Departure
92%
vs 95% ▼ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Albany International Airport (KALB) lies within Class C airspace some six miles northwest of Albany, New York, in the town of Colonie, and is the principal air gateway for the Capital Region, the Mohawk Valley and Western New England. It offers two long, lit asphalt runways, full instrument approach capability on its main strip, and a control tower, making it a straightforward if busy destination for a visiting VFR or IFR pilot.
Albany International Airport is a Class C, tower-controlled field serving Albany, the New York State capital, and the wider Capital District. It traces its origins to one of the earliest municipal airports in the United States and today handles regional jet and low-cost carrier traffic for the Capital Region, Northeastern New York and Western New England, giving a visiting simulator pilot a genuine mix of history and modern commercial operations to work around.
KALB sits inside Class C airspace, about six miles (9.7 km) northwest of the city of Albany, in the town of Colonie, New York. The field lies close to Interstate 87, State Route 155 and State Route 7, and covers roughly 1,000 acres of land on the site of a former Shaker settlement, with the built-up area of Albany itself to the southeast.
Albany has two physical runways. Runway 01/19 is 8,498 feet long, hard-surfaced, lit and equipped with an ILS. Runway 10/28 is also hard-surfaced and lit, with 7,185 feet available on the 10 heading and 5,995 feet available on the 28 heading; the difference reflects a displaced landing threshold at the eastern end, so full-length takeoffs are possible to the west even though landing distance from the east is shorter.
Albany is served by a control tower on 119.5 MHz, with ground control on 121.7 MHz and clearance delivery on 127.5 MHz. ATIS is broadcast on 120.45 MHz, and approach/departure control operates on 118.05 MHz and 132.825 MHz. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz, and Burlington Radio (flight service) can be reached on 122.2 MHz. Runway 01/19 is supported by an ILS, including centreline lighting on the north-south runway and touchdown zone lighting on the north-facing threshold, allowing lowered landing minimums.
Albany International is regarded as the first, and the oldest surviving, municipal airport in the United States. Flying at Albany began in 1908 on a former polo field on Loudonville Road, and the operation moved in 1909 to Westerlo Island, where it took the name Albany Airport in honour of Quentin Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's son and a First World War fighter pilot who was killed in air combat. A $10,000 prize for sustained flight between Albany and New York City was won by Glenn Curtiss on 29 May 1910, and early visitors to the field included Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and James Doolittle. In 1928, Mayor John Boyd Thacher II pressed for a new, purpose-built airport, and the current site near Albany-Shaker Road in Colonie was developed on land sold, and equipped with tools and tractors loaned, by the local Shaker community. The airport closed from January 1939 to December 1940, reopened initially for daylight operations only, and has operated without restriction since January 1942, aside from weather and emergency closures. A 1947 chart showed three 3,500-foot runways; by 1950 the primary runway was hard-surfaced and 5,000 feet long, and it was extended to 6,000 feet in 1966-67 and to 7,200 feet in the 1980s, before a further 1,300-foot extension brought the north-south runway to its present 8,500-foot length, along with centreline lighting and a Category II ILS. The crosswind runway was extended eastward in the early 2000s while its landing threshold was retained, giving the runway its differing landing distances in each direction. The airport was jointly run by the city and county of Albany until 1960, when Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd ended the city's involvement; a new terminal opened in 1962 and was progressively expanded through 1968 and 1979. The Albany County Airport Authority was formed in 1993 to operate the airport under a long lease, and a new terminal, designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills with Stracher-Roth-Gilmore, opened in June 1998.
Albany International remains the major air centre for the Capital Region, Northeastern New York and Western New England, with Southwest Airlines holding roughly a third of the airline market share alongside other low-cost carriers including JetBlue Airways, Allegiant Air and Avelo Airlines. It is classed as the fourth-largest airport in New York State and operates as a Class C, tower-controlled field with radar approach and departure services, an operating control tower, and full instrument approach capability on its main runway.
