Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport is a busy civil/military field on the northwest edge of Bartonville, Illinois, about five miles west of downtown Peoria. It offers three long, ILS-equipped concrete runways, a control tower, and a resident Air National Guard airlift wing, making it a substantial destination for a VFR or IFR flight into central Illinois.
General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport, known by its ICAO code KPIA and IATA code PIA, is a joint civil and military public airport serving Peoria, Illinois. It sits on the northwest edge of Bartonville, near Bellevue, roughly five miles west of downtown Peoria, and is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria. For a visiting pilot it combines scheduled airline traffic from Allegiant, American Eagle and United Express with UPS cargo flights and Air National Guard operations, all sharing three long hard-surfaced runways with a control tower and full instrument approach capability.
The airport lies within Class C controlled airspace, reflecting its status as a commercial service field with an active control tower. It is situated at Bartonville's northwest edge, near Bellevue, about five miles west of downtown Peoria in Peoria County, Illinois. The field is co-located with the Peoria Air National Guard Base, home to the 182d Airlift Wing, and with an Illinois Army National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility, so pilots should expect military as well as civil traffic in the vicinity.
The airfield has three hard-surfaced, lit runways, each equipped for instrument approaches on at least one end. Runway 13/31 is the longest, with the 31 threshold measuring 10,073 feet and the 13 threshold 9,570 feet; both directions are lit and served by an ILS. Runway 04/22 is 7,958 feet in each direction; the 04 end is lit and served by an ILS, while the 22 end is lit but without an ILS.
Peoria Approach/Departure operates on 124.675 MHz, with ATIS and ASOS both broadcast on 126.1 MHz. Ground movements are handled on 121.85 MHz and Peoria Tower on 119.1 MHz. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz, and Kankakee Radio can be reached on 122.35 MHz. Military users share the field with Army National Guard operations on 32.3 MHz and Air National Guard operations on 141.55 MHz. The airport is fully equipped for instrument flight, with ILS approaches serving runways 13, 31 and 04.
The airport lies on the northwest edge of Bartonville, close to Bellevue, and about five miles west of downtown Peoria, which forms a useful landmark when approaching from the east. The co-located Air National Guard base and its C-130H ramp area are a distinctive feature for pilots identifying the field from the air.
Peoria's airport traces its origins to a citizens' vote on May 19, 1932, after which American Airways and Chicago and Southern Airlines began airmail and passenger services from four shale-surfaced runways on land purchased by 261 local businessmen through Peoria Airport, Inc. Control passed to the Peoria Park District in 1937 and then to the newly formed Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria in 1950. A succession of airlines served the field over the following decades, including American, Chicago and Southern, TWA, Continental, United, Republic/Northwest and Ozark, with Ozark introducing Peoria's first jets, DC-9s, in 1966, and later securing the airport's first nonstop service beyond Chicago, to New York La Guardia, in 1969. A new nine-gate terminal was announced in 2007, and on October 10, 2008 the airport, formerly known as Greater Peoria Regional Airport, was renamed General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport at a ceremony attended by Ross Perot, a friend of the late General Downing. The new terminal opened on April 27, 2011, and in 2016 the Ray Lahood International Arrivals Terminal added further gates, TSA services and a US Customs Port of Entry facility. The airport has long had a military role, being co-located with the Peoria Air National Guard Base and the 182d Airlift Wing of the Illinois Air National Guard, which operates Lockheed C-130H Hercules aircraft under Air Mobility Command, as well as an Illinois Army National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility operating Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
The airport remains an active mixed-use facility, handling scheduled airline services from Allegiant Air, American Eagle and United Express, plus UPS Airlines cargo flights to Chicago/Rockford and Louisville. General aviation makes up the largest share of operations, at 57 percent of the roughly 106 daily movements recorded in recent counts, alongside military and air taxi traffic. Around 63 aircraft are based on the field, including single and multi-engine airplanes, jets, helicopters and military types. The airport continues to be operated by the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria, which also owns nearby Mt. Hawley Airport.