Rochester International Airport
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Rochester International Airport is an airport located in Rochester, Minnesota. It uses the IATA Airport Code RST. It features daily service to Minneapolis and Chicago.
History
Rochester International Airport was founded in 1928 by the Mayo Foundation as a way to get patients from far-flung locations to the Mayo Clinic. It originally was located in what is now southeast Rochester and occupied 285 acres (1.2 km²). The following year, 'Rochester Airport' was officially dedicated, and the Rochester Airport Company was founded as a subsidiary of the Mayo Foundation. In 1940, the existing runways were paved, and additional land was acquired, bringing the airport's total area to 370 acres (1.5 km²). During World War II, the Army Air Corps conducted training operations from the airport. In 1945, the Mayo Foundation gave the airport to the city of Rochester, but the Rochester Airport Company continued to operate the field under an agreement with the city. The airport was renamed Lobb Field in 1952. In 1960, the airport moved to its current location 8 miles south of downtown Rochester, and its name was changed to the Rochester Municipal Airport, which it remained until 1995, when with the addition of a US Customs post it became the Rochester International Airport.
Current service
The following airlines fly to Rochester International Airport:
- American Eagle (Chicago/O'Hare)
- Mesaba Airlines dba Northwest Airlink (Chicago/O'Hare (via Minneapolis/St. Paul), Duluth (via Minneapolis/St. Paul), and Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- Northwest Airlines (Duluth (via Minneapolis/St. Paul) and Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- Pinnacle Airlines dba Northwest Airlink (Albany (via Minneapolis/St. Paul), Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (Covington, KY) (via Minneapolis/St. Paul), Greenville/Spartanberg (via Minneapolis/St. Paul), Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Winnipeg (via Minneapolis/St. Paul))
It also has a large FedEx terminal built recently, a small Airborne Express station, as well as a general aviation terminal.
The airport has two runways, a 7,533 x 150 ft (2,296 by 46 m) concrete primary runway (13-31) and a 7,300 x 150 ft (2,225 by 46 m) concrete secondary runway (02-20). 13-31 is currently in the middle of a renovation and is closed, leaving 02-20 as the primary runway indefinitely while 13-31 is repaved and lengthened.
External link
- Rochester International Airport Homepage (http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/airport/)