John Glenn Columbus International Airport is primarily a passenger airport. It provides 148 non-stop flights to 31 airports via nine airlines daily.[5]
On May 25, 2016, the
Ohio General Assembly passed a bill to rename the airport from Port Columbus International Airport to its current name, in honor of astronaut and four-term U.S. senator
John Glenn.[6] The name change was unanimously approved by the airport's nine-member board on May 24, 2016.[7] Ohio Governor
John Kasich signed the bill into law on June 14, 2016, with the name change becoming official 90 days later.[8] On June 28, 2016, a celebration of the renaming was held and new signage bearing the airport's new name was unveiled.[9]
History
Early history
The airport opened July 8, 1929 as the Columbus Municipal Hangar on a site selected by
Charles Lindbergh, as the eastern air terminus of the
Transcontinental Air Transport air-rail New York to Los Angeles transcontinental route. Passengers traveled overnight on the
Pennsylvania Railroad's Airway Limited from New York to Columbus; by air from Columbus to
Waynoka, Oklahoma; by rail again on the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe from Waynoka to
Clovis, New Mexico; and by air from Clovis to Los Angeles.[10] The original
terminal building and
hangars remain; the hangars are still in use, but the old terminal sits derelict.[11]
The diagram on the February 1951 Coast & Geodetic Survey instrument-approach chart shows runways 006/186 3550 ft long, 052/232 4400 ft, 096/276 4500 ft, and 127/307 5030 ft.
A new $12 million terminal building opened on September 21, 1958.[11] Jet airline flights (American 707s) started in April 1964.
The first major airline to fly into Columbus was
TWA, and it kept a presence at Columbus over 70 years during the era of airline regulation.[11]TWA offered a club for exclusive passengers up until 2000 when
America West took over a gate held by
TWA and the club itself due to financial problems. The site of the club is now
Eddie George‘s 27 grille.[15]
Columbus was formerly a hub of
America West Airlines in the 1990s, but the company closed the hub in 2003 due to financial losses and the post 9/11-decline in air travel.[15]
The airport was the home base of short-lived
Skybus Airlines, which began operations from Columbus on May 22, 2007. The airline touted themselves as the cheapest airline in the
United States, offering a minimum of ten seats for $10 each on every flight.
Skybus ceased operations April 4, 2008.[16]
Recent improvements
A $70 million renovation of airport facilities, designed by
Brubaker/Brandt, was initiated in 1979 for the airport's 50th anniversary and completed in 1981.[17] This upgraded the airport's capacity to 250 flights per day by adding what is known today as Concourse B and added fully enclosed
jetways at every gate.[11] Ten years later in 1989, a second, $15.5 million, seven-gate south concourse (now Concourse A) was dedicated.[11] The concourse was used exclusively by
US Airways at the time, and later housed hubs for both
America West Airlines until 2003, and
Skybus Airlines until they shut it down in 2008 due to their bankruptcy. A north concourse was completed in 1996, which is now Concourse C, and was expanded in 2002.[11]
Between 1998 and 2000, numerous airport expansion and renovation projects were completed, including a $25 million terminal renovation in 1998 that included additional retail shops, new flight information displays, enhanced lighting, upgraded flooring, and a new food court. Also, new hangars and office spaces were completed for
NetJets in 1999, as well as a $92 million parking garage including an underground terminal entrance, new rental car facilities, dedicated ground transportation area, improved eight-lane terminal access on two levels, and a new atrium and entrances in 2000, which were designed by
URS Corporation.[11][18]
On April 25, 2004, a new 195-foot (59 m)
control tower directed its first aircraft. This began several major facility enhancements to be constructed through 2025.[11] On October 21, 2010, a new arrivals/departures board replaced the old one in the main entrance area
Columbus began its Terminal Modernization Program in late 2012, which included new terrazzo flooring throughout the airport, new ceilings, new restrooms, more
TSA security lanes, and new LED lighting. Construction started on Concourse A in late 2012 and was completed throughout the terminal in early 2016.[19]
In 2013, the airport completed a $140 million runway improvement that moved the south runway farther from the north runway. This created a buffer distance that enables simultaneous takeoffs and landings on the north and south runways, increasing air traffic volume. Columbus mayor
Michael B. Coleman commented, "As the city grows, the airport needs to grow with it."[20]
In 2019, construction began on a new car rental facility at the airport, with an estimated budget of $140 million.[21] This facility moves car rental out of the parking garage, opening up more spaces for travelers. The new building opened in late 2021, and utilizes electric buses to transport passengers.[22]
Recent history
Many airlines introduced new routes in the late 2010s, with the addition of
Spirit Airlines with multiple destinations and
Alaska Airlines with one daily flight to Seattle. Occasionally, larger aircraft that the airport is not used to receiving on a regular basis, such as the Boeing 767 and 777, are chartered through John Glenn and serviced by Lane Aviation.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, many new, current, and to-be-expanded routes were canceled or reduced. Air Canada temporarily suspended service to Columbus, while airlines such as United, American, and Delta used smaller aircraft for some of their mainline routes. Many of these routes saw an increase of service in mid-2021 as restrictions lifted and demand for air travel grew.
