St. Peteâ€"Clearwater International Airport (IATA: PIE, ICAO: KPIE, FAA LID: PIE) is a public/military airport in Pinellas County, Florida serving the Tampa Bay Area. It is nine miles north of downtown St. Petersburg, seven miles southeast of Clearwater, and seventeen miles southwest of Tampa.
It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017â€"2021, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility. In 2014 it showed double-digit growth and handled more than one million passengers, setting a record.
Most scheduled airline traffic in the Tampa Bay Area uses Tampa International Airport (TPA), ten miles (16 km) east, but St. Peteâ€"Clearwater remains a destination for low-cost carriers. St. Peteâ€"Clearwater is a focus city for Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air. PIE is also less busy than Tampa, and is frequently used by pilots of private planes and executive jets.
The airport uses "Tampa Bay The Easy Way" as an advertising slogan and Fly2PIE in reference to its three-letter IATA and FAA codes.
History
Allegiant Airbus A320 Landing at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport - While moments from touchdown, you can see a US Cost Guard C-130. Pretty cool, since PIE is a major USCG air station. Flight Info: Flight Number: G4805 ...
The airport is on the west shoreline of Tampa Bay, six miles (10Â km) north of St. Petersburg, Florida (the "birthplace of commercial air transportation"). Barely a decade after the pioneer flight of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the first tickets for airline travel were sold by the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line of Tony Jannus to fare-paying passengers. Using a Benoist XIV amphibious aircraft, the inaugural flight took place from a location near the downtown St. Petersburg Pier. Mayor Abram C. Pheil of St. Petersburg and Mae Peabody of Dubuque, Iowa, were the first passengers, flying across the bay to Tampa and, according to a United Press account, reportedly reaching the maximum speed of 75Â miles per hour during the flight. Other reports indicate that they reached an altitude of 50 feet (15Â m).
This was the beginning of commercial air transportation anywhere in the world and is commemorated by a replica of the Benoist aircraft and a plaque at the airport terminal baggage claim area. Another replica is displayed at the St. Petersburg Museum of History adjacent to the Pier. Since 1991, the terminal holds the archives of the Florida Aviation Historical Society.
Construction and wartime
Construction of the airport at its present site started in March 1941. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the airport was acquired by the United States Army Air Forces, which used it as a military flight training base assigned to Third Air Force.
The 304th Fighter Squadron, a combat training unit of the 337th Fighter Group based P-40 Warhawks and, later, P-51 Mustangs at Pinellas Army Airfield (as it was then known) for the duration of World War II. Antisubmarine patrols against German U-boats in the Gulf of Mexico were also flown from the airfield.
To commemorate the airport's vital role during that conflict, a plaque was dedicated at the airport terminal in 1994 by the P-51 Fighter Pilots Association and Brigadier General James H. Howard, who was the only European Theater fighter pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II and later served as the last wartime base commander of Pinellas Army Airfield. A permanent exhibit honoring General Howard is located in the terminal.
Postwar operation
After World War II the property was returned to Pinellas County by the U.S. government to operate as a civil airport. It was originally called Pinellas International Airport and given the IATA designation, PIE, which it still uses, because PIA was already taken by Peoria International Airport. It was later changed to St. Petersburgâ€"Clearwater International Airport because, according to airport manager "Bobo" Hayes, tourists didn't know where Pinellas county was.
Airline service: 1950s to the mid 2000s
During the 1950s several airlines served both PIE and Tampa (TPA) at the same time including Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, National Airlines and Northwest Airlines. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide (OAG) lists 17 airline departures: ten by Eastern, six by National and one by Mackey Airlines. Four of those flights were operated nonstop beyond Florida, including an Eastern Douglas DC-4 to Chicago and a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation to Pittsburgh. In 1956, Mackey Airlines was operating daily direct Douglas DC-4 service to Nassau, Bahamas via intermediate stops in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. In 1959, National Airlines was operating a daily Douglas DC-7B flight direct from PIE to New York City Idlewild Airport (now JFK Airport) and on to Boston via an intermediate stop in Jacksonville that featured "Five Star Service" in first class as well as "Sunlight Club Coach" service. In 1960, Delta was operating "Flying Scot" Douglas DC-6 "Day Coach" service from the airport with a daily flight routing of St. Petersburg - Atlanta - Knoxville - Cincinnati - Chicago Midway Airport.
