T. F. Green Airport

History

T. F. Green Airport was dedicated on September 27, 1931, as Hillsgrove State Airport, drawing what was, at that time, the largest crowd that had attended a public function in the country. In 1933 the Rhode Island State Airport Terminal was built on Airport Road, then called Occupatuxet Road. In 1938, the airport got its current name. It then had three 3,000-ft concrete runways.

The Army Air Force took control from 1942 to 1945, using it for flight training. The February 1947 diagram shows runways 5, 10 and 16 all 4000 ft long; in April 1951 runway 5 was 5000 ft and 5R was under construction. A few years later 5R was 5466 ft which it remained until extended to 6466 ft around 1967.

The April 1957 OAG shows 26 weekday departures: 11 Eastern, 10 American, 4 United and one National. Nonstops did not reach beyond Boston and Newark until 1959 when Eastern started a DC-7B nonstop to Washington, which was the longest until United started Cleveland in 1968 and Chicago in 1970 and Eastern started Miami in 1969 and Atlanta in 1970. The first jets were Mohawk BAC-111s in 1966.

President Richard Nixon made a campaign stop at the airport on the night of Friday, November 3, 1972. A crowd of 10,000 watched as Nixon, standing on the steps of Air Force One, urged voters to support Republican candidates Herbert F. DeSimone for Governor and John Chafee for U.S. Senator. (Both lost, though Chafee later won the office in 1976).

Air Force One again touched down at Green airport on August 30, 1975, this time carrying President Gerald Ford, en route to a fundraiser in Newport. He was greeted by a crowd of about 1,500 supporters, as well as local politicians including Governor Philip W. Noel, Senator John O. Pastore, and Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci.

A new terminal opened on Post Road; in the 1990s it was rebuilt, expanding to 18 gates, and in 1997 four gates were added. Airlines added flights to T. F. Green Airport, including Air Canada, Southwest, SATA International (which operated flights to the Azores using an A310-300), and Spirit Airlines.

After the September 11th attacks, T. F. Green Airport, like most airports in the United States, faced a decrease in passengers and fewer flights from American Airlines (which once flew to Chicago O'Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth Airport), Spirit, and SATA. Until the 2015 finalization of the merger between American Airlines and US Airways, creating one single licensed carrier under the American Airlines name, the Providence Metropolitan Area was the largest MSA in the United States not served by American Airlines or any of its subsidiaries.

Since the HNTB-designed Bruce Sundlun Terminal opened in 1996, T. F. Green became more congested due to increased traffic and post-9/11 security changes. Renovations followed, including expansion of baggage rooms to accommodate a new In-Line Explosive Detection System (EDS) Baggage Handling System, expanded security screening checkpoints, more concessions and ticket counters, and expansion of RIAC offices on the second and third floors.

Although T. F. Green's longest runway is 7,166 feet (2,184 m), the airport has seen several wide-body jets. Cheaper fees at T. F. Green make it an appealing choice for sports teams and entertainers visiting the area.

In 2009 the airport had 83,016 aircraft operations, average 227 per day: 52% scheduled commercial, 24% air taxi, 23% general aviation and <1% military. 71 aircraft were then based at this airport: 77% single-engine, 5% multi-engine, 17% jet and 1% helicopter.

T. F. Green was again visited by Air Force One, a Boeing 747, on October 25, 2010, a Concorde operated by British Airways on June 13, 1988, and an Airbus A340 flown by Iberia Airlines on June 1, 2011, which transported the Men's Spanish National Soccer Team for their match against the U.S. National Team on June 4, 2011, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. T. F. Green was visited by Air Force One again on October 31, 2014. Norwegian Air Shuttle is to start new, Trans-Atlantic flights to Europe.

In 2011 T. F. Green handled about 3,852,000 passengers. The mainline airline with the largest presence at T. F. Green is Southwest, which carried 50.77% of all passengers for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2012, followed by US Airways with 14.11%. T. F. Green also handled over 26,000,000 pounds (12,000,000 kg) of cargo and mail.

