines' daily seat-count. Eighty-one percent of daily roundtrip flights will have been restored at that point, as well as 83% of the number of domestic cities served daily (scheduled) nonstop and 150% of international cities served (scheduled) nonstop.
Incentives to airlines
On November 21, 2006; the New Orleans Aviation Board approved an air service initiative to promote increased service to Armstrong International:
- Airlines qualify for a $0.75 credit per seat toward terminal use charges for scheduled departing seats exceeding 85% of pre-Katrina capacity levels for a twelve-month period.
- Airlines qualify for a waiver of landing fees for twelve months following the initiation of service to an airport not presently served from New Orleans.
On January 17, 2008; the city's aviation board voted on an amended incentive program which waives landing fees for the first
two airlines to fly nonstop into a city not presently served from the airport. Under the new ruling, landing fees will be waived for up to two airlines flying into an "underserved destination airport." The incentive previously referred to service to a "new destination airport."
The airport is also continuing its incentive to airlines that reach 85% of their pre-Katrina flight frequencies.
Incentives to passengers
In November 2006, the airport opened a "cell phone lot" at the corner of Airline Drive and Hollandey Street across from the Airport Access Road to allow people picking up arriving passengers to wait until an arriving passenger calls to say they are ready for pickup.
Also, on December 6, 2006 Armstrong International launched an $8 million maintenance campaign to clean and improve the terminal environment. Dubbed
Music To Your Eyes, the campaign is designed to transform the airport into a more visitor-friendly facility, with improvements to lighting, cleanliness, seating, baggage claim maintenance, curbside congestion, and designated smoking areas.
Facilities and aircraft
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport covers an area of 1,500
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 (607
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 4 feet (1 m) above mean sea level. It has three
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: 10/28 is 10,104 by 150 feet (3,080 x 46 m) with a concrete surface; 1/19 is 7,001 by 150 feet (2,134 x 46 m) with a concrete surface; 6/24 is 3,570 by 150 feet (1,088 x 46 m) with an asphalt surface.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2007, the airport had 129,228 aircraft operations, an average of 354 per day: 58%
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...
, 21%
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...
and 19%
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%
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...
. At that time there were 19 aircraft based at this airport: 21% 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...
, 21% multi-engine, 42%
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 16%
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...
.
International services
Armstrong International's Concourse C, located in the airport's West Terminal, contains a fully enclosed US Customs, Immigration, and FIS facility. The majority of the concourse's 15 gates offer direct access to this area and are thus capable of accepting foreign arrivals from all over the world, on aircraft as large as Boeing 747-400s.
As of September 2009, MSY's scheduled international nonstop service consists of two carriers. AeroMexico Connect offers
EmbraerEmbraer , is a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate. The company produces commercial, military, and corporate aircraft, and provides related aerospace services...
Regional JetThe ERJ 145 is a family of regional jets produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace company. Family members include the ERJ 135, ERJ 140, and ERJ 145, as well as the Legacy business jet and the R-99 family of military aircraft. The ERJ 145 is the largest of the group. Each jet in the series is...
service to Mexico City, Mexico. City Skies Air offers Boeing 737 service to San Pedro Sula, Honduras and Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Past international services
Before Hurricane Katrina (2005), regularly scheduled international services from Armstong International were provided by
Air CanadaAir Canada is Canada's largest airline and flag carrier. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to 96 destinations worldwide. Its largest hub is Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario. Its main base is Montreal-Pierre...
to
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
and
Grupo TACATACA is a international airline headquartered in San Salvador, El Salvador. Its IATA two letter code is TA.TACA as the trade name "brand" comprises a group of five independently IATA coded and owned Central American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one and a number of other...
to
San Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea...
in
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
. Historically, MSY has hosted routes to nearly thirty nonstop international destinations, several of them intercontinental. In the early 1980s, the city was a stop on the
British AirwaysBritish Airways plc is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Waterside near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport and is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations. Its second hub is London Gatwick...
flight between
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and
Mexico CityMexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
. The
LockheedThe Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company founded in 1912 which merged with Martin Marietta in 1995 to form Lockheed Martin.-Origins:...
L1011 aircraft used for the route landed in New Orleans to pick up passengers and fuel.
National AirlinesNational Airlines was used by several airlines including:*National Airlines based in the United States*National Airlines based in the United States*National Airlines based in the United States...
also flew nonstop to
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
from MSY, using DC-10 aircraft. At different times
Eastern Air LinesEastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...
offered nonstop service to
CaracasCaracas is the capital and largest city of Venezuela. It is located in the north of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range . The valley's temperatures are springlike. Terrain suitable for building lies between 760 and 910 m above...
, Venezuela and
Panama CityPanama City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 813,097, with a total metro population of 1,206,792, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, at...
, Panama.
Continental AirlinesContinental Airlines is a United States certificated air carrier. Based in Downtown Houston, Texas, it is the fourth-largest airline in the US based on revenue passenger miles. Since 1998, Continental's marketing slogan has been "Work Hard, Fly Right."Continental operates flights to destinations...
offered flights to
Mexico CityMexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
and
CancunCancún is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state, Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula. Cancún is located on the Yucatan Channel that separates Mexico from the island of Cuba in the Greater Antilles....
in the 1980s, as did
AeroMexicoAerovías de México, S.A. de C.V., operating as AeroMéxico, is an airline in Mexico based in Mexico City, Mexico. AeroMéxico is considered as the most punctual airline in the world. It operates scheduled domestic services and international services to Asia, Canada, Europe, Central America, South...
