Airport in Brownsville, Texas, United States
Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport
(
IATA
:
BRO
,
ICAO
:
KBRO
,
FAA
LID
:
BRO
) is 5 miles (4.3 nmi; 8.0 km) east of downtown
Brownsville
,
Cameron County, Texas
.
[1]
The Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport serves three airlines, six air taxis and offers three fixed-base operations (FBOs) for general aviation. The
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
for 2011?2015
categorized
it as a
primary commercial service
facility.
[2]
The
National Weather Service
forecast office for deep south Texas is on the airport grounds. The airport has scheduled nonstop passenger flights to
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
(DFW) and
George Bush Intercontinental Airport
(IAH).
History
[
edit
]
Brownsville was once the main terminal for air service between the United States and Mexico. In 1929,
Pan American World Airways
acquired a controlling stake in
Mexicana de Aviacion
and began
Ford Trimotor
service between Brownsville and
Mexico City
, eventually extended to the
Yucatan Peninsula
to connect with Pan Am's Caribbean route network.
[3]
On March 9,
Charles Lindbergh
inaugurated this service, landing at BRO after a five-hour, 38-minute flight from
Mexico City
. An event was held on site in Lindbergh's honor, with a crowd of over 20,000 greeting him upon his arrival. Among the attendees was
Amelia Earhart
, for whom the main street in front of the Airport is named.
[4]
Brownsville became an early center for technical development in instrument navigation ("blind flying") due to the bad weather conditions that pilots encountered in the mountains over Mexico.
[3]
Pan Am's service terminated in Brownsville, and passengers were initially taken on the
Missouri Pacific Railroad
to
St. Louis, Missouri
for rail connections to the northern US.
[5]
In 1931,
American Airways
was flying a multi-stop route Brownsville to Dallas, connecting to Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities.
[6]
[7]
Braniff Airways
began service in 1934, and
Eastern Air Lines
arrived in 1939.
[4]
During
World War II
the airport was redubbed
Brownsville Army Air Field
and used by the military for pilot training, engine testing and overhauls.
[4]
In 1947, Pan Am's Mexico City route extended to Houston, and Brownsville was an intermediate stop. Pan Am service to Brownsville ended in 1962 as the Mexico City flight became a nonstop DC-8 from Houston.
[8]
In the 1960s, the 16th weather
radar
system in the nation was installed at BRO.
[4]
In 1979, the year after
airline deregulation
, Brownsville had three airlines:
Braniff International Airways
(727s to Dallas/Fort Worth),
Texas International Airlines
(DC-9s to Houston and McAllen), and
Tejas Airlines
(commuter turboprops to Corpus Christi, McAllen and San Antonio).
[9]
In 1983, the airport was renamed the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport.
[4]
In 2014, expansion of the runway to 10,000 or 12,000 feet (3,000 or 3,700 m) was proposed by the Brownsville City Aviation Director, and the city purchased 8.2 acres (3.3 ha) of land for about $200,000.
[10]
In 2021, in part as a response to expanding operations by
SpaceX
in relation to its
South Texas launch site
, a new 91,000 square foot terminal was opened to accommodate an increase in tourism and migration.
[11]
[12]
A further $1.6 million was awarded to the city of Brownsville by the Federal Aviation Administration to enhance the airport's jet bridges.
[13]
Since March 2022, one of Starship SN8's flaps has been on public display at Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport.
[14]
Brownsville Army Airfield
[
edit
]
During
World War II
, the airport was used by the
United States Army Air Forces
, although the Air Corps had signed a contract with Pan American Airways in 1940 for the training of aircraft mechanics at the airport. Shortly after the
Pearl Harbor Attack
on December 7, 1941, both Army and Navy observation aircraft began operations from the airport flying antisubmarine missions over the Gulf of Mexico.
For the first year of the United States' involvement in combat of the war, Pan American continued to operate the airport, providing training to Ferrying Command pilots and ground mechanics assigned to the 18th Transport Transition Training Detachment. With the realignment of Ferrying Command to
Air Transport Command
on July 1, 1942, plans were made by the Army to assume jurisdiction of the airport. On July 28, 1943, the USAAF 568th AAF Base Unit, Air Transport Command was assigned to the newly designated
Brownsville Army Airfield
. The mission of the 4th Fighter Operational Training Unit at the airfield was the training of pilots to ferry pursuit planes to the various theaters of war. Training was carried out by AAF instructor pilots, however Pan American Airways retained operations at the airfield flying larger 2 and 4 engine transports to the airport as an overhaul facility. In May 1944, a new mission was developed to train multi-engined pilots at the base. The school began operations in June, and the pilots began to ferry large numbers of aircraft to
Panama
for subsequent shipment by sealift to Australia.
