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Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (IATA: MSY, ICAO: KMSY, FAA
LID: MSY), formerly known as Moisant Field, is located at 900 Airline Drive,
Kenner, Louisiana and is the primary commercial airport for the New Orleans
metropolitan area and of southeast Louisiana. Sitting at an average of 4.5 feet
above sea level, MSY is the second lowest lying international airport in the
world, second only to Schiphol International Airport in The Netherlands, which
sits at eleven feet below sea level. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, MSY served 9.7
million passengers per year, nearly all of them non-connecting. In 2007, it
served 7,525,533 passengers, representing an increase of 21% over the previous
year. MSY has one of the best safety records among U.S. airports.
In February 2008, U.S. News And World Report ranked MSY the 4th least miserable
airport in the United States. Results produced from the 47 businest airports in
the country.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was once a major hub for Latin
American travel from the United States. That travel mostly goes through other
cities which serve as gateway hubs for international legacy-airlines. It opened
after World War II, replacing the older New Orleans Lakefront Airport (which
kept the NEW and KNEW airport codes, and now serves general aviation) as the
city's main airport. The airport was renamed in 2001 after Louis Armstrong, a
famous jazz musician from New Orleans. The National Weather Service forecast
office for the area moved to the suburb of Slidell, and now uses non-airport
codes LIX and KLIX.
MSY is owned by the City of New Orleans (Orleans Parish), but is primarily
located in the city of Kenner, which is in neighboring Jefferson Parish. A small
portion of the longest runway is located in unincorporated Saint Charles Parish.
History
The airport was originally named after daredevil aviator John Moisant, who died
in an airplane crash on this land (which was devoted to farming at the time) in
1910. The abbreviation MSY was derived from Moisant Stock Yards, as the old
airport kept NEW.
Plans for Moisant Field were begun in 1940, as New Orleans' older Shushan
Airport – now New Orleans Lakefront Airport (NEW), still serving private and
corporate aircraft – was in need of expansion or replacement. With World War II
the land became a government air base. It was returned to civilian control after
the war, and commercial service began at Moisant Field in May of 1946.
On September 19, 1947, the airport was temporarily shut down as it was flooded
under two feet of water by the 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane.
Historically, Eastern Air Lines served MSY, including Boeing 727 Whisperjet
service to Dallas, Tampa, and Miami, as well as New York City and Atlanta.
Utilizing such aircraft as 727s, Douglas DC-8s, and DC-10s, National Airlines
provided service to such cities as Miami, Amsterdam, Tampa, Houston, Las Vegas,
Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. The current terminal was built in
1959.
MSY was also the hub for short-lived Pride Air, an airline which operated for
three months in 1985 using Boeing 727 aircraft.
On July 11, 2001, the airport was renamed after jazz musician Louis Armstrong in
honor of the centennial of his birth.
Pan Am Flight 759
On July 9, 1982, Pan Am Flight 759, en route from Miami to Las Vegas, departed
New Orleans International. The plane took off from the east-west runway
traveling east but never gained an altitude higher than 150 feet. The plane
traveled 4,610 feet (1405 m), hitting trees along the way, until crashing into a
residential neighborhood. A total of 153 people were killed (all 145 on board
and 8 on the ground). The National Transportation Safety Board determined the
probable cause was the aircraft's encounter with a microburst-induced wind shear
during the liftoff. This atmospheric condition created a downdraft and decreased
the headwind forcing the plane downward. Modern wind shear detection equipment,
protecting flights from such conditions, is now in place at New Orleans
International and most commercial airports.
Hurricane Katrina
The airport was closed to commercial air traffic on August 28, 2005, shortly
before Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, and it remained closed as floods
affected the city. The Associated Press reported on August 31 that MSY would
receive humanitarian flights, and that the airport "has no significant airfield
damage and had no standing water in aircraft movement areas", although the
airport did, as the article put it, "[sustain] damage to its roofs, hangars and
fencing." In early September, the airport was open only to military aircraft and
humanitarian flights, and was serving as a staging center for evacuees.