Startup
Breeze Airways also selected Columbus as one of its launch destinations in July 2021 with five routes. The airline added additional routes from the airport in May 2023.[23]Sun Country Airlines announced a plan to fly to the airport during the 2023 summer season.[24]
Plans have been in development for many years for a new terminal, set to begin construction in 2024 to replace the current, aging building, beginning with the new car rental facility completed in 2021. As such, these plans involve a complete relocation of major on-site facilities, such as Lane Aviation's entire complex, in order to accommodate the project. The new terminal is suggested to house roughly 40 gates, 6 more than the current terminal capacity (2 of which intended for international arrivals), and would be one interconnected structure rather than three separate concourses inaccessible to each other past security.
In spring 2023, the airport prepared for a record travel summer matching traffic levels from before the
COVID-19 pandemic.[25][26]
Facilities
Terminal
Commercial Terminal
John Glenn Columbus International Airport has one terminal with three concourses, and a total of 34 gates.[27] Non-precleared international flights are processed in Concourse C, which contains the airports customs facility.
The airport is accessible directly by taking exit number nine on
Interstate 670 to International Gateway. Alternatively, drivers can also get to the airport from the east via Hamilton Road, just south of
Interstate 270, and enter at Sawyer Road or from the west via Stelzer Road.
Connected to the terminal is a six-story parking garage that provides long-term and short-term parking. Lower cost satellite parking options, with continuous free shuttle service, can be found in the Blue, Red and Green parking lots along International Gateway. The Blue lot is the closest to the terminal and also offers some covered parking. The cost of parking a car in the blue lot is $9 per 24 hours. The Red Lot costs $7 per 24 hours and the green lost costs $5 per 24 hours to park. The Green lot is the furthest away from the terminal. Additionally, there is a free cell phone lot accessed from the outbound side of International Gateway.[30][31]
The Columbus Metropolitan Area's bus service, the
Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), has two bus services between the airport and downtown Columbus. AirConnect, a service that began in 2016, stops at the arrival and departure levels every 30 minutes.[32] COTA's 7 Mt. Vernon route is operated from downtown, with every other bus serving either the airport or Easton Transit Center.[33][34]
Inbound taxi services operate through numerous taxi businesses in the Columbus area. A number of taxi services provide outbound transportation in the taxi lane.[36]
Other facilities
In 2001, Executive Jet Aviation (now known as
NetJets), opened up a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) operational headquarters.[37]
In November 2006,
Skybus Airlines began leasing 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of office and hangar facilities at the Columbus International AirCenter adjacent to the airport.[38]
Regional carrier
Republic Airways operates a large crew and maintenance base at the airport.
The airport has its own police and fire departments (ARFF-C).
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on
Phabricator and on
MediaWiki.org.
Annual passenger traffic at CMH airport.
See
Wikidata query.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2021, the airport had 98,185 aircraft movements, an average of 269 per day. This was 65%
commercial, 19%
general aviation, 16%
air taxi, and <1%
military. For the same time period, 88
aircraft were based at the airport: 50
jets, 27 single-enigne and 9 multi-engine
airplanes, and 2
helicopters.[61][62]
Annual passenger traffic
Annual passenger traffic at CMH 1994–present[63][64]
Year
Passengers
Year
Passengers
Year
Passengers
1994
5,439,820
2004
6,232,332
2014
6,355,974
1995
5,636,549
2005
6,611,575
2015
6,795,978
1996
6,275,587
2006
6,733,990
2016
7,324,180
1997
6,517,222
2007
7,719,340
2017
7,576,592
1998
6,420,037
2008
6,910,045
2018
8,141,656
1999
6,541,851
2009
6,233,485
2019
8,637,108
2000
6,882,485
2010
6,366,191
2020
3,269,127
2001
6,670,897
2011
6,378,722
2021
5,822,322
2002
6,741,354
2012
6,350,974
2022
7,455,031
2003
6,252,061
2013
6,236,528
2023
8,375,281
Accidents and incidents
On May 16, 1948, a
Slick AirwaysCurtiss C-46 Commando crashed near CMH because of failure of the rudder and the failure of the fuselage carry-in structure beneath the vertical fin because of extreme turbulence. Both occupants were killed.[65]
On June 27, 1954, an
American AirlinesConvair CV-240 (N94263) from
Dayton International Airport was on approach to Runway 27 at 300 feet (91 m) when the left side of the plane collided with a
US NavyBeechcraft SNB-2C Navigator (BuA23773), also on approach. The Convair recovered and landed, though the nose gear collapsed on landing. The Beechcraft crashed short of the runway, killing two on board. The probable cause was attributed to a "traffic control situation created by the tower local controller which he allowed to continue without taking the necessary corrective action. A contributing factor was the failure of both crews to detect this situation by visual and/or aural vigilance."[66]