Achievements of note during World War II at Brownsville AAF were:
- Civilian Pilot Training program initiated to train military and commercial pilots.
- The first American jet engine flight was tested at Brownsville Army Air Field.
[15]
- B-29 bombers were renovated on the site.
- The airport had one of the largest overhaul facilities in the country. By the end of the war Pan American had overhauled nearly 6,000 engines.
With the end of the
Pacific War
in August 1945, operations at Brownsville AAF were dramatically reduced. Flight operations continued at a reduced level for the balance of 1945, however in early January the base was declared surplus and was inactivated on March 5, 1946, and returned to full civilian control.
[16]
[17]
Facilities
[
edit
]
The Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport covers 1,700 acres (690 ha) at an elevation of 22 feet (6.7 m). It has three asphalt
runways
: 13R/31L is 7,399 by 150 feet (2,255 by 46 m); 17/35 is 6,000 by 150 feet (1,829 by 46 m); 13L/31R is 3,000 by 75 feet (914 by 23 m).
[1]
In 2011, the airport had 37,412 aircraft operations, average 102 per day: 45%
general aviation
, 40% military, 14%
air taxi
, and 1% airline. 55 aircraft were then based at the airport: 87% single-engine and 13% multi-engine.
[1]
Several regional jets, including the
Canadair CRJ-200
and
Embraer ERJ 145
, are respectively operated by
American Eagle
(
Envoy Air
) and
United Express
for their partners
American Airlines
and
United Airlines
to Brownsville. Previous airliners at the airport include
ERJ 135s
,
ERJ 140s
and
ATR-42s
(flown by Chautauqua Airlines, Envoy Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines) and
Boeing
737-200s
,
737-300s
and
737-500s
(on Continental Airlines).
Pan American Airways, Inc. (no relation to the original
Pan Am
) was in the 1931 Pan American Airways Building at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport. The company renovated the 1931 Pan American Airways Building with the intent of re-opening the "Gateway to Latin America" in 2011.
[18]
That re-opening never happened and the company no longer exists.
[19]
Airlines and destinations
[
edit
]
- Airlines
American Eagle
operates
Bombardier CRJ-900
regional jets on their route to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), with
United Express
operating
Embraer ERJ-175
,
Bombardier CRJ-700
and
Embraer ERJ-145
regional jets on their route to Houston (IAH).
[20]
[21]
[22]
American Eagle and United Express services are operated via
code share
agreements with
SkyWest Airlines
,
Mesa Airlines
, and
CommuteAir
. The third passenger airline at the airport, Avelo, uses Boeing 737 equipment.
- Destinations
Destinations map
|
Destinations from Brownsville
Red
= Year-round destination
Green
= Seasonal destination
Blue
= Future destination
|
Historical airline service
[
edit
]
Pan American World Airways
(
Pan Am
) began serving Brownsville in 1929, flying to
Mexico City
via
Tampico
.
[23]
In 1950, Pan Am
Douglas DC-4s
flew Brownsville to Mexico City via Tampico; in 1953-54 Pan Am's route was extended north to Houston.
[24]
In 1960, Pan Am ended the Tampico stop, flying BRO-MEX nonstop; in 1962 the HOU-MEX flight became a DC-8 and Pan Am dropped Brownsville, whose longest runway was 5734 ft until 1965.
[25]
In 1931,
American Airways
flew Brownsville-San Antonio-Austin-Waco-Fort Worth-Dallas;
[26]
in 1934 American Airways became American Airlines and quit flying to south Texas.
Braniff International Airways
and
Eastern Air Lines
served Brownsville for many years. In 1935, Braniff flew
Lockheed Model 10 Electras
Brownsville-Corpus Christi-San Antonio-Austin-Waco-Fort Worth-Dallas.
[27]
In 1940, a Braniff
Douglas DC-3
flew Brownsville-Corpus Christi-San Antonio-Austin-Fort Worth-Dallas-Oklahoma City-Ponca City-Wichita-Kansas City-Chicago.
[28]
The Eastern timetable for March 1, 1939, said: "A New Route to Brownsville and Mexico".
[29]
In 1941, Eastern's "Mexico Silver Sleeper" flew New York City-Washington, D.C.-Atlanta-New Orleans-Houston
Hobby Airport
-Corpus Christi-Brownsville.
[30]
Eastern listed connections at Brownsville to Pan Am's service to Mexico.
[30]
In 1958, Eastern
Convair 340s
flew Brownsville-Corpus Christi-Houston Hobby-Beaumont/Port Arthur-Lake Charles-Lafayette-Baton Rouge-New Orleans-Mobile-Pensacola-Montgomery-Birmingham-Atlanta.
