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State College Regional Airport

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 10 min
State College Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorPennsylvania State University Centre County Airport Authority
ServesCentral Pennsylvania
LocationBenner Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Time zone(UTC -4 EDT/EST)
Elevation AMSL1,239 ft / 378 m
Coordinates40°50′57″N 77°50′55″W / 40.84917°N 77.84861°W / 40.84917; -77.84861
Websiteflysce.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
6/24 6,701 2,042 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Aircraft Movements41,759
Based Aircraft53
Source: FAA[1][2]
UNV Runway 24

State College Regional Airport (formerly University Park Airport), (IATA: SCE, ICAO: KUNV, FAA LID: UNV) is a public airport in Benner Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, serving State College and Bellefonte. The airport covers 1,105 acres (447 ha) and has one active runway.

The airport is owned by The Pennsylvania State University, but the terminal building and parking areas are owned and operated by the Centre County Airport Authority.[3] It is currently served by United Express and American Eagle, connecting to hubs in the Northeast and Midwest.

History

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In the 1950s a small airport was built on land leased from Penn State, just north of State College. The Centre County Airport Authority was created to manage the development of the airport. The October 1959 chart[citation needed] shows 2350-foot runway 6; the August 1965 chart shows 3000 feet; the November 1967 chart adds 2350-foot runway 16. (The intersection of those two 50-foot runways is still visible at 40°50′57″N 77°51′11″W / 40.8492°N 77.85315°W / 40.8492; -77.85315). The present runway was built parallel to the old runway 6 about 1975–76; it was then 5000 feet long.[citation needed]

The first airline flights (All American DC-3s) at State College were at the old airport southwest of town 40°46′13″N 77°52′53″W / 40.7704°N 77.8815°W / 40.7704; -77.8815 from 1949 to 1951.[citation needed] In 1965 Harrisburg Commuter began flights from State College to Harrisburg, two flights each weekday; the 1965 Official Airlines Guide does not state which airport they served, but starting in 1978 Allegheny Commuter flights were at University Park.[citation needed]Penn State assumed the lease and assets of the airport in 1972.[4] A permanent passenger terminal was built in 1985.[1] A new passenger terminal was completed in 1993, and cargo operations moved to the old terminal. In 1997 the runway was lengthened to 6,701 ft (2,042 m).[5] A new general aviation hangar was built in 2001.[6]

Construction on the control tower began on January 8, 2010[7] and was completed in early August 2011. The Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) went operational on September 1, 2011, and is operated by Midwest Air Traffic Control under the Federal Contract Tower Program.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says in 2019 there were 190,930 enplanements, making University Park Airport the 6th busiest airport in Pennsylvania.[8]

On November 3, 2023, the Centre County Airport Authority announced that University Park Airport had been renamed State College Regional Airport.[9][10]

Services

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The Centre County Airport Authority owns and operates the commercial airline terminal. The terminal consists of a snack bar, free Wi-Fi, charging stations for mobile devices and a conference room. Taxi, limousine services and car rentals are available. The airport does not have jet bridges, and all aircraft board from ground-level hardstands.

Penn State University fixed-base operator (FBO), offers fuel, flight planning services, aircraft repair, and hangar rental.

American Eagle is serviced by Piedmont Airlines and Air Wisconsin Airlines. United Express is serviced by GoJet Airlines and SkyWest Airlines.

Delta Airlines suspended service on June 5, 2023, citing personnel shortages.

Allegiant Air operated 2-4 flights per week to Orlando-Sanford and St. Pete/Clearwater from October 2019 to May 2022 using Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft.

Private aircraft are serviced by fixed-base operator Penn State Aviation Center.[11]

Tech Aviation Flight School is located at the T-Hangars.

Runways

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State College Regional Airport features one active runway. The end closest to Rock Road is Runway 24, bearing a magnetic heading of 243 degrees. Runway 24 is equipped with an instrument landing system (ILS) and is used as the primary landing and departing runway. Runway 6 is used as a visual runway; however, infrastructure has been considered to improve satellite-based approaches.[12] Runway 16 and 34 was formerly used for general aviation but was closed.

