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Greater Binghamton Airport (IATA: BGM, ICAO: KBGM) is a medium-sized regional
airport located in Maine, New York that serves the Southern Tier of New York,
primarily Broome and Tioga counties.
The airport was originally named Broome County Airport and that name remained
through the 1970s. It was later renamed to honor the inventor of the aircraft
instrument simulator, the Link Trainer, as Edwin A. Link Field-Broome County
Airport, a name it kept until the 1990s when it was again renamed to the
Binghamton Regional Airport. The name Greater Binghamton Airport was chosen in
2003 to match the area's new marketing campaign under a unified name. The field
on which the airport lies is still named in Link's honor.
History
Up until World War II, Tri-Cities Airport in Endicott, New York had served as
the primary airport of the Binghamton, New York region. Plane size increases and
the demand for night-time flying caused this airport to become inadequate for
the area's needs. Construction of a new airport on Mount Ettrick in Maine, New
York began in 1945, and concluded in 1951 when the airport was opened.
The main runway which is oriented north northwest-south southeast was 5,600 feet
in length initially, but was later extended by about 700 feet to the south to
6,298 feet in 1969. In 1988 the main runway was extended again, this time on the
north end, to 7,500 feet (2,286 meters). The crosswind east-west runway is 5002
feet long. In recent years, the main runway was shortened to 7,100 feet to add
engineered materials arrestor beds to both ends of the runway. The arrestor beds
are a crushable concrete surface that slows an aircraft in the event of an
overrun. These arrestor beds are better known as Engineered Material Arresting
Systems or EMAS. Given that the airport was built on a mountaintop, the terrain
drops off abruptly shortly beyond the runway ends. Fifty years after its opening
the airport finally received a renovation in 2001. In July 2004 the airport
opened four new jet bridges that can accommodate regional and mainline jets.
Before the regional jets took over the commuter market, US Airways, (previously
USAir) frequently operated DC-9's, Boeing 737's, and Fokker Jets out of BGM
servicing Pittsburgh International Airport.
Airlines and destinations
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Detroit)
United Airlines
United Express operated by Colgan Air (Washington-Dulles)
US Airways
US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin (Philadelphia)
US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines (Philadelphia)
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