February 2006 tornado
At about 2:30 EST in the morning on February 3, 2006, a tornado touched down on
the grounds of MSY. The damage from the tornado was significant but primarily
confined to Concourse C, where American, United, AirTran Airways, and
international arrivals were based. Many temporary repairs dating from Hurricane
Katrina failed, including one roof patch, forcing airlines based in the
concourse to relocate operations to vacant gates. Jetways and other ground
equipment also sustained damage. As of late 2006, all of this had been repaired.
Capacity restoration
MSY reopened to commercial flights on September 13, 2005; with four flights
operated by Delta Air Lines to Atlanta, and Northwest Airlines to Memphis.
Slowly, service from other carriers began to resume with limited service by
Southwest Airlines, Continental Airlines, and American Airlines. Eventually, all
carriers announced their return with limited service with the exception of
Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines and international carriers Air Canada and
TACA. Continental Airlines became the first airline to return to pre-Katrina
flight frequency levels in early 2006, and in September 2006, they became the
first major airline serving New Orleans to return to pre-Katrina seat capacity
levels.
MSY served 7,525,533 passengers in 2007, or 77% of the all time high of
9,733,179 passengers who used Armstrong International in 2004. This represents
growth of 21.0% over 2006 passenger numbers. As of May 2008, MSY's operations
will be at 80% of their pre-Katrina status, measured by airlines' daily
seat-count. Eighty-six percent of daily roundtrip flights will have been
restored at that point, as well as 93% the number of domestic cities served
daily (scheduled) nonstop and 0% of international cities served (scheduled)
nonstop. There will also be two scheduled once-weekly flights to two domestic
cities.
Incentives to airlines
On November 21, 2006; the New Orleans Aviation Board approved an air service
initiative to promote increased service to Armstrong International:
* Airlines qualify for a $0.75 credit per seat toward terminal use charges for
scheduled departing seats over 85% of pre-Katrina levels for a 12 month period.
* Airlines qualify for a waiver of landing fees for service to an airport not
served from New Orleans for 12 months.
On January 17, 2008; the city's aviation board voted on an amended incentive
program which waives landing fees for the first two airlines to fly nonstop into
a city not serviced by the airport. Under the new ruling, landing fees will be
waived for up to two airlines flying into an "underserved destination airport."
The incentive previously referred to service to a "new destination airport."
The airport is also continuing its incentive to airlines that reach 85% of their
pre-Katrina flight frequencies.
Incentives to passengers
In November of 2006, the airport opened a "cell phone lot" at the corner of
Airline Drive and Hollandey Street across from the Airport Access Road; for
people picking up arriving passengers to wait until an arriving passenger calls
to say they are ready for pickup.
Also, on December 6, 2006; Armstrong Int'l launched an $8 million maintenance
campaign to clean and improve the environment, for guests arriving at and
departing from the New Orleans region. Dubbed Music To Your Eyes, the campaign
is designed to transform the airport into a more visitor-friendly facility: with
improvements to lighting, cleanliness, seating, baggage claim maintenance,
curbside congestion, and designated smoking areas.
International services
Armstrong International's Concourse C, located in the airport's West Terminal,
contains a fully enclosed US Customs, Immigration, and FIS facility. Eleven of
the concourse's 15 gates offer direct access to this area and are thus capable
of accepting foreign arrivals from all over the world, on aircraft as large as
Boeing 747-400s.
As of 2005, the regularly scheduled international services from MSY were
provided by Air Canada to Toronto and Grupo TACA to San Pedro Sula in Honduras.
MSY has enjoyed nearly thirty nonstop international destinations in its
history-- several of them intercontinental. In the 1980s, the city was served by
British Airways's flight between London and Mexico City using Lockheed L1011
aircraft, which made an intermediate passenger and fuel stop at MSY. National
Airlines also flew nonstop to Amsterdam from MSY using DC10 aircraft.
