Louisville International Airport
Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport , formerly known as simply Louisville International Airport, is a civil-military airport in Louisville in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The airport covers and has three runways. Its IATA airport code, SDF, is based on the airport's former name, Standiford Field. It has no regularly-scheduled international passenger flights, but it is a port of entry, as it handles numerous international cargo flights through the United Parcel Service's worldwide air hub through its airline, often referred to as UPS Worldport. Over 4.2 million passengers and over 5.7 billion pounds (2.89 million tons ) of cargo passed through the airport in 2019. It is also the second-busiest in the United States in terms of cargo traffic, and fourth-busiest for such in the world. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a "primary commercial service" airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings (enplanements) per year. Federal Aviation Administration records show the airport had 1,877,861 revenue enplanements in 2018, an increase of 11.46% from 1,684,738 in 2017. Because of UPS Airlines' operations, Louisville International Airport is the second-busiest cargo airport in the United States, only falling short  of FedEx's SuperHub at Memphis International Airport, and also the world's fourth-busiest airport by cargo traffic, behind Shanghai Pudong, Memphis and Hong Kong. The Kentucky Air National Guard's 123d Airlift Wing operates C-130 transport aircraft from the co-located Louisville Air National Guard Base. On January 16, 2019, the Regional Airport Authority voted to change the name of the airport to "Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport" in honor of the boxer and Louisville native Muhammad Ali. On June 6, 2019, the airport unveiled its new logo, featuring "Ali's silhouette, arms up and victorious, against the  background of a butterfly." History. Standiford Field was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1941 on a parcel of land south of Louisville that was found not to have flooded during the Ohio River flood of 1937. It was named for Dr. Elisha David Standiford, a local businessman and politician, who was active in transportation issues and owned part of the land. The field remained under Army control until 1947, when it was turned over to the Louisville Air Board for commercial operations. Until around 1947, Bowman Field was Louisville's main airport. For many years, passenger traffic  went through the small brick Lee Terminal at Standiford Field. Today's more modern and much larger facilities were built in the 1980s. Most of the Lee Terminal was later torn down. When Standiford Field was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1941, it had one runway. The airfield opened to the public in 1947 and all commercial service from Bowman Field moved to Standiford Field. American, Eastern, and TWA were the first airlines and had 1,300 passengers a week. The airlines used World War II barracks on the east side of the field until May 25 , 1950, when a proper terminal opened. Lee Terminal could handle 150,000 passengers annually and included 6 new gates, which increased terminal space to . The three runways (1, 6 and 11) were all 5000 ft. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 45 weekday departures on Eastern Airlines, 19 American, 9 TWA, 4 Piedmont and 2 Ozark. Scheduled jet flights (Eastern 720s to Idlewild) began in January–February 1962. In 1970, the terminal again expanded; the main lobby was extended and the Delta Air Lines concourse was built. The Louisville Regional Airport Authority has celebrated the beginning of the largest geothermal  system of any airport in the country at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), with a formal ground-breaking ceremony. Using geothermal technology, this $21.7 million project will save energy by using the earth’s natural temperature to heat and cool the Jerry E. Abramson Terminal. It also marks another major milestone of the SDF NEXT Programme, that will see a $400 million investment in improvements to the airfield and terminal in the coming years. The 1980s brought plans for a new terminal, the Louisville Airport Improvement plan (LAIP). Construction of a new landside terminal designed by  Bickel-Gibson Associated Architects Inc. began, costing $35 million with capacity for nearly 2 million passengers in 1985. Parallel runways, needed for expanded UPS operations, were part of the airport expansion. Most of the improvements were completed in the 1990s and the airport was totally renewed. During the 1990s, Southwest Airlines began service to the airport which helped passenger boardings increase 97.3 percent. In 1995, the airport's name was changed from Standiford Field to Louisville International Airport. Around that time SDF opened the two new parallel runways: runway 17L/35R, long and runway 17R/35L, ; both are wide. The Kentucky  Air National Guard moved its base to SDF with 8 military aircraft; a new UPS air mail facility, new corporate hangars, a four-level parking garage and a new control tower were also added. A new FBO was added, run by Atlantic Aviation and managed by Michael Perry. In 2005, a $26 million terminal renovation designed by Gensler