Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (KBTV) is Vermont's busiest airport, a joint civil-military field in South Burlington just east of the city centre. It combines scheduled airline traffic with general aviation and a resident Air National Guard fighter wing, and offers full ILS approaches to its main runway.
Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport, renamed in 2023 in honour of former U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, is a joint-use civil-military airport owned by the City of Burlington and operated by the Burlington Airport Commission. It sits in South Burlington, Vermont, about three nautical miles east of Burlington's central business district, and is by far the busiest airport in the state, drawing traffic from both Vermont and southern Quebec. Alongside its scheduled airline operations it is home to the 158th Fighter Wing of the Vermont Air National Guard and an Army Aviation Support Facility of the Vermont Army National Guard, making it a field of real interest to any visiting sim pilot for its mix of airline, GA and military movements.
The airport lies within Class C controlled airspace, reflecting its status as a joint civil-military field with airline and fighter operations. It is located in South Burlington, Vermont, close to Lake Champlain and the Burlington urban area, roughly three nautical miles east of downtown Burlington.
KBTV has two physical runways. Runway 15/33 is the main hard-surfaced, lit runway equipped with ILS on both approaches, measuring 8,296 feet available on runway 15 and 7,792 feet on runway 33. Runway 01/19 is a shorter hard-surfaced, lit runway without instrument approaches, measuring 3,878 feet on runway 01 and 3,597 feet on runway 19. Field elevation is 325 feet.
KBTV operates as a controlled field. The tower and CTAF frequency is 118.3 MHz, with ground control on 121.9 MHz and ATIS broadcast on 123.8 MHz. Approach/departure control also uses 121.1 MHz, and a remote communications outlet (RDO) operates on 122.2 MHz. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz, and a miscellaneous frequency of 125.125 MHz is used for Air National Guard operations, alongside 41.2 MHz for Army National Guard operations. Runway 15 and 33 are served by ILS approaches.
Pilots planning pattern work at Burlington, sightseeing over the city, or practice instrument approaches are advised to notify Approach Control of these intentions as early as possible given the airport's mixed airline, GA and fighter traffic.
Burlington's airfield traces its origins to August 14, 1920, when Captain Hubert Stanford Broad, a former British WWI pilot, made the first landing on what became Burlington Municipal Airport, circling the city and performing stunts for onlookers before landing his Avro aircraft in a field north of Williston Road. The land had been purchased through funds raised by WWI pilot and future mayor Johnny Burns, Aviation Commissioner Mason Beebe and Chamber of Commerce secretary James Taylor, and the strip was levelled using horse-drawn graders and a steamroller. The airport was formally dedicated on September 22, 1921, by Governor Hartness, himself a pilot, and came under City of Burlington management the same year. Recognition from the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America followed in 1928, alongside formation of the Board of Airport Commissioners and the first hangar rental fees. By 1930 Curtiss-Wright Flying was offering passenger and freight services to Albany and Montreal. The 1930s brought aviation celebrities to the field: Post and Gatty featured in a 1931 air meet, Grace Hall Pugh became Vermont's first licensed female pilot in 1938, and Amelia Earhart visited in 1934, arriving on a Central Vermont/Boston-Maine Airways Stinson Trimotor and being greeted by 2,000 people before receiving the keys to the city; she returned in 1935 to speak at the State House in support of regional aviation. In 1934 Civil Works Administration labourers hard-surfaced the north-south runway and apron. Further land was acquired in 1941. By the late 1960s the airport handled around 100,000 passengers a year, and on February 24, 1969, the Burlington Board of Aldermen renamed it from
Today the airport combines scheduled commercial airline service with general aviation and military flying, remaining Vermont's only airport with mainline commercial service. It hosts the 158th Fighter Wing of the Vermont Air National Guard, an Army Aviation Support Facility, and the Vermont State Guard. General aviation handling, including fuelling, hangarage, de-icing and customs clearance for international arrivals, is provided by Heritage Aviation as the field's fixed-base operator. Flight training is available locally through the Vermont Flight Academy.
