Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Pensacola International Airport (KPNS) is a city-owned, Class C airport on the northeastern edge of Pensacola, Florida, offering two long, hard-surfaced runways and full instrument approach capability. With airline, general aviation and military traffic sharing the field, it is a busy but well-equipped destination for a simulator pilot flying the Florida Gulf Coast.
Pensacola International Airport sits on the outskirts of Pensacola, Florida, and is owned and operated by the City of Pensacola. It handles a mix of airline, general aviation and military traffic, and its two long, ILS-equipped runways make it a straightforward and interesting Gulf Coast destination for simulator pilots, whether arriving on an airline route or flying in for general aviation training.
The airport lies within Class C controlled airspace and is situated about three nautical miles northeast of downtown Pensacola in Escambia County, Florida. It should not be confused with the nearby Naval Air Station Pensacola, a separate military airfield in the same area.
Pensacola International has two physical runways. Runway 17/35 is 7,000 feet long with a hard surface, lit, and equipped with an ILS on runway 17. Runway 08/26 is 6,983 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS on runway 26. Field elevation is 108 feet.
Air traffic is handled on Tower/CTAF 119.9 MHz, with Ground on 121.9 MHz and Approach/Departure available via the airport's A/D frequency of 118.6 MHz. ATIS broadcasts on 121.25 MHz, and Clearance Delivery operates on 123.725 MHz. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz, and Gainesville Radio can be reached on 122.2 MHz. The field is served by ILS approaches to both runway 17 and runway 26.
Pensacola's first true municipal airport was established on this site in 1933, when city officials leased 500 acres of land and used relief-work funding to prepare the property. A passenger terminal opened in 1935, and scheduled airline service began in 1937 with Atlantic and Gulf Coast Airlines flying eight-passenger trimotored Stinsons, though the carrier folded soon after failing to secure an airmail contract. National Airlines began flights to Mobile and Jacksonville in 1938. From 1940 to 1945 the airport served as a U.S. Navy training facility, during which the Navy built a control tower and added a fourth runway; two war-era diagonal runways were later decommissioned in the 1960s. Eastern Air Lines began service in 1947, and in 1952 a new terminal was built, with the airport subsequently dedicated to former Pensacola mayor L.C. Hagler as Hagler Field. Eastern introduced the first scheduled jet service from Pensacola in 1968. The airport was renamed Pensacola Regional Airport in 1972, and following airline deregulation in 1978 several new carriers, including Continental and Delta, began serving the field; that same year a National Airlines Boeing 727 crashed into Escambia Bay on approach, the area's first fatal airline accident. USAir arrived in 1979, and the current terminal was completed in 1990. The airport was renamed Pensacola International Airport in 2011.
Pensacola International today operates as a mixed-use airport combining scheduled airline service with a significant general aviation and military presence; general aviation accounts for the majority of aircraft movements, with military, commercial and air-taxi traffic making up the remainder. Around 172 aircraft are based at the field, predominantly single-engine types alongside multi-engine, jet and helicopter aircraft. The airport continues to expand its facilities to accommodate growing passenger numbers, and each February it is informally rebranded as "Pensacola Intergalactic Airport" in recognition of the local Pensacon convention.