RenoTahoe International Airport (IATA: RNO, ICAO: KRNO, FAA LID: RNO) is a civil-military airport three miles (6 km) southeast of downtown Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada.^[1][3]

It is the second busiest commercial airport in Nevada after McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

The Nevada Air National Guard has the 152nd Airlift Wing southwest of the airport's main terminal.

RenoTahoe International was the hub of Reno Air, a now-defunct medium sized airline that had MD-80 and MD-90s to many cities until it was bought by American Airlines and later disposed of in 2001. Reno Air's first flight was on July 1, 1992 and its last flight was August 30, 1999.

The passenger terminal is named after the late US Senator Howard Cannon.^[4] The main lobby of the terminal contains an exhibit featuring the bust of Nevada State Senator (and Nevada State Senate Minority Leader) William J. "Bill" Raggio. Raggio is described in the exhibit as being "The Father of the Airport Authority."

Public transportation to the airport is on RTC Ride bus #19. The bus takes passengers to the Meadowood Center and Downtown 4th Street Station.

RenoTahoe International Airport is the 61st busiest commercial airport in the nation and in the fall of 2010 opened a new 200 ft (61 m) ATCT replacing the old one of more than 50 years. The new tower is equipped with the latest in TRACON technology including ground radar. It cost over $30 million. It was designed by the Parsons Design Firm, responsible for the design of many other ATCT towers.

RenoTahoe Airport Authority officials announced in early 2011 that a $5 million remodel of the baggage claim area will begin in late 2011 and be completed in mid to late 2012, the project will bring the new look and feel of the renovated ticket lobby to the baggage claim. Details will include rock and sandstone pillars, tiled floors and new LED lighting. Also announced in early 2011, the new TSA body scanners are arriving at RenoTahoe Int'l Airport Summer 2011 but by 2014, the security checkpoint will move downstairs in place of the now public area slot machines. Passengers will now only have to pass through one checkpoint and access a newly expanded food court and escalators to both concourses past the new checkpoint, construction will begin in 2012 or 2013.

History [edit]

The airport was built in 1929 by Boeing Transport Inc. and named Hubbard Field after Boeing Air Transport VP and air transport pioneer Eddie Hubbard.^[5][6] It was acquired by United Airlines in 1936 and purchased by the City of Reno in 1953. The August 1953 OAG shows 15 scheduled departures each weekday; ten years later there were 28. Jets (United 727s) arrived in 1964, but the airport didn't rate a nonstop to Los Angeles until 1969; a nonstop to Chicago began in 1970.

Airport diagrams for 1955 and 1966

The first terminal building was completed in time for the 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California in 1960. The current configuration of the ticketing lobby and concourses were built in 1979.^[7] The airport received its current name in 1994, when the terminal was named in honor of retired Air Force Reserve Major General and former U.S. Senator Howard Cannon.^[8] Prior to that the airport itself was named Cannon International Airport.

The terminal was remodelled in 1996 and 2009. In 1996 the baggage claim and ticketing area was updated with technology and decor similar to Las Vegas. In 2008 the Airport began a $70 million project that enhanced the baggage screening equipment and remodeled the ticketing area with a modern Tahoe theme, the project was entirely completed in 2010. To complete the renovations, the TSA ordered the shutdown of the ticketing area, so the airport built a full service heated/a/c temporary ticketing tent, it took up the entire 3 lanes out of 6 in front the airport for taxi, pick up and drop off.

Vendors in the airport have changed greatly over the years, following the 1996 renovation, such vendors included Pizza Hut, TCBY and a Cigar Store, Starbucks opened in the concourses in the late 90's and stayed there until the early 2000s. Recently, the airport has initiated healthier options for its food lineup, replacing Starbucks with Peets Coffee and Tea and other brand names for the concourses.

The airport celebrated 75 years of service in November 2003. Over the last 10 years more than $70 million have been put into investments to modernize and expand the airport. Air service is increasing, RenoTahoe Int'l has been ranked one of the top airports in the nation for increasing service rapidly.

