Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Midland International Air and Space Port sits in West Texas between the cities of Midland and Odessa, a busy Class C field that combines scheduled airline service with general aviation and a unique designation as the first FAA-licensed commercial spaceport co-located with a Part 139 airport. Its long, wide runways and full ILS approach make it a straightforward and interesting destination for the simulator pilot exploring the Permian Basin.
Midland International Air and Space Port, generally known by its ICAO code KMAF, is a City of Midland-owned airport lying roughly midway between the downtowns of Midland and Odessa in West Texas. It handles scheduled airline traffic alongside general aviation and corporate flying, and in 2014 became the first primary commercial-service airport in the United States to be certified by the FAA as a spaceport, giving it an unusual dual identity that makes it a distinctive stop for simulator pilots.
The airfield lies within Class C airspace, reflecting its status as a busy commercial hub in the Permian Basin. It sits in Midland County, Texas, between the downtown areas of Midland and Odessa, within the city limits of Midland.
The field has four physical runways. The main runway, 16R/34L, is 9,497 to 9,498 feet long. Runway 10/28 is a hard-surfaced, lit runway with a published length of around 8,279 feet on runway 10 (which is equipped with an ILS) and 7,589 feet on runway 28. Runway 04/22 is 4,598 feet long, and the shorter parallel runway, 16L/34R, is 4,243 feet long. All runways have a hard surface and are lit.
Radio services include Approach/Departure control, an ATIS broadcast on 126.8 MHz, a clearance delivery frequency of 118.05 MHz, ground control on 121.9 MHz, tower on 118.7 MHz (also used as the CTAF), an air/departure frequency of 121.1 MHz, a remote radio outlet operated as San Angelo Radio on 122.6 MHz, and UNICOM on 122.95 MHz. The field is equipped with an ILS approach to runway 10.
The airfield began life as Sloan Field, established in 1927 by Samuel Addison Sloan on 220 acres of grassland leased from rancher Clarence Scharbauer. Sloan died in a plane crash in 1929, and his brother William Harvey Sloan continued running the field until selling it to the City of Midland in 1939 for $14,500. With war approaching, Midland businessmen lobbied Washington to establish a military training base, and the field was upgraded with Works Progress Administration funding for runway, taxiway and lighting improvements. In June 1941 it was announced that the site would become Midland Army Air Field, home to the Army Air Forces Bombardier School, one of the West Texas Bombardier Quadrangle schools alongside Childress, San Angelo and Big Spring. The school trained cadets in the use of the Norden bombsight, reaching a peak population of more than 4,000 and graduating 6,627 bombardier officers before the training mission ended on 1 January 1946. After the war the City of Midland annexed much of the airport land, and the field developed into Midland-Odessa Regional Airport, served by Continental Airlines and Trans-Texas Airways, with American Airlines operating until 1963. Continental introduced the first jets, Boeing 707s, in 1965. The late-1970s oil boom brought further growth, with Southwest Airlines arriving and American Airlines returning in 1981, followed by America West in 1987. A new terminal building began construction in 1996, opening in stages through 1999 as the older 1966 terminal was demolished. The airport is also home to the Commemorative Air Force, which relocated to Midland in 1991 and holds an annual airshow featuring its collection of warbird aircraft. In September 2014 the FAA formally approved the airport's application to become a licensed commercial space launch site, making it the first primary commercial-service airport in the country to hold spaceport certification; the designation was originally intended to support test flights of XCOR Aerospace's reusable Lynx spacecraft, and XCOR relocated its headquarters to the airport as part of this venture.
The airport is served by several major airlines, including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, offering connections to hubs such as Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Denver and Las Vegas alongside general aviation and corporate traffic. As of the year ending July 2021 the field recorded around 58,010 aircraft operations and had 106 based aircraft. As a user-fee airport for customs purposes, pilots arriving internationally must arrange clearance and prior permission in advance of landing.