On January 7, 1994,
United Express Flight 6291, a
BAe Jetstream 41 being operated by
Atlantic Coast Airlines, was on approach to runway 28L when it entered into a stall at 430 feet (130 m) above runway level. The aircraft collided with a stand of trees and came to rest inside a commercial building 1.2 miles (1.9 km) short of the runway and burst into flames. The accident killed all three crewmembers and two of five passengers. The probable cause was attributed to "(1) An aerodynamic stall that occurred when the flight crew allowed the airspeed to decay to stall speed following a very poorly planned and executed approach characterized by an absence of procedural discipline; (2) Improper pilot response to the stall warning, including failure to advance the power levers to maximum, and inappropriately raising the flaps; (3) Flight crew experience in 'glass cockpit' automated aircraft, aircraft type and in seat position, a situation exacerbated by a
side letter of agreement between the company and its pilots; and (4) the company's failure to provide adequate stabilized approach criteria, and the FAA's failure to require such criteria. Member Vogt concluded that the last factor was contributory but not causal to the accident. Additionally, for the following two factors, Chairman Hall and Member Lauber concluded that they were causal to the accident, while Members Vogt and Hammerschmidt concluded they were contributory to the accident: (5) The company's failure to provide adequate crew resource management training, and the FAA's failure to require such training; and (6) the unavailability of suitable training simulators that precluded fully effective flight crew training."[67]
On April 23, 1998, a Beech 58 was destroyed and consumed by fire after it collided with terrain during approach to the CMH airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's inadequate planned approach and his failure to follow wake turbulence avoidance procedures by not staying above the glide-path of the preceding Boeing 757, which resulted in a vortex turbulence encounter.[68]
On February 16, 1999,
America West Airlines Flight 2811, A
Airbus A320 (N628NW) was a flight to Newark to Columbus. While midair, the nose gear was turned 90 degrees the wrong way. No one was injured in the aircraft. This incident was also similar to
Flight 292 in 2005.
On September 26, 2005, a
Cessna 560XL Citation Excel sustained substantial damage when the nose landing gear collapsed during taxi for takeoff at CMH. The cause for the collapse could not be determined.[69]
On October 7, 2007, a
Cessna 210C Centurion sustained substantial damage during a gear-up landing following a loss of hydraulic system fluid. The pilot stated that the landing gear did not extend when he attempted to lower it during landing approach. The pilot then used the "emergency pump system" and noticed that only the main landing gear partially extended. The flaps did not extend. The pilot subsequently reported performing a gear-up landing. The probable cause of the accident was found to be a hydraulic system pump leak, which resulted in the failure of the emergency landing gear system to extend and lock the landing gear for landing and the flap system.[70]
On December 13, 2010, a
Piaggio P180's flight controls became bound during approach to the airport. During descent, the pilots noted that the yaw damper disengaged while the autopilot remained on, and the captain instructed the first officer, who was the pilot flying at the time, to check the freedom of the flight controls; all appeared to be "frozen" in place. The flightcrew exerted enough pressure until the controls broke free with a snap, but even after, the controls remained stiff and sticky for the remainder of the flight. The crew completed a normal approach and landing into CMH. A post flight inspection by maintenance personnel revealed ice in the fuselage belly area of frame 36 and around the primary flight control cables and pulleys in that area. The probable cause of the incident was found to be the failure of water to properly drain through the fuselage drain holes, thus becoming trapped and freezing around the flight control cables, which resulted in the loss of control authority to the airplane's ailerons, elevator, and rudder.[71]
On August 26, 2012, an EVEKTOR-AEROTECHNIK As Sportstar experienced a brake failure on departure from Columbus. The pilot attempted to correct the turn by applying right rudder pedal, but the airplane veered off onto the grass. The airplane then pivoted 180 degrees, came back onto the taxiway surface and came to rest. The composite fracture surface showed discoloration consistent with a previous crack to that area of the strut. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the failure of the right main landing gear strut due to a preexisting crack.[72]
On April 23, 2023, an
American AirlinesBoeing 737 made an emergency landing at the airport after encountering a bird strike during takeoff from the airport.[73][74][75]