Inc. was completed. On January 16, 2019, the Louisville Regional Airport Authority voted to rename the airport Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, after boxing legend Muhammad Ali, a Louisville native. LOOKING AHEAD: As the aviation industry recovers and travelers return to  the skies later in 2021, LRAA plans to invest $75 million in new passenger amenities and airfield improvements. New boarding bridges, elevators and escalator rehabilitation and more spacious gates are planned. Plus, the airport will be building the largest geothermal well field in the country at SDF, adding efficiency and reducing the airport’s environmental footprint. The Louisville Regional Airport Authority has celebrated the beginning of the largest geothermal system of any airport in the country at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), with a formal ground-breaking ceremony. Using geothermal technology, this $21.7 million project will  save energy by using the earth’s natural temperature to heat and cool the Jerry E. Abramson Terminal. It also marks another major milestone of the SDF NEXT Programme, that will see a $400 million investment in improvements to the airfield and terminal in the coming years. Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport’s SDF Next programme details The primary objective of the SDF Next project is to ensure that the Louisville Muhammad Ali Airport is ready for the future with enhanced terminal facilities and amenities. Structural improvements will include the development of new departures and arrivals curbs at the  airport. In addition, the project will create a new exit to the Parking Garage from the arrivals curb and a new terminal plaza. New carousels will be added for baggage claim and an international port of entry will be built to create the space for customs inspections, baggage inspection and handle international arrivals. Renovation works will also include the installation of new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), sidewalks, walkways, jet bridges, and elevators. A new facility will be built to handle airport operations and emergency operations. The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoint at the Louisville Muhammad Ali  International Airport will be upgraded with improved lanes for passenger queues and baggage scanners. The airport will house United Service Organizations (USO), an organisation which supports US Armed Forces and their military families. LRAA will also invest more than $200m in the improvement of the Jerry E Abramson Terminal Facilities. Terminal. The Jerry E. Abramson Terminal is the airport's main commercial terminal. It consists of two floors with ground transportation and baggage claim services on the first floor and ticketing, passenger drop off, and concourse access on the second floor. There are 23 gates in the two  concourses. These concourses are connected by a rotunda and connector that contains a unified security checkpoint located in the main section of the terminal. Runways. Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport has three concrete runways, two of which are parallel with one crosswind. The westernmost runway (17R/35L) is the longest of the three at and was extended in 2007 to accommodate larger aircraft flying nonstop to destinations as far away as the Pacific Rim and Asia. Worldport. Worldport is the worldwide air hub for UPS (United Parcel Service) located at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Because of UPS, Louisville is  the fourth-busiest cargo airport in the world, and the second busiest in the United States. Although UPS has had a hub at Louisville since 1980, the term was not used officially by the company until 2002, after a $1billion, five-year expansion. Previously, the project was named Hub 2000. The facility is currently the size of 5.2million square feet (48 ha; 80 football fields) and capable of handling 115 packages per second, or 416,000 per hour. With more than 20,000 employees, UPS is one of the largest employers in both the city of Louisville and Kentucky as a  whole. The facility, which serves all of the company's major international and domestic hubs, mainly handles express and international packages and letters. A expansion was completed in spring 2006 to integrate heavy freight into the UPS system. The expansion was prefaced by the purchase of Menlo Worldwide Forwarding, formerly Emery Worldwide. The new facility, designated Worldport Freight Facility (HWP), went online in April 2006 and was the first of the company's regional hubs to begin integrating the Menlo volume into the system. Menlo's facility in Dayton, Ohio, was taken offline in June 2006. In May 2006, UPS  announced that for the third time in seven years it would significantly expand its Worldport hub, with a second investment of $1billion. The second expansion was completed in April 2010, with the facility now measuring , with a perimeter of . The plan was for more than to be added to its existing facility, with another of space to be renovated with new technology and equipment. Worldport sorting capacity was to expand from 300,000 packages per hour to 416,000 packages per hour. Additionally, several ramps at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport were to be built or altered bringing a total  increase of just over .