Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport

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Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport Ryan Field
IATA: BTR - ICAO: KBTR - FAA: BTR
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Baton Rouge Airport Authority
Serves		Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Elevation AMSL		70 ft (21.3 m)
Coordinates		30°31′59″N, 091°08′59″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
13/31	7,004	2,135	Asphalt
4L/22R	6,900	2,103	Concrete
4R/22L	3,799	1,158	Asphalt

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (IATA: BTR, ICAO: KBTR, FAA LID: BTR), also known as Ryan Field, is a public airport located four miles (6 km) north of the central business district (CBD) of Baton Rouge, in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, USA. It covers 1,250 acres and has three runways.

The airport was originally Harding Army Air Field during World War II, but other than the runways, virtually no traces remain of the military installation.

1 Airlines and destinations
- 1.1 Concourse A
- 1.2 Concourse B
2 Cargo Carriers
- 2.1 Cargo Facility
3 Struggles
4 Hurricane Katrina
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport has 2 concourses.

[edit] Concourse A

Continental Airlines Gate A1 (Houston-Intercontinental)
- Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental)
Delta Air Lines Gates A2 and A4 (Atlanta)
- Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)
- Delta Connection operated by Comair (Washington-Reagan)
- Delta Connection operated by Freedom Airlines (Atlanta, Orlando)
Northwest Airlines Gate A3 (Memphis)

[edit] Concourse B

American Airlines Gate B2
- American Eagle (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth)

[edit] Cargo Carriers

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport currently has a 33,000 square foot cargo facility. It is currently being expanded to 68,000 square feet.

[edit] Cargo Facility

FedEx (Memphis, New Orleans)

[edit] Struggles

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport is notably small for a city and metro area of its size and, until Hurricane Katrina, was largely eclipsed by New Orleans' Armstrong International Airport located 60 miles to the southeast. Despite aggressive advertising campaigns encouraging passengers to utilize the airport, load factors were low (below 800,000 passengers per year) and fares were among the highest in the region.

Almost all service at the airport was provided by regional jets with one mainline flight per day having been operated by Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines to Atlanta and Memphis, respectively.

[edit] Hurricane Katrina

After Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, New Orleans International Airport was closed to commercial aviation traffic indefinitely.

An apparent windfall for the struggling Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, with New Orleans International Airport closed, the passenger count at Baton Rouge Metro Airport could easily hit 3 million per year, City of Baton Rouge Chief Administrative Officer Walter Monsour said

"All those air carriers that we have been courting for years are suddenly asking to come in," Monsour said.

As of this writing, existing carriers have increased capacity in Baton Rouge, adding flights and using larger planes. Some have speculated that the boom will be a temporary one noting that passenger traffic at New Orleans will rebound. As of December 2006 the New Orleans airport is the 6th busiest in the Southeast while Baton Rouge is the 13th busiest. According to New Orleans airport officials the New Orleans airport is operating at about 70% of pre-Katrina levels and by 2008 or 2009 passenger traffic is expected to have exceeded pre-Katrina levels.