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Piedmont Triad International Airport (commonly referred to as "PTI") is an airport located in the center of North Carolina just west of Greensboro, serving Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem as well as the entire Piedmont Triad Region in North Carolina. The airport, located just off Bryan Boulevard, sits on a 4,000 acre campus and has 3 runways. Piedmont Triad International airport is the third busiest airport in North Carolina averaging 280 takeoffs and landings each day. PTI is owned and operated by the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. ==History== An antecedent of PTI Airport, one of the first commercial airports in the South, Maynard Field was dedicated on December 6, 1919, just west of Greensboro near Oak Ridge. With its two intersecting runways measuring and , hangar space, and even an early day equivalent of a Fixed Base Operator that made sure the torches were lit at dusk, Maynard Field was named to honor a young North Carolinian pilot named Lt. Belvin Maynard. By 1922 it had competition to the west with Miller Field in Winston-Salem, and Charles Field, a single airstrip that was used mainly for barnstorming, and for take-off drills and landings for the Charles family. Piedmont Triad International Airport had its start in 1927 when the Tri-City Airport Commission selected near the community of Friendship for an airport, and petitioned to become a stop along the congressionally authorized airmail route from New York to New Orleans. Racing pilot Captain Roscoe Turner referred to the current location of Piedmont Triad International Airport as "the best landing field in the south." Friendship, near Greensboro, was selected over neighboring Winston-Salem, which subsequently refused to contribute funds for airport construction and nullified the Tri-City Airport Authority collaborative effort.〔Robinson, Blackwell P., and Alexander R. Stoesen. "The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, U.S.A. To 1980, A.D." Greensboro: The Guilford County Bicentennial Commission, 1980.〕 Greensboro and Guilford County jointly purchased the Friendship property from Paul C. and Helen G. Lindley, and christened it Lindley Field in May 1927 with 12,000 people in attendance. The field then had no runways, no lights, no hangar, and no passenger station. Charles Lindbergh stopped at Lindley Field with the "Spirit of St. Louis" on his cross-country tour celebrating the advances of aviation on October 14, 1927. Regular mail service started in 1928.〔Arnett, Ethel Stephens. "Greensboro, North Carolina: The County Seat of Guilford." Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1955.〕 Pitcairn Aviation, Incorporated was given the contract to fly the airmail route, the second official airmail route in the United States, and Pitcairn Aviation made the first delivery of airmail in North Carolina on May 1, 1928. Sid Malloy, the pilot of the aircraft, landed with two bags of mail and took three bags of mail to be sent to Atlanta. After a brief closure during the Great Depression, the airport reopened on May 17, 1937 with two all-weather runways. In time, Pitcairn Aviation built a hangar; Greensboro built a passenger station; the United States government established a weather bureau; and the Department of Commerce set up a radio tower. Passenger service was inaugurated by Dixie Flying Service on November 6, 1930, with a route to Washington, D.C.. Pitcairn Aviation took over the route under its new name Eastern Air Transport, which later became Eastern Air Lines.〔 In July 1942 responsibility for the airport was given to the Greensboro-High Point Airport Authority, with representatives from Greensboro, High Point, and the Guilford County. Shortly thereafter the Army Air Corps requisitioned the airport and its facilities for war use and airmail and passenger service was discontinued. The Corps lengthened the runways and built a new passenger terminal. Civilian service resumed after the war, though growth was moderate due to the success of nearby Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem. 1950's: The new passenger terminal opened in 1958, replacing the temporary facility that had served since World War II. The new terminal was a modern glass paneled structure with a single pier. PTI was then served by Eastern, Piedmont, and Capital (which merged with United in 1961); the April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 17 Eastern departures each weekday, nine Piedmont and 7 Capital. 1970's: By 1975 airport officials began to plan for a new terminal. Piedmont Airlines, which for years had served PTI and Smith Reynolds Airport in nearby Winston-Salem, announced its intention to consolidate its operations at Greensboro. In the months that followed, Piedmont Airlines instead opened a hub in Charlotte. The airport was renamed Greensboro-High Point Airport and later Greensboro – High Point – Winston-Salem Regional Airport. Work on a new facility began in 1978. The airport gained greater prominence on the East Coast offering passenger service from Delta, Piedmont, United and Eastern Airlines. Cargo carriers, including the postal service, textile manufacturers, and Federal Express- a new overnight letter and package delivery service- were shipping tons of freight each year. 1980's: The new terminal complex was completed in 1982, designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills and AHM Architects.〔(Greensboro Regional Airport – Charles Hagenah Architects, Inc )〕 The following year, the Marriott opened a $16 million, 300-room hotel on the airport property. The facility was renamed Piedmont Triad International in 1987. 1990's: TIMCO Aviation Services opened its world headquarters at PTI. Over the following two decades, the company grew into one of the world's largest independent aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers. In 1993, Continental Lite, an LCC brand established an unsuccessful hub at PTI. By 1995 the hub lost its parent company, Continental Airlines $140 million at which point, Gordon Bethune ordered that the hub be dismantled.〔http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/14/business/company-reports-continental-is-dropping-lite-service.html〕 He remarked in his book, Worst to First that Continental Lite operated flights from "nowhere to nowhere" out of PTI. In 1998 FedEx Corporation announced its intentions to build a mid-Atlantic hub at PTI, one of only five FedEx hubs in the country. In addition to the hub, the project included the construction of a parallel, 9,000-foot runway. 2005-2006: Delta Connection carrier Comair built a maintenance hangar at PTI to perform work on their CRJ's in 2005, bringing nearly 60 mechanics to Greensboro. The airport opened an expansion to the North Concourse, which added another 40,000 square feet to the terminal and brought the number of gates to 25. The airport also opened a 43,000 square-foot expansion to the main terminal to accommodate security gates at the north and south concourse. 2007-2009: Honda Aircraft Company selected PTI as its global headquarters. Allegiant Air began service to Orlando Sanford International Airport and St. Petersburg–Clearwater International Airport in late May 2007. FedEx opened its mid-Atlantic Hub at the Airport, establishing PTI as a key link in the company's national overnight delivery system. 2010: The airport opened a 9,000-foot parallel runway. 2011: The airport began a major interior renovation project to provide passengers with a superior airport experience. The renovation included the installation of free wireless Internet and charging stations for passenger devices, and numerous interactive kiosks guiding passengers to ground transportation and nearby accommodations and restaurants. 2013: Frontier Airlines based in Denver, Colorado, began PTI's first flights to Denver. The airline announced non-stop service to Orlando Fla., and Denver. 2013: Dynamic Airways headquarters is opened at PTI. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Piedmont Triad International Airport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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