Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Mobile Regional Airport (KMOB) lies about 13 miles west of Mobile, Alabama, and combines scheduled airline traffic with a significant military training role as home to the US Coast Guard Aviation Training Center and an Alabama Army National Guard aviation unit. Its long, ILS-equipped main runway and busy mix of airline, military and general aviation traffic make it a worthwhile stop for the VFR simulator pilot exploring the Gulf Coast.
Mobile Regional Airport, known historically as Bates Field, sits west of the city of Mobile, Alabama, and is owned and operated by the Mobile Airport Authority. Beyond its role as a commercial gateway, the field is notable for hosting the US Coast Guard Aviation Training Center, which trains pilots and aircrew on the MH-65D Dolphin and MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters and the HC-144A/B Ocean Sentry turboprop, as well as an Alabama Army National Guard aviation company. This mix of military helicopter and fixed-wing training alongside airline operations gives the airport a distinctive character for visiting sim pilots.
The airport lies in Mobile County, Alabama, about 13 miles (21 km) west of the city of Mobile, and operates within controlled Class C airspace. It is a joint public and military field, and pilots should expect radar service and coordination with approach control given the presence of based military helicopter and turboprop training operations. Mobile International Airport, the city's other commercial field nearer downtown, lies to the east.
Mobile Regional has two physical runways. The primary runway, 15/33, is a hard-surfaced, lit strip 8,499 feet long and is equipped with an ILS. The secondary runway, 18/36, is also hard-surfaced and lit, measuring 4,374 feet in length.
The tower and common traffic frequency is 118.3 MHz, with ground control on 121.9 MHz and clearance delivery available. Approach and departure services are provided, and the ATIS broadcasts on 124.75 MHz. A second discrete frequency, 118.5 MHz, is listed for approach and departure use, and UNICOM is on 122.95 MHz. Anniston Radio provides flight service on 122.2 MHz. The field's ILS serves runway 15/33 for instrument approaches.
The airfield began operating under the name Bates Field and served as a hub of aviation activity through the twentieth century. During the Second World War the United States Army Air Forces used the field, with the 533d Army Air Force Base Unit overseeing basic pilot training in Fairchild PT-19 aircraft and Boeing-Stearman Model 75s, contracted to Waterman Airlines. The Army also ran glider pilot training there under contract to Mobile Area Soaring, using Douglas C-47 Skytrain tow aircraft and Waco CG-4 gliders to train students in towed and soaring flight by day and night. Flying training ended in 1944 as pilot demand fell, and the Air Transport Command's Domestic Transport Division used the field until moving to Brookley Field in late 1945. The US Air Force returned in May 1959 when the Air Force Reserve activated the 78th Troop Carrier Squadron with Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars, later upgraded to Group status as the 908th Troop Carrier Group before relocating to Brookley Air Force Base in 1964. In 1966 the US Coast Guard took over the vacated Air Force Reserve facility, commissioning an Air Station at Mobile on 17 December 1966 with Grumman HU-16 Albatross aircraft transferred from Biloxi, and establishing the fixed-wing and helicopter training facility that continues today. Commercially, Eastern Air Lines served Mobile from the 1930s until 1991, later flying Lockheed L-188 Electras, Boeing 727-100s and Douglas DC-9s. National Airlines also served the field from the late 1930s, followed by Pan Am after its acquisition of National, with jet service continuing until 1981. Capital Airlines began flights in 1948, later absorbed by United Airlines, whose Sud Aviation Caravelles brought Mobile's first jet service in April 1962; United ended mainline service in 1971.
Mobile Regional remains an active joint-use airport, home to the US Coast Guard Aviation Training Center and the Alabama Army National Guard's aviation company, both generating regular helicopter and turboprop training traffic. In August 2020 the Mobile Airport Authority announced the transfer of scheduled commercial airline service to Mobile International Airport, though regional and mainline flights, including Delta Air Lines operations, have continued to use the field. The airport handles a mix of airline, military and general aviation movements, supported by its long ILS-equipped runway and towered airspace.
