Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (IATA: BTR, ICAO: KBTR, FAA LID: BTR), also known as Ryan Field, is a public use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) north of the central business district of Baton Rouge, a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States.^[1]

The airport was originally Harding Army Air Field during World War II and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command as a maintenance and supply base. Today other than the runways, virtually no traces remain of the military installation.

Facilities and aircraft [edit]

The airport covers an area of 1,250 acres (510 ha) at an elevation of 70 feet (21 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways: 4L/22R is 7,500 by 150 feet (2,286 × 46 m) with a concrete surface; 4R/22L is 3,799 by 75 feet (1,158 × 23 m) with an asphalt surface; 13/31 is 7,004 by 150 feet (2,135 × 46 m) with an asphalt surface.^[1]

Air Traffic Services are provided by dedicated Air Traffic Controllers in the tower and the Terminal Radar Approach Control.

For the 12-month period ending November 30, 2008, the airport had 111,257 aircraft operations, an average of 304 per day: 67% general aviation, 20% air taxi, 7% military and 6% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 148 aircraft based at this airport: 61% single-engine, 21% multi-engine, 11% jet and 7% helicopter.^[1]

Passenger airlines and destinations [edit]

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport has two concourses: Concourse A (gates A1-A4), and Concourse B (gates B1-B3).

Historically, Baton Rouge was served by American Airlines, Continental Airlines (now United Airlines), Eastern Airlines, Northwest Airlines (now Delta Airlines), Southern Airways, which merged with another air carrier to form Republic Airlines which then continued to serve the airport, and Trans-Texas Airways (TTa) which subsequently changed its name to Texas International Airlines. All of these airlines operated jet service from the airport with the exception of Eastern which flew Martin 4-0-4 and Convair 440 twin prop "Silver Falcon" airliners from Baton Rouge in the 1950s. Mainline jet aircraft types operated in passenger service from Baton Rouge in the past included Boeing B727-100, B727-200, B737-200, B737-300 and B737-500 jetliners as well as Douglas DC-9-10 and DC-9-30 jets and also McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jetliners.

Currently, all airline service to and from Baton Rouge is operated with either Canadair or Embraer regional jets flown by the various airlines, although Delta has announced it will reinstate mainline jet service to Atlanta effective on November 4, 2012 with Douglas DC-9-50 jetliners which were previously operated by Northwest Airlines before this air carrier merged with Delta.

Cargo Terminal [edit]

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport has a 33,000-square-foot (3,100 m²) cargo facility. It is currently being expanded to 68,000 square feet (6,300 m²).

Struggles [edit]

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport is slightly smaller than might be expected for a city and metro area of its size due in part to its proximity to New Orleans' Armstrong International Airport. Despite aggressive advertising campaigns encouraging catchment area residents to utilize the airport, passenger numbers are somewhat low (below 800,000 passengers per year).

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and the ensuing increase in Baton Rouge's (temporary and permanent) population, BTR saw its destination portfolio expanded dramatically. New services were initiated to Cincinnati, New York City (both Newark, New Jersey and LaGuardia airports), Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Washington-Reagan, St. Louis, and Orlando. The new destinations were discontinued by the end of 2008 as New Orleans air service returned to pre-Katrina levels. After experiencing record fuel prices in 2008 and the subsequent recession, the carriers returned their focus to the most efficient hub options for BTR, resulting in the current service schedule of daily jet flights to five major hubs. Vision Airlines also briefly served Baton Rouge with Boeing 737 jetliner service nonstop to Las Vegas (LAS) and Fort Walton Beach/Destin, FL (VPS); however, these flights were suspended and Vision then withdrew all service from the airport.

Expansion and development [edit]

Louisiana Aircraft Inc., a fixed base operation on the south side of the airport has been purchased by a real estate developer. The developer has plans to build more hangar space and has purchased the old Capitol Jet Center / LuxJet FBO located on the east side of the airport. Future plans include a ramp and hangars on the north side of the airfield. The increase in hangar space is most noticeable during the College Football season. This future expansion is causing the Army National Guard armory of the 769th Combat Engineer Battalion to relocate to the other side of Baton Rouge.

On June 24, 2010, US Airways recommenced operations to Charlotte from BTR.

In March 2012, a project to expand the rotunda area of the terminal began. The purpose of the project is to relieve the traffic jams inside the terminal caused by passengers going through security screening or departing the airport in the same general area that the walkway from the parking garage and waiting area are located. The renovation project is expected to be completed sometime in August 2013.

Accidents and incidents [edit]

On September 2, 2011, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 5058, operated by Canadair CRJ-200 N875AS landed with the port main undercarriage retracted. There were no injuries amongst the 50 passengers and three crew on board.^[2]

See also [edit]

• Louisiana World War II Army Airfields

References [edit]

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links [edit]

• Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, official site
  • Airport terminal diagram (JPG)
• FAA Airport Diagram for BTR (PDF), effective May 2, 2013
• FAA Terminal Procedures for BTR, effective May 2, 2013
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KBTR
  • ASN accident history for BTR
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KBTR
  • FAA current BTR delay information