Imperial County Airport(IATA:IPL[2],ICAO:KIPL,FAALID:IPL) is a county-owned public-useairportinImperial County,California,United States.[1]Also known asBoley Field,[citation needed]it is mostly used forgeneral aviation,but has scheduled passenger service from one commercial airline. Service is subsidized by theEssential Air Serviceprogram. The airport is located 1nautical mile(1.9 km; 1.2 mi) south of the central business district ofImperial, California,[1]partially in the city of Imperial and partially in anunincorporated areaof Imperial County.[3]It serves nearby communities, includingEl Centro.[4]
Imperial County Airport Boley Field | |||||||||||||||
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 Airport on approach | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Imperial County | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Imperial/El Centro | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Imperial County, California | ||||||||||||||
| ElevationAMSL | −54 ft / −16 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 32°50′03″N115°34′43″W/ 32.83417°N 115.57861°W | ||||||||||||||
| Website | imperialcounty | ||||||||||||||
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  IPL Location of airport in California  IPL IPL(the United States) | |||||||||||||||
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TheNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systemsfor 2021–2025 categorized it as anon-primary commercial serviceairport.[5]
The first scheduled passenger airline flights began in 1943, operated byWestern AirlineswithDouglas DC-3s.[6]Western's service was replaced byBonanza Air Linesin 1953 also flying DC-3s.[7]Bonanza was merged into Air West (laterHughes Airwest) in 1968 and was the primary air carrier servingEl Centroand theImperial Valleyuntil 1979.
Historical airline service
editWestern Airlinesbegan serving Imperial County Airport in 1943 withDouglas DC-3flights to Los Angeles via stops in San Diego and Long Beach, and was also flying nonstop to Yuma. Western's service ended in 1953.[6]
Bonanza Air Lines,a "local service" air carrier as defined by the federalCivil Aeronautics Board(CAB), began serving the airport in 1953, taking over the route of Western Airlines.[7]According to its March 1, 1953 system timetable, Bonanza listed its flights to the airport as service toEl Centroand was operatingDouglas DC-3prop aircraft with a daily westbound routing of Phoenix-Blythe-Yuma-El Centro-San Diego-Santa Ana-Los Angeles.[8]Bonanza was also operating a daily eastbound DC-3 service at this time with routing of Los Angeles-Santa Ana-San Diego-El Centro-Yuma-Blythe-Phoenix-Prescott-Kingman-Las Vegas.[7]By 1963, Bonanza had retired the DC-3 from its fleet and was operating all flights into the airport with newFairchild F-27turboprops.[9]In 1964, the airline was operating nonstop F-27 propjet flights to Los Angeles and San Diego with one stop service to Phoenix via an intermediate stop in Yuma.[10]
In 1968, Bonanza merged withPacific Air LinesandWest Coast Airlinesto formAir Westwhich continued to serve the airport with the F-27 with nonstops to San Diego and Santa Ana (nowJohn Wayne Airport) as well as direct flights to Los Angeles, Phoenix and Tucson.[11]In late 1970, Air West was serving the airport withDouglas DC-9-10andMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30jetliners with four flights a day including two nonstops to Los Angeles (LAX) and two direct flights to Phoenix (PHX) via an intermediate stop in Yuma (YUM).[12]At this same time, one of the DC-9 jet flights to LAX operated continuing, no change of plane service to Fresno, San Francisco, Portland, OR and Seattle via intermediate stops at other Air West destinations.[12]Air West was renamedHughes Airwestin 1970 following its acquisition byHoward Hughes.The DC-9 jet service was suspended in 1972 but reinstated during 1974 through 1975. By 1976 Hughes Airwest reverted to operating all F-27 propjet service from the airport to Los Angeles and Santa Ana with direct service to Phoenix via a stop in Yuma. All Hughes Airwest service to El Centro ended in 1979 and was replaced by commuter carriers Cochise and Sun Aire Lines.[13][14]
The following is a list of commuter and regional airlines as well as their respective aircraft types that served Imperial County Airport (IPL) from 1969 through 1999 primarily with nonstop flights to Los Angeles (LAX) and one stop to Phoenix (PHX) by way of Yuma (YUM). All service to Phoenix was discontinued in 1989.Imperial AirlinesandAir Bahiaflew nonstop to San Diego (SAN), andScenic Airlinesflew nonstop to both Las Vegas (LAS) and Long Beach (LGB). This information was retrieved from various editions of theOfficial Airline Guide(OAG) over the years:[15]
- Imperial Airlines,1969-1981 -Beech 18,Beechcraft Queen Air,Cessna 402,Cessna 404,Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
- Scenic Airlines,1978 -Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
- Air Bahia,1980 -Piper Navajo,Piper Chieftain
- Cochise Airlines,1979-1982 -Convair 440,Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
- Sun Aire Lines,1979-1986 -Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner.Merged intoSkyWest Airlinesin 1985.