Terminal

The airport's terminal, named for former Rhode Island governor Bruce Sundlun (Sundlun died on July 21, 2011) has two concourses, North and South. The South Concourse has eight gates and the North Concourse has 14. Gate 8 is designed for international arrivals; it is directly connected to customs, which is on the lower level of the concourse. The terminal contains a number of stores and restaurants, and a central food court.

Runways and apron

Theodore Francis Green State Airport covers 1,111 acres (450 ha) at an elevation of 55 feet (17 m). It has two asphalt runways: 5/23 is 7,166 by 150 feet (2,184 x 46 m) and 16/34 is 6,081 by 150 feet (1,853 x 46 m). ILS is available for runways 5, 23, and 34, with runway 5 being certified for CAT III Instrument Landing. The other runways with ILS are certified for CAT I. Taxiway Victor was Runway 5L/23R until 2003.

Runway expansion

The Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) writes (in 2001) that the master plan completed in 1997 failed to envision the "tremendous growth" that had been experienced. The report identifies lack of runway length as a hindrance to "range and diversity of service", in particular emphasizing ability to reach non-hub cities, the west coast, and international locations. A challenge for T. F. Green is the residential and commercial development around it. Many residents oppose expansion. Current plans call for runway 5–23 to be extended to 8,700 feet (2,700 m) in order to allow T. F. Green to service nonstop flights to Western Europe and to bring back service to the Western United States.

While some expansion proponents claim extending the main runway would bring in an estimated $138 million over 13 years, doing so could consume 204 houses, at least ten businesses, and large areas of wetlands. More recent studies indicate substantially decreased enplanements due in-part to soaring fuel costs, and easier access to Logan International Airport since completion of improvements to the Southeast Expressway, Third Harbor Tunnel, bus services between T. F. Green and Logan, as well as the introduction of low cost carriers at Logan such as JetBlue.

The Rhode Island Airport Corporation owns some residential property on the eastern side of the airport near the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting building. Most homes on Cedar Swamp Road and Pembroke Avenue have since been demolished, likely to make way for future expansion.

On March 1, 2012 TF Green Airport was given the go-ahead to expand the runway and improve the safety of the secondary runway. The Warwick City Council unanimously voted to approve the expansion, and drop the suit against the RIAC. President Obama signed a bill saying the project will be federally funded. The project will take approximately 2–3 years.

International Service

From the 1990s to 2013 T. F. Green Airport had regular service to Toronto-Pearson via Air Georgian dba Air Canada, and SATA International, now known as Azores Airlines, resumed seasonal service to the Azores, having previously offered service until 2010. In 2015, service was announced to Frankfurt, Germany and Praia, in the Cape Verde Islands by Condor and TACV respectively. The service to Frankfurt marked the first non-stop route to mainland Europe. The flight to Frankfurt was later suspended by Condor. T.F. Green is considered an airport of entry and has a full-service customs. The Rhode Island Airport Corporation expects international service to increase after expansion of its main runway is complete.

On Monday February 6, 2017, USA Today announced that Norwegian Air Shuttle confirmed that PVD had been selected as its base for flights to Europe. Norwegian Air Shuttle intends to use its new Boeing 737MAX planes, due to arrive in mid 2017, for flights from Providence to cities in Europe Official announcements were made Thursday February 23, 2017 with flights starting to Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh and Shannon. The airline will base two 189-seat, 737-MAX planes at T.F. Green and hire 75 Rhode Island-based crew to operate them. Flights to the Caribbean and to continental Europe are also being considered. In the future, there is a possibility Norwegian could open a maintenance facility at Green that could include hundreds more jobs. On March 8, Norwegian announced a sixth destination to Bergen, Norway. Seasonal service to begin in July.

Announced via T.F. Green's Facebook page on Tuesday March 14th, 2017, charter operations to Cancun, Mexico will begin with Friday only service, starting July 7th, 2017 through Swift Air partnered with Vacation Express.

Commuter rail

The MBTA commuter rail service to and from downtown Providence and Boston commenced on December 6, 2010 and was expanded on November 14, 2011. Service was expanded south to Wickford Junction in April 2012. There are ten weekday trains to Wickford Junction and ten to