Twice weekly seasonal New Orleans to Montego Bay nonstops via the Jamaica
Shuttle (typically operated by chartered Boeing 727-200's or 737-300's) operated
during most of the 1990's and into the 2000's.
Laker Airways operated twice weekly seasonal B727-200 flights between New
Orleans and Grand Bahama Island in 2002.
Vacation Express operated twice weekly seasonal charters between New Orleans and
Cancun for several years using a mix of B727-200, B737-200, B737-300, and MD-80
equipment; This service was suspended after the company decided to concentrate
on selling seats on scheduled flights instead of chartering aircraft.
All international service into MSY was suspended while the FIS facility was
closed post-Katrina. They reopened to an influx of chartered arrivals from
London, Manchester, Bournemouth, and Nottingham, UK; all carrying tourists in
for Mardi Gras and a departing cruise liner.
In May of 2006, International Charter and Tours (via the auspices of Miami Air
International) announced it would begin [scheduled-basis] charter nonstop
flights between New Orleans and the Honduran cities of San Pedro Sula and La
Ceiba to cater to the demand of Latin American traffic in the absence of TACA.
This service is currently offered on a seasonal basis only.
Return of scheduled international service
TACA operated several flights during the holiday travel period in 2007 between
MSY and San Pedro Sula, Honduras. There is no indication as of yet when or if
the airline plans to return to MSY on a scheduled basis.
Terminals, airlines, and destinations
Louis Armstrong International has two terminals, East and West, connected by a
central ticketing alley. Attached are four concourses, A, B, C, and D.
Concourse A
Concourse A has 6 Gates: A1, A3, A5 - A8
* Northwest Airlines Gates A1, A3 (Detroit [seasonal], Memphis)
o Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul)
* US Airways Gates A6 - A8 (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-Reagan)
o US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines (Charlotte)
o US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines (Washington-Reagan)
Concourse B
Concourse B has 6 Gates: B2, B4, B5, B7, B8, B9
* Southwest Airlines Gates B2, B4, B5, B7 - B9 (Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham
(AL), Chicago-Midway, Dallas-Love, Fort Lauderdale, Houston-Hobby, Las Vegas,
Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, Tampa)
Concourse C
The inside of MSY's International Arrivals Concourse C
The inside of MSY's International Arrivals Concourse C
The airside of New Orleans airport
The airside of New Orleans airport
Except for certain Canadian, Caribbean, and private-jet operations; all nonstop
international arrivals are handled by Concourse C. This concourse also contains
common-use gates, available for infrequent services and charter flights as well.
Concourse C has 15 Gates: C1 - C12, C14 - C16
* AirTran Airways Gate C9 (Atlanta, Indianapolis [ends April 5])
* American Airlines Gates C8, C10, C12 (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth,
Miami, New York-LaGuardia)
o AmericanConnection operated by Trans States Airlines (St. Louis)
* ExpressJet Airlines Gates C15, C16 (Austin, Jacksonville, Kansas City,
Raleigh/Durham, San Antonio)
* United Airlines Gates C1, C2, C4, C6 (Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles)
o Ted operated by United Airlines (Denver, Los Angeles)
o United Express operated by Shuttle America (Chicago-O'Hare [seasonal],
Washington-Dulles [seasonal])
Concourse D
The newest concourse, D contains a Delta Air Lines Crown Room Club, the sole
such airline club remaining in Armstrong.
Concourse D has 7 Gates: D1 - D6, D8
* Continental Airlines Gates D1, D3, D5 (Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
o Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Cleveland,
Houston-Intercontinental)
* Delta Air Lines Gates D2, D4, D6, D8 (Atlanta, Los Angeles, New
York-LaGuardia)
o Delta Connection operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Cincinnati/Northern
Kentucky)
o Delta Connection operated by Comair (Boston [ends September 6],
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)
o Delta Connection operated by Freedom Airlines (Orlando)
o Delta Connection operated by SkyWest (Salt Lake City)
* JetBlue Airways Gate D2 (Boston [begins May 1], New York-JFK)
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