Management [edit]

• Krys T. Bart, A.A.E. - President/CEO
• Dean Schultz, A.A.E. - Executive Vice President/COO
• Richard Gorman - Chief Financial Officer
• Tina Iftiger - Vice President of Airport Economic Development
• Brian Kulpin - Vice President of Marketing and Public Affairs
• Mike R. Scott, A.A.E. - Vice President of Operations and Public Safety
• James McCluskie - Vice President of Planning, Engineering and Environmental Management
• Marty Mueller - Director of Technology and Information Systems
• David Pittman - Director of Facilities and Maintenance
• Michael Dikun - Manager of Reno-Stead Airport
• Robert Vester - Chief of Airport Police

Board of directors [edit]

• Jerry Hall, Chairman
• Adam Mayberry, Vice Chair
• Mark Crawford, Treasurer
• Rick Murdock, Secretary
• Kosta Arger, M.D.
• William "Bill" Eck
• Steve Katzmann
• Randi Thompson
• John S. Wagnon

Accidents and incidents [edit]

In the early morning hours of January 21, 1985, Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 took off from the airport for Minneapolis, Minnesota and crashed 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the airport while the pilots were attempting an emergency landing after experiencing an unexpected vibration from under the wing. An investigation attributed the crash to pilot error for failing to maintain proper control over the aircraft while investigating the cause of the vibration. The vibration was later found to be caused by an open air start service door which the ground crew failed to secure before departure. All but 1 of the 71 passengers and crew onboard were killed.

Also in 1985, Roger Stockham, who would later be arrested for attempting to blow up a mosque in Michigan, was arrested at the airport for planting a pipe bomb and carrying an unregistered weapon.^[9]

On April 13, 2011, a Cheyenne Lifeguard medical flight was forced to land at RenoTahoe International Airport without clearance, after the single overnight air traffic controller fell asleep in the tower. The incident, compounded by previous reports of sleeping contollers in 2011, led to the resignation of Air Traffic Organization chief executive Hank Krakowski.^[10] The Federal Aviation Administration announced that 27 airports, including RNO, would be re-staffed with two air traffic controllers for overnight shifts.^[11]

Facilities and aircraft [edit]

RenoTahoe International Airport covers an area of 1,450 acres (590 ha) at an elevation of 4,415 feet (1,346 m) above mean sea level. It has three concrete paved runways: 16R/34L measuring 11,002 by 150 feet (3,353 x 46 m), 16L/34R measuring 9,000 by 150 feet (2,743 x 46 m), and 7/25 measuring 6,102 by 150 feet (1,860 x 46 m).^[1]

For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2007, the airport had 145,515 aircraft operations, an average of 398 per day: 44% general aviation, 37% scheduled commercial, 15% air taxi and 4% military. At that time there were 182 aircraft based at this airport: 68% single-engine, 13% multi-engine, 12% jet, 2% helicopter and 4% military.^[1]

Military facilities and aircraft [edit]

The airport is also host to Reno Air National Guard Base, an approximately 60-acre (240,000 m²) complex which was established on the west side of the airport in 1954 when Air National Guard units relocated from the former Stead AFB in Reno. The base is home to the 152d Airlift Wing (152 AW), a Nevada Air National Guard unit operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC) and equipped with C-130H Hercules aircraft. A tactical fighter and fighter-reconnaissance unit for most of its history, the 152 AW transitioned to a tactical airlift mission in 1995. The wing is the host unit for the base, which has over 1,100 Air National Guard personnel, both full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technicians (ART), as well as part-time traditional air national guardsmen.

Airlines and destinations [edit]

The terminal at RNO has 23 gates for the airlines that it serves. These airlines have around 140 flights daily to and from the airport, providing service to 15 cities non-stop and about 31 cities with a same plane one stop flight. They currently have two security areas in order to process passengers through the TSA security checkpoints and to the gates.^[14]

Top airlines and destinations [edit]

Sound levels [edit]

Sound levels have been analyzed for over two decades at this airport, with one of the first studies being a comprehensive production of aircraft sound level contour maps.^[16] Later analysis was conducted to analyze sound levels at Kate Smith School and provide retrofitting to reduce sound levels through a Federal Aviation Administration grant.^[17]

See also [edit]

• Reno Stead Airport (4SD), location of the Reno Air Races

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Official Web Site
• Reno Air
• Reno Air Fleet Galleries
• Reno/Tahoe International Airport PDF (21.1 KB) diagram from Nevada DOT
• FAA Airport Diagram for Reno/Tahoe International Airport (PDF), effective May 2, 2013
• FAA Terminal Procedures for RNO, effective May 2, 2013
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KRNO
  • ASN accident history for RNO
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KRNO
  • FAA current RNO delay information