[31]
In 1965, Eastern's
Convair 440s
flew Brownsville-Corpus Christi-Houston-Beaumont-Lake Charles-Lafayette-Baton Rouge-New Orleans.
[32]
Trans-Texas Airways
(TTa) also served Brownsville; in 1952 TTa
Douglas DC-3s
flew Brownsville-Harlingen-McAllen-Alice-Corpus Christi-Beeville-Victoria-Houston.
[33]
Years later TTa would be renamed
Texas International Airlines
.
First jets scheduled to Brownsville were
Braniff International
BAC One-Elevens
in May 1965, soon followed by Eastern 727s. The airport then had two airline departures a day, both to Corpus Christi.
In 1966, Braniff's One-Eleven flew Brownsville-Corpus Christi-San Antonio-Austin-Dallas
Love Field
-Tulsa-Kansas City.
[34]
In summer 1967, it flew Brownsville-Corpus Christi-Houston
Hobby Airport
-Dallas Love Field-Wichita-Kansas City-Chicago.
[35]
In 1974, Braniff was flying
Boeing 727-100s
and
Boeing 727-200s
nonstop to Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) and
Houston Intercontinental Airport
and direct to Washington, D.C., Detroit, Amarillo and Lubbock.
[36]
In fall 1979, Braniff was operating three daily nonstop Boeing 727s to Dallas/Ft. Worth and one-stop to New York City via
John F. Kennedy International Airport
and one-stop to
Chicago O'Hare Airport
and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
[37]
In spring 1981, Braniff had nonstop Boeing 727s to Dallas/Ft. Worth.
[38]
In fall 1979, three
Texas International Airlines
Douglas DC-9-10s
a day flew nonstop to
Houston Intercontinental Airport
.
[39]
In summer 1982, Texas International, which had been acquired by
Continental Airlines
, was flying two DC-9-10s a day nonstop to Houston;
[40]
one continued to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Albuquerque and Los Angeles (
LAX
).
[40]
By 1983, Continental had begun operating nonstop service to IAH with
Boeing 727-100s
and
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s
.
[41]
Ozark Air Lines
served Brownsville in the early and mid 1980s with
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s
nonstop to Dallas/Ft. Worth and San Antonio, continuing to the airline's St. Louis hub.
[42]
In fall 1984,
Royale Airlines
was flying three
Douglas DC-9-10s
a day nonstop to
Houston Intercontinental Airport
via a passenger feed agreement with
Continental Airlines
.
[43]
In summer 1985,
Muse Air
was flying five nonstops a day to
Houston Hobby Airport
(HOU), and direct to
Dallas Love Field
(DAL) and Tulsa with
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50s
and
McDonnell Douglas MD-80s
.
[44]
Muse Air's successor,
TranStar Airlines
continued
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50s
to Houston
Hobby Airport
in 1986 and 1987 with some continuing to Dallas
Love Field
or New Orleans.
[45]
In fall 1994,
Continental Airlines
and affiliate
Continental Express
had five nonstops a day to
Houston Intercontinental Airport
, four on Continental
Boeing 727-200s
,
Boeing 737-500s
or
McDonnell Douglas MD-80s
and one on a Continental Express
ATR-42
.
[46]
Continental also had a nonstop
McDonnell Douglas MD-80
to Mexico City
[46]
and two
Boeing 727-200s
a day Detroit-Houston-Brownsville and back.
[47]
In spring 1995, Continental Airlines and Continental Express together had five nonstops a day to Houston Intercontinental Airport.
[48]
Continental flew
Boeing 737-300
and
Boeing 737-500s
to the airport while Continental Express flew
ATR-42s
and
ATR-72s
.
[48]
Continental merged with
United Airlines
in 2010.
Allegiant Air
scheduled nonstop flights to Las Vegas from beginning June 2015 but ended flights from Brownsville and now services MFE.
[49]
Cargo
[
edit
]
The Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport is second to Valley International Airport in air cargo handling airports in the Rio Grande Valley.
[50]
Pan American Airways
and World-Wide Consolidated Logistics, Inc. were to open cargo service to Latin America in 2011. A TSA Certified Cargo Screening Facility was established by World-Wide Consolidated Logistics, Inc. to facility the screening of domestic and international cargo to and from the United States with the intent of Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport being the "Gateway to Latin America" in 2011 and the "Gateway to Africa" (via the Southern Route) in 2012. Those plans never came to fruition because the entity's (PAAWWCL) owner ran into legal trouble, preventing the airline from initiating any new services.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
FAA Airport Form 5010 for BRO
PDF
. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
- ^
"2011?2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A"
(PDF)
.
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
.
Federal Aviation Administration
. October 4, 2010. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on September 27, 2012.