Aircraft

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State College Regional Airport regularly operates the Bombardier CRJ family, Embraer ERJ145s, and Embraer E175s. De Havilland Canada Dash 8s were common until their replacement by the regional jets. Cessna 208 Caravans are operated by Wiggins Airways contracted under FedEx Express cargo flights. Wiggins services Pittsburgh International Airport. Geisinger operates an Airbus H145 helicopter as a LifeFlight service. The airport sees numerous general aviation aircraft; Piper PA-28 Cherokees and business jets are common, while larger aircraft up to Boeing 757s can be seen as charter jets.[13]

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
American Eagle Philadelphia
United Express Chicago–O'Hare, Washington–Dulles[14]

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
AmeriflightPittsburgh[15]
FedEx FeederPittsburgh

Statistics

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Top destinations

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Busiest routes from SCE (August 2019 – July 2020) [8]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Chicago, Illinois 44,680 United, American
2 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 34,020 American
3 Detroit, Michigan 23,190 Delta
4 Washington–Dulles, Virginia 22,070 United
5 St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida 5,980 Allegiant
6 Orlando/Sanford, Florida 5,580

Annual traffic

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Year Passengers
2023 267,000
2022 215,000
2021 240,000
2020 143,000
2019 379,100
2018 298,800
2017 267,530
2016 262,260
2015 277,128
2014 270,891
2013 229,923
2012 230,121
2011 213,929
2010 211,154
2009 209,777
2008 201,898

Military

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B-25 Mitchell "Yankee Warrior"

State College Regional Airport is home to Civil Air Patrol Nittany Composite Squadron PA-338.[16] The squadron operates a Cessna 182 Skylane registered as N848CP.

The United States Army and Air National Guard occasionally fly Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft into UNV for training missions. Aircraft such as the F/A-18 Hornet and A-10 Thunderbolt II have staged at the airport to participate in flyovers of Beaver Stadium.[17]

U.S. Presidents have flown into UNV aboard Boeing C-32s operating as Air Force One.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for UNV PDF, effective July 13, 2023.
  2. ^ https://www.airportiq5010.com/5010web/dashboard/basedaircraft [dead link‍]
  3. ^ Comprehensive Plan of the Nittany Valley Region Archived 2005-03-08 at the Wayback Machine Center County September 16, 2004, retrieved April 6, 2006
  4. ^ An Illustrated History of Penn State Archived 2008-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Michael Bezilla 1985, retrieved April 6, 2006
  5. ^ University Park Airport Receives $3.8 Million Federal Grant[permanent dead link‍] The Business Journal August 30, 2004, retrieved April 6, 2006
  6. ^ Poole Anderson Construction – PSU Archived 2007-05-18 at the Wayback Machine 2002, retrieved April 6, 2006
  7. ^ Construction Begins On University Park Airport Control Tower Archived 2010-01-19 at the Wayback Machine WTAJ TV January 2010, retrieved February 20, 2010
  8. ^ a b "State College, PA: University Park (SCE)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  9. ^ Rushton, Geoff (2023-11-01). "University Park Airport Renamed State College Regional Airport". StateCollege.com. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  10. ^ Pallotto, Bret (November 1, 2023). "Here's why University Park Airport has just been renamed State College Regional Airport". Centre Daily Times.
  11. ^ "PSU Aviation Center".
  12. ^ "Facility Requirements" (PDF). University Park Airport. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  13. ^ "State College, PA - University Park Airport is seeing a record number of travelers – and with some big plans and bigger ideas, more growth is in the air -". Archived from the original on 2020-11-28. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  14. ^ "United Moves 4 Newark Domestic Routes to Washington From late-June 2024". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-04-25. Retrieved 2021-03-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "Nittany Composite Squadron 338". Civil Air Patrol. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Homecoming game and military flyover thrill alumni, fans". Penn State News. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  18. ^ Choquette, Stefan (4 February 2011). "University Park Airport Ideal Destination for Slimmer Air Force One". Onward State. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.


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