With the advent of the jet age, runway 17/35 was extended north into Tampa Bay; the first scheduled jet service was flown by Northwest Airlines with a Boeing 720B from Chicago in late 1961 (the 1961 Aviation Week directory states PIE's longest runways were 5,700Â feet; however, it appears 17/35 was 8,000Â feet when the 720B arrived). The increased capacities of Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 jetliners, compared to Douglas DC-4, DC-6, DC-7 and Lockheed Constellation propliners, prompted the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to approve consolidation of airline service for the Tampa Bay area at TPA during the early 1960s.
In 1963, Northwest was flying Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop aircraft into the airport with its service including a daily Electra flight operating a routing of Miami - Fort Lauderdale - St. Petersburg - Atlanta - Chicago O'Hare Airport - Minneapolis/St. Paul - Fargo, ND - Grand Forks, ND - Winnipeg, Canada. Eastern was the last scheduled airline serving PIE during the mid 1960s and it ceased all flights from the airport in 1964. The year before, Eastern had been operating flights with propeller aircraft from St. Petersburg nonstop to Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare Airport, Cleveland and Louisville as well as one stop direct service to Columbus, OH, Detroit and Indianapolis.
Scheduled air service returned to PIE in 1972 when Air Florida initiated flights operating as an intrastate airline to Miami and Orlando with Boeing 707 jetliners. Air Florida then replaced its 707 jets with Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops out of PIE and in 1974 was operating nonstop flights to Miami, Orlando and Tallahassee. According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), only one airline was serving St. Petersburg in the fall of 1979: regional air carrier Red Carpet Airlines operating Convair 440 prop aircraft service five days a week nonstop from Miami and two days a week nonstop from Grand Cayman in the Caribbean. In 1982, Northeastern International Airways was operating Douglas DC-8 jet nonstops to Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, New York. By 1983 Northeastern was flying Boeing 727-100 jet nonstops to Fort Lauderdale and New Orleans in addition to its nonstop service to Islip. Also in 1983 People Express was flying nonstop to New York/Newark Liberty International Airport with Boeing 727-200, 737-100 and 737-200 jets. Locally based regional air carrier Atlantic Gulf Airlines was operating Vickers Viscount turboprop flights nonstop to Miami in 1983 and by 1984 was operating Convair 580 turboprop service to Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Tallahassee. Also by 1984 Northeastern had added nonstop West Palm Beach jet flights as well as direct, no change of plane jet service to Hartford/Springfield, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, San Diego and Tulsa. People Express also expanded its flights from the airport and in 1985 was operating nonstops to Charlotte in addition to New York/Newark as well as flying direct, no change of plane jet service to Boston, Detroit and Syracuse. Also in 1985 Florida Express was operating British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets into PIE with four daily nonstop flights to its Orlando hub with direct, one stop service also being operated to Columbus, OH, Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis and Nashville via Orlando. In 1987 American Airlines started nonstops to its Raleigh-Durham hub, but by October 1989 PIE once again did not have scheduled airline service.
American Trans Air (ATA) and Air South then began jet flights from PIE during the mid 1990s. In late 1994, American Trans Air was operating domestic nonstop service to Chicago Midway Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and St. Louis as well as international nonstop flights to Nassau, Bahamas. ATA was primarily operating Boeing 727-200 jets on these services but was also operating larger Boeing 757-200 jetliners on some nonstop flights between the airport and Chicago Midway at this time as well. In the summer of 1995, Air South was flying nonstop Boeing 737-200 jet service to Atlanta, Columbia, SC, Miami and Tallahassee. The Air South service to Miami in 1995 included up to five 737 nonstops on weekdays while at the same time commuter air carrier Gulfstream International Airlines was operating twice daily nonstop flights to Miami with small Beechcraft 1900C turboprops. In 1997, Reno Air was operating "Gulf Coast Flyer" service nonstop to Gulfport/Biloxi with McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jetliners. By 1999, the OAG listed four airlines operating either domestic or international jet service into St. Petersburg: American Trans Air flying Boeing 727-200 nonstops from Chicago Midway Airport and Indianapolis, Canada 3000 flying Airbus A320 nonstops from Toronto, Nations Air flying Boeing 737-200 nonstops from Gulfport/Biloxi and Royal Aviation flying Boeing 757-200 nonstops from Toronto. American Trans Air ended operations at PIE in 2004 due to downsizing prior to declaring bankruptcy while Southeast ceased serving the airport in 1996 and subsequently went out of business. Following cessation of service by ATA, the airport was once again left without scheduled passenger flights.