- ^
a
b
"The Brownsville Base"
. Pan Am Historical Foundation
. Retrieved
February 8,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"History"
. Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport. Archived from
the original
on March 12, 2016
. Retrieved
February 8,
2016
.
- ^
"Pan Am timetable, April 1930"
. Retrieved
February 8,
2016
.
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, March 15, 1931 American Airways timetable
- ^
"Pan Am timetable, 1933"
. Retrieved
February 8,
2016
.
- ^
"Pan Am route map, 1963"
. Retrieved
February 8,
2016
.
- ^
"Flights to Brownsville, Texas Effective November 15, 1979"
. Retrieved
February 8,
2016
.
- ^
"Brownsville Sets Up Airport For Runway Expansion"
.
www.aviationpros.com
. The Brownsville Herald, Texas. June 5, 2014
. Retrieved
August 28,
2021
.
- ^
"New Terminal Significantly Increases Capacity, Flexibility at Brownsville South Padre Island Int'l | Airport Improvement Magazine"
.
airportimprovement.com
. Retrieved
June 3,
2021
.
- ^
"Brownsville airport unveiling new terminal"
.
Port Isabel-South Padre Press
. December 4, 2020
. Retrieved
June 3,
2021
.
- ^
"StackPath"
.
www.aviationpros.com
. May 18, 2021
. Retrieved
June 3,
2021
.
- ^
Martinez, Laura B. (March 19, 2022).
"A piece of history: SN8 wing flap being placed at airport"
.
The Brownsville Herald
.
Archived
from the original on March 29, 2022
. Retrieved
March 23,
2022
.
- ^
Chilton, Carl (January 2018).
"Brownsville Airport History"
(PDF)
.
Brownsville Historical Association
. p. 4.
- ^
Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now ? Vol. 2. Publisher: Pictorial Histories Pub,
ISBN
1-57510-051-7
- ^
Chilton, Carl S. Jr (2000).
70 Years of Airport History in Brownsville 1929-1999
. City of Brownsville.
OCLC
49717555
.
- ^
"Pan American Airways reborn as cargo carrier".
Air Cargo World
. Vol. 100, no. 12. December 2010.
ISSN
0745-5100
.
- ^
"Statement from Pan American World Airways, Inc"
.
PR Newswire
. Dover, NH. December 26, 2012.
- ^
"Best Travel Deals, Cheap Flights, Hotel Discounts, Car Rentals and more"
.
Allegiant Air
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
http://www.aa.com
, Timetable
- ^
http://www.united.com
, Timetable
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, August, 1929 Pan American timetable
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, April 1, 1950 Pan American timetable
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, Aug. 1, 1961 & Aug. 1, 1963 Pan American World Airways timetables
- ^
http://www.timedtableimages.com
[
permanent dead link
]
, March 15, 1931 American Airways timetable
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, April 22, 1935 Braniff timetable
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, Nov. 1, 1940 Braniff timetable
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, Mar. 1, 1939 Eastern timetable
- ^
a
b
http://www.timetableimages.com
, Mar. 1, 1941 Eastern timetable
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, Dec. 1, 1958 Eastern timetable
- ^
http://www.60sairlineantiques.net
Archived
April 1, 2019, at the
Wayback Machine
, June 1, 1965 Eastern timetable
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, Jan. 1, 1952 Trans-Texas timetable
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, April 24, 1966 Braniff timetable
- ^
http://www.60sairlineantiques.net
Archived
April 1, 2019, at the
Wayback Machine
, June 13, 1967 Braniff timetable
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, Oct. 27, 1974 Braniff International timetable
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, Oct. 28, 1979 Braniff International timetable
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, April 1, 1981 Official Airline Guide
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, Nov. 15, 1979 Official Airline Guide
- ^
a
b
http://www.departedflights.com
, June 1, 1982 Continental/Texas International joint timetable
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, July 1, 1983 Official Airline Guide
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, July 1, 1983 Official Airline Guide; Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, Nov. 1, 1984 Royale Airlines timetable
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, July 30, 1985 Muse Air timetable
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, Mar. 14, 1986 & June 15, 1987 TranStar maps
- ^
a
b
http://www.departedflights.com
, Oct. 30, 1994 Continental timetable
- ^
Sept. 15, 1994 Official Airline Guide
- ^
a
b
http://www.departedflights.com
, April 2, 1995 Official Airline Guide
- ^
"Find cheap flights to and from your city | Allegiant Interactive Route Map"
.
Allegiant Air
.
- ^
"Final All-Cargo Landed Weights, Rank Order"
(PDF)
.
www.faa.gov
. 2017
. Retrieved
April 7,
2021
.
External links
[
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]
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