Airport type Public Location Salisbury, Maryland Code SBY Phone +1 410-548-4827 | Owner Wicomico County Elevation AMSL 53 ft / 16 m Elevation 16 m Opened 11 October 1943 | |
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Operator Wicomico County Airport Commission Serves Salisbury, Maryland & Region Address 5485 Airport Terminal Rd a, Salisbury, MD 21804, USA Similar Avis Car Rental, Greyhound, Enterprise Rent‑A‑Car, Ocean City Municipal Airport, Bay Runner Shuttle | ||
Salisbury-Ocean City: Wicomico Regional Airport (IATA: SBY, ICAO: KSBY, FAA LID: SBY), or, more succinctly Wicomico Regional Airport, is located in unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland, 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast from downtown Salisbury, Maryland, United States. Salisbury is the largest city of Maryland's Eastern Shore with a population of 125,200 in the metro area. As the only commercial airport on the Delmarva Peninsula, Salisbury also serves Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, which include the other large cities of Ocean City, Cambridge, and Easton. Currently, the General Airport Management is headed by manager Dawn Veatch.
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History
In 1940, Wicomico County and the City of Salisbury begun to construct the airport with the Works Progress Administration. It originally encompassed 695 acres and cost $1.5 million. Officially opened on November 11, 1943, Salisbury was originally leased to the U.S. Navy as a training base during World War II up through 1945.
After the war ended, Airfield Operating Corp. leased the airport beginning commercial activity to Easton, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.. Later, in 1949 the City and County resume management of the airport and All American Airways takes over for Chesapeake Airways, later superseded in 1950 by Allegheny Airlines. Numerous improvement projects including runway resurfacing and taxiway lights were installed in the 1960s. Henson Aviation, under contract with Allegheny Airlines and owned by Richard A. Henson, began scheduled commuter service in 1968 and operated with the idea of using "frequency" flights using small aircraft which would shuttle passengers to many airports along the east coast. However, Allegheny discontinued the service in 1969. In 1971, the City of Salisbury relinquishes its interest to the county. In 1978, the Maryland State Police establish a medevac helicopter base.
In 1983, Henson Aviation resumed service, as a contractor for Piedmont Airlines. Henson Airways reigned as the primary air service provider in Salisbury until US Airways Express purchased Henson Aviaiation in 1993. After the merger, the airline was renamed Piedmont and it deemed Salisbury as its primary operating base and quickly grew into a large regional carrier. After opening the base, the airline operated flights to Philadelphia and Washington. A few years later, Piedmont opened a new hub in Charlotte, North Carolina which rapidly grew to become larger than its hub in Washington D.C. The service to Washington was later cancelled and was replaced with service to Charlotte.
On April 21, 2016, Donald Trump's private 757 landed for his rally at Stephen Decatur High School. It was the largest aircraft to land at the airport.
Airport construction and expansion
Several construction projects were recently completed in late 2011 to extend runway 14-32 an extra 1,000 feet (300 m) to a length of 6,400 feet (2,000 m). Along with the main runway being extended, the taxiways around the runway were extended and a new ILS system was installed with new approaches. These multimillion-dollar projects will allow flights using larger aircraft such as regional jets which had previously been unable to operate at the airport due to the short length of the runway. Today, the airport spans nearly 1,000 acres and is the second largest in the state of Maryland. In 2016, a plan was announced to again extend runway 14-32 an additional 600 feet (180 m) to 7,000 feet (2,100 m).
Facilities
The Richard A. Henson Terminal is a 26,000 square feet (2,400 m2) building opened in 1990. There is an American Eagle ticket counter and a TSA bag scanning area at the southeast part of the building. Two departure gates, one arrival gate, and security checkpoints are in the middle and northwest part of the terminal. The Airport's Cafe and Lounge used to provide food and refreshments, but closed in 2011. The terminal is surrounded by 6 acres (2.4 ha) of parking apron which services the arriving and departing aircraft. Avis, Hertz, and Enterprise all operate automobile rental services in the arrival terminal.
Fixed-Base Operators
Bayland aviation is the fixed-base operator at Salisbury. Jet fuel, a Shell product, is handled and supplied by Bayland. They also offer public flight training using a group of small Cessna aircraft. Bayland currently owns an aircraft maintenance facility. Charter flights can be scheduled through Bayland to multiple destinations throughout the East Coast.
Airlines and destinations
The airport is the operational headquarters for American Eagle carrier Piedmont Airlines. Piedmont exclusively uses the Bombardier Dash 8-100/300 Series twin-engine turbo-prop airliner, with maximum seating of up to 50 passengers. In 2012 Piedmont established a passenger record of 150,086 passengers.
Terminated Airline Services
Piedmont has previously served Salisbury with flights to Washington D.C. and Baltimore. The service to Washington was on and off throughout the years until the year 2008 and the Baltimore service stopped shortly afterwards in late 2009.
Allegiant Air began twice a week service to Orlando-Sanford International Airport in February 2012, using its McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets, but ended the route less than a year later on January 5, 2013 due to the route's relatively small amount of passengers.