Recent air service developments
In September 2006 Allegiant Air announced scheduled service from St. Petersburgâ€"Clearwater to cities in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Allegiant's destination count from PIE has since increased to 59 airports in the eastern United States. In February, the Lansing, Michigan service shifted to Grand Rapids, Michigan, with four weekly flights.
The airport recently completed a US$22 million renovation, including, among other things, larger gates, new plumbing, and building jetway loading bridges as previous boarding and deplaning required all passengers to walk across the tarmac to their gates.
In January 2015 Silver Airways announced it was beginning service to PIE, but in March the company had cancelled its plans.
Facilities
The airport covers 1900 acres (769 ha) at an elevation of 11 feet (3 m). It has two asphalt runways: 18/36 is 9,730 by 150 feet (2,966 x 46 m) with an ILS approach, and 4/22 is 5,903 by 150 feet (1,799 x 46 m).
The airport is also the home of Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, the largest and busiest U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in the United States, operating HC-130 Hercules and MH-60T Jayhawk aircraft. The U.S. Army Reserve also maintains an Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) at PIE immediately west of the approach end of Runway 17R for Companies A and F, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment and Medical Evacuation Unit, operating UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-operated control tower, the FAA's Central Florida Region Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) (which is the busiest AFSS in the United States) and the St. Petersburg VORTAC for airways navigation are also important federal government services at the airport.
Along with scheduled passenger and charter airlines as well as military flight operations, United Parcel Service (UPS Airlines) along with other air cargo operators and general/corporate aviation utilize the airport with UPS conducting extensive Boeing 757-200 freighter operations. The entire tract of the airport is designated as a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) and a large Airport Industrial Park developed in the 1980s is a major center of commerce. The airport and its tenants employ over 3,000Â people and have an economic benefit of more than $400Â million yearly to the Tampa Bay area.
The airport has a 24-hour airport rescue and fire-fighting (ARFF) department (Index C), along with operations, facilities, engineering, security, and administrative personnel.
For the year ending June 30, 2017, the airport had 113,096 aircraft operations, an average of 310 operations per day; with 71% general aviation, 13% military, 12% commercial and 3% air taxi. In November 2017, there were 259 aircraft based at this airport: 98 single-engine, 29 multi-engine, 56 jet, 39 helicopter, 36 military and 1 ultralight.
Airlines and destinations
St. Petersburgâ€"Clearwater International Airport has one terminal and thirteen gates: 1â€"12 and 14.
Passenger
Statistics
Top domestic destinations
Annual traffic
Accidents and incidents
On June 6, 1982, a Douglas C-47A (N95C), of Fromhagen Aviation, was written off after the starboard engine failed during the takeoff for a training flight. All five people aboard survived.
On September 30, 2015, the pilot of a Piper PA-30, registered to Jet Aircraft Management, crashed and died while practicing takeoffs and landings.
On June 1, 2016, Allegiant Air Flight 871 made an emergency landing at the airport, its scheduled destination. The plane departed from Moline, Illinois. No injuries were reported, and the airline declined to comment on the mechanical failure.
See also
- Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater
- List of airports in the Tampa Bay Area
- Pinellas Army Air Field
References
- Other sources
External links
- St. Petersburgâ€"Clearwater International Airport
- St. Petersburgâ€"Clearwater International Airport real-time ATC feed
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective June 21, 2018
- FAA Terminal Procedures for PIE, effective June 21, 2018
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KPIE
- ASN accident history for PIE
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KPIE
- FAA current PIE delay information