, and
TWAFor the Jordanian cargo airline, see Transworld Aviation.Trans World Airlines renamed TWA Airlines LLC in 2001 was a major United States-based airline with hubs in St. Louis, New York , with focus cities in Kansas City, Missouri; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Los Angeles, California. The airline...
offered Mexico City service with McDonnell Douglas MD-80 equipment in the 1990s.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s,
AviatecaAviateca was the state airline of Guatemala, headquartered in Guatemala City. It is now a subsidiary of Grupo TACA.- History :The airline was established on 14 March 1945 as Empresa Guatemalteca de Aviación S. A., which was shortened to Aviateca. It was formed as the successor to Aerovias de...
,
LACSATACA Costa Rica, also known as Lacsa , is the national airline of Costa Rica and is based in San José. It operates international scheduled services to over 20 destinations in Central, North and South America...
,
TANTan can mean several things:* Tan * Tan or tangent, one of the main trigonometric functions* Tanning, the process of making leather from hides* Sun tanning, the darkening of skin in response to ultraviolet light...
/
SAHSASAHSA or Servicio Aereo de Honduras SA SA, was the national airline of Honduras.Merged into TAN-SAHSA in the late 80's and went into bankrupty in the early 90s.- History :...
and
TACATACA is a international airline headquartered in San Salvador, El Salvador. Its IATA two letter code is TA.TACA as the trade name "brand" comprises a group of five independently IATA coded and owned Central American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one and a number of other...
provided service to several
Central AmericanManagua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
destinations. TACA was even headquartered in New Orleans, departing the city in 1982. These carriers are today either bankrupt or a part of Grupo TACA.
Twice weekly seasonal New Orleans to Montego Bay nonstops via the Jamaica Shuttle/Casino Express (typically operated by chartered Boeing 727-200's or 737-300's) operated during most of the 1990s and into the 2000s.
Laker AirwaysLaker Airways was a wholly private, independent British airline founded by Sir Freddie Laker in 1966. It originally was a charter airline flying passengers and cargo worldwide....
operated twice weekly seasonal B727-200 flights between New Orleans and Freeport, Bahamas in the early 2000s.
Vacation ExpressVacation Express is a company which leases aircraft from charter airlines for operation on vacation flights throughout the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean....
operated twice weekly seasonal charters between New Orleans and Cancun for several years using a mix of B727-200, B737-200, B737-300, and MD-80 equipment; This service was suspended after the company decided to concentrate on selling seats on scheduled flights instead of chartering aircraft.
All international service into MSY was suspended while the FIS facility was closed post-Katrina. The facility reopened to an influx of chartered flights arriving from London, Manchester, Bournemouth, and Nottingham, UK - all carrying tourists in for Mardi Gras and set to depart aboard a cruise liner.
Return of scheduled international service
In August 2009, City Skies Air announced nonstop service linking MSY with Cancun, Mexico as well as Tegucigalpa, Honduras and San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Flights were originally to be operated with Boeing 737-300s via the auspices of
Swift AirSwift Air is an American airline based in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. It operates a fleet of business jets available for charter and private use. Its main base is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. - History :...
. However, after a revamp of their website and operating phone number; on September 15, 2009, City Skies operated their first flight from New Orleans to Tegucigalpa, with a 737-400 provided by
Xtra AirwaysXtra Airways is a charter airline based in Elko, Nevada, USA. The airline is certificated by the FAA to conduct Domestic, Flag and Supplemental operations with Boeing 737 aircraft..-History:...
. Currently no flights are operating as City Skies has had issues with obtaining usage of charter aircraft.
On December 12, 2008,
AeroMexicoAerovías de México, S.A. de C.V., operating as AeroMéxico, is an airline in Mexico based in Mexico City, Mexico. AeroMéxico is considered as the most punctual airline in the world. It operates scheduled domestic services and international services to Asia, Canada, Europe, Central America, South...
(and its regional subsidiary Aerolitoral) were granted USDOT permission to offer scheduled nonstop service between MSY and
Mexico CityMexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
.
On April 7, 2009, it was announced that AeroMexico will indeed begin offering nonstop service between New Orleans and Mexico City on July 6, 2009. The daily flight will be operated by Aerolitoral dba AeroMexico Connect. There are also ongoing negotiations which may see the carrier add nonstop service to Cancun as well.
TACATACA is a international airline headquartered in San Salvador, El Salvador. Its IATA two letter code is TA.TACA as the trade name "brand" comprises a group of five independently IATA coded and owned Central American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one and a number of other...
provided summer seasonal charter flights nonstop from MSY to
San Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea...
,
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
, with continuing service to
San SalvadorSan Salvador is the capital and largest city of the nation of El Salvador. The second most populous city in Central America, after Guatemala City, the metro covers an area of 568 km² and is home to nearly 1.6 million people...
,
El SalvadorEl Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. It lies on the Gulf of Fonseca, as does Nicaragua further south. It has a population of approximately 5.7 million people as of 2009 on...
in June 2008. There has thus far been no indication as to when or if that carrier plans to return to MSY on a scheduled basis.
Terminals, airlines, and destinations
Louis Armstrong International has two terminals, East and West, connected by a central ticketing alley. Attached are four concourses, A, B, C, and D.
Concourse A
Concourse A opened in 1974 and has 6 Gates: A1, A3, A5, A6, A7, A8. Gates A1/A3/A5 are closed permanently.
Concourse B
Concourse B opened in 1974 and has 13 Gates: B1-B13
Concourse C
Excepting certain Canadian and Caribbean flights; all nonstop international arrivals are handled by Concourse C. This concourse also contains common-use gates, available for infrequent services and charter flights as well.
Concourse C opened in 1991 and has 15 Gates: C1 - C12, C14 - C16
Concourse D
The newest concourse, D contains a Delta Air Lines Sky Club, the sole such airline club remaining in Armstrong. Concourse D is also undergoing a 6-gate expansion.
Concourse D has 7 Gates: D1 - D6, D8
Cargo Airlines
External links