- Western Express operated bySkyWest Airlineson behalf ofWestern Airlines,1986-1987 -Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner,Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia(SkyWest then began operating Delta Connection service from the airport following the merger of Western andDelta Air Linesin 1987)
- Delta Connectionoperated bySkyWest Airlineson behalf of Delta Air Lines, 1987-1997 -Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner,Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia
- Skynet Airways, 1993-1995 -Cessnaaircraft, service to Long Beach.
- United Expressoperated byWestAiron behalf ofUnited Airlines,1994-1997 -British AerospaceBAe Jetstream 31
- United Expressoperated bySkyWest Airlineson behalf of United Airlines, 1997-2013 -Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia
- SeaPort Airlines,2013–2016, -Cessna 208 Caravan.Service to Burbank and San Diego.
- Mokulele Airlines,2016-current, -Cessna 208 Caravan.Mokulele was merged intoSouthern Airways Expressin 2020.
By 1997, only one airline was serving the airport:SkyWestoperating asUnited ExpressflyingEmbraer EMB-120 Brasiliaturboprops with nonstop service toLAXas part of a Los Angeles-El Centro/Imperial-Yuma route.[16]United Express continued providing the only service to the airport until 2013. Smaller commuter airlines using single-engine, non-pressurized aircraft now serve El Centro.
Facilities and aircraft
editImperial County Airport covers an area of 370acres(150ha) at anelevationof 54 feet (16 m)belowmean sea level.It has twoasphaltpavedrunways:14/32 is 5,308 by 100 feet (1,618 x 30 m) and 8/26 is 4,501 by 75 feet (1,372 x 23 m).[1]
For the 12 month period ending December 31, 2019, the airport had 14,368 aircraft operations, an average of 39 per day: 66%general aviation,8%scheduled commercial/air taxiand 26%military.In April 2022, there were 32 aircraft based at this airport: 30 single-engine, 1 multi-engine and 1helicopter.[1]
Airlines and destinations
editPassenger
editThe followingairlineoffers scheduled passenger service:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Southern Airways Express | Los Angeles,[17]Phoenix–Sky Harbor[17] |
SeaPort Airlines previously operatedCessna 208 Caravansingle turboprop engine aircraft on all scheduled flights from the airport. On January 19, 2016, Seaport Airlines announced the cessation of all service within California, citing their inability to find pilots as the reason.
Cargo
edit| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Ameriflight | Ontario |
| FedEx Feeder operated byWest Air | Ontario
San Diego |
Statistics
edit| Carrier | Passengers (arriving and departing) |
|---|---|
| Southern Airways Express |
| Rank | City | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles, CA | 7,000 |
| 2 | Las Vegas, NV | 1,000 |
| 3 | Phoenix, AZ | 1,000 |
References
edit- ^abcdeFAA Airport Form 5010 for IPLPDF.Federal Aviation Administration. effective April 21, 2022.
- ^"IATA Airport Code Search (IPL: El Centro / Imperial County)".International Air Transport Association.RetrievedJune 6,2014.
- ^"Imperial city, California[permanent dead link]."U.S. Census Bureau.Retrieved on September 26, 2009.
