Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Chicago Rockford International Airport (KRFD) lies in Winnebago County, Illinois, about 68 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, and is one of the busiest cargo airports in the United States as a major hub for UPS Airlines and Amazon Air. For the visiting VFR pilot it offers two long, ILS-equipped runways and full air traffic control, making it a straightforward and well-equipped destination despite its industrial character.
Chicago Rockford International Airport, generally known simply as Rockford or by its IATA code RFD, sits in the southwest quadrant of Rockford, Illinois, roughly 68 miles (109 km) northwest of Chicago. It began life on the grounds of the former Camp Grant military base and has grown into a significant cargo hub, home to a major UPS Airlines operation and served by Amazon Air, while Allegiant Air provides the airport's scheduled passenger service. For a simulator pilot, RFD is notable for its combination of long, well-lit runways, full instrument approach capability and a busy mix of heavy cargo and leisure passenger traffic under a controlled, towered environment.
KRFD is a towered airport with its own approach and departure control, identified on frequency as Rockford Approach/Departure, and the field lies within controlled airspace served by that facility. It is located in the southwest part of Rockford, Illinois, within the Chicago metropolitan region, roughly 68 miles (109 km) northwest of Chicago and around 30 miles (48 km) from the outer Chicago suburbs.
Rockford has two physical runways. Runway 07/25 is 9,986 feet long, has a hard surface, is lit, and is served by an ILS on runway 07. Runway 01/19 is 8,180 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving runway 01. Field elevation is 728 feet.
Air traffic services at Rockford include Rockford Approach/Departure Control, an ATIS on 126.7 MHz, a clearance delivery frequency, Rockford Tower on 118.3 MHz, and ground control on 121.9 MHz. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz, and a Kankakee remote radio outlet is listed on 122.65 MHz. A further air/departure frequency is published at 121 MHz.
The airport's site traces back to 1917, when the U.S. Army established Camp Grant as one of the largest military training facilities in the country. The Army closed Camp Grant at the end of 1923, handing it to the Illinois National Guard, before reactivating it in 1941; during the Second World War the camp served as a major induction and training centre, trained medical personnel, and held prisoners of war, before becoming a separation centre after the war and closing for good in 1946. Following the war, Illinois passed the Airport Authority Act and the Greater Rockford Airport Authority was formed in 1946; the former Camp Grant land was transferred to the authority in 1948, with construction of the airport and terminal beginning in 1954 and the last Camp Grant buildings demolished from the site in 1974. Scheduled airline service began with Mid-Continent Airlines in 1950, and over the following decades the airport was served in turn by Braniff, Ozark, TWA, McClain Airlines, the original Frontier Airlines, Britt Airways, Midway Airlines, Coleman Air Transport, Northwest Airlink, Transmeridian Airlines, Direct Air, a later Frontier Airlines, and United Express, with periods when scheduled service lapsed entirely, including a gap from 2001 to 2003. The airport's name changed more than once as it sought to capitalise on its position near Chicago, becoming Northwest Chicagoland Regional Airport at Rockford before being renamed Chicago/Rockford International Airport on achieving international status in 2004, with the slash later dropped in 2007.
Rockford today is best known as a major cargo airport: it is among the fastest-growing cargo airports in the world, handling over 3.4 billion pounds of freight and ranking 12th-busiest for cargo in the United States, with UPS Airlines operating a major hub on the field and Amazon Air also serving it. Passenger service is provided by Allegiant Air, which as of early 2026 was the sole scheduled airline operating from Rockford, flying to eight destinations. The airport recorded 46,910 aircraft operations and around 114 based aircraft in 2024, alongside growing passenger numbers, and continues to see cargo infrastructure expansion, including new international freight services.