- ^"Pilot Who Left Note in Airplane Hunted."Los Angeles Times.May 19, 1970. 3. Retrieved on September 26, 2009.
- ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A"(PDF).National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived fromthe original(PDF, 2.03 MB)on September 27, 2012.
- ^abhttp:// timetableimages,April 1, 1948 Western Airlines system timetable
- ^abchttp:// timetableimages,March 1, 1953 Bonanza Air Lines system timetable
- ^http:// timetablemages[permanent dead link],March 1, 1953 Bonanza Air Lines system timetable
- ^http:// timetableimages,Aug. 16, 1963 Bonanza Air Lines system timetable
- ^http:// timetableimages,March 1, 1964 Bonanza Air Lines system timetable
- ^http:// timetableimages,July 1, 1968 Air West system timetable
- ^abNov. 15, 1970 Official Airline Guide (OAG), El Centro flight schedules
- ^http:// departedflights,July 1, 1972 Hughes Airwest system timetable
- ^http:// departedflightArchived2017-10-24 at theWayback Machine,Sept. 1, 1980 Hughes Airwest system timetable
- ^http:// departedflights,Official Airline Guide (OAG) editions: Nov. 15, 1969, Nov. 15, 1979; April 1, 1981, Feb. 15, 1985; Dec. 15, 1989; Oct. 1, 1991; April 2, 1995 and July 1, 1999
- ^Feb. 1, 2007 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Worldwide edition
- ^abhttps://iflysouthern /[bare URL]
- ^ab "El Centro, CA: Imperial County (IPL)".Bureau of Transportation Statistics(BTS),Research and Innovative Technology Administration(RITA),U.S. Department of Transportation.January 2022.RetrievedNovember 12,2022.
Other sources
edit- Essential Air Service documents (Docket DOT-OST-2008-0299) from theU.S. Department of Transportation:
- Order 2008-12-26 (December 29, 2008):selecting SkyWest Airlines, Inc., d/b/a United Express, to provide essential air service at El Centro/Imperial, California, at an annual subsidy rate of $662,551 through December 31, 2010. SkyWest to provide 13 nonstop round trips per week to Los Angeles with 30-seatEmbraer Brasiliaaircraft,
- Order 2009-5-21 (May 27, 2009):Approving Alternate Service Pattern
- Order 2010-12-6 (December 3, 2010):selecting SkyWest Airlines, Inc., d/b/a United Express, to provide essential air service at El Centro, California, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,852,091 through December 31, 2012. SkyWest to provide 13 nonstop round trips per week to Los Angeles (LAX) with 30-seat Embraer Brasilia turboprops for $1,852,091 annual subsidy.
- Order 2013-01-02 (January 2, 2013):selecting SeaPort Airlines, Inc. (SeaPort), to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at El Centro, California, for $1,943,7511 annually for 29 nonstop round trips per week to San Diego (SAN) onCessna 208 Caravanaircraft, 9-seat, single engine turboprop.
- Order 2014-4-26 (April 24, 2014):directing interested persons to show cause as to why the Department should not terminate the eligibility... under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program based on criteria passed by Congress in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law No. 112-95). We find that El Centro is within 175 miles of a large or medium hub,San Diego International Airport(SAN), a large hub, and, thus, is subject to the 10-enplanement statutory criterion. We also find that during fiscal year 2013, El Centro generated a total of 5,950 passengers (inbound plus outbound). Consistent with the methodology described above, that results in an average of 9.5 enplanements per day, below the 10-enplanement statutory criterion necessary to remain eligible in the EAS program.
External links
edit- Official website
- Aerial image as of May 2002fromUSGSThe National Map
- FAA Airport Diagram(PDF),effective October 31, 2024
- FAA Terminal Procedures for IPL,effective October 31, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- FAAairport information for IPL
- AirNavairport information for KIPL
- ASNaccident history for IPL
- FlightAwareairport informationandlive flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations:current,past three days
- SkyVectoraeronautical chart,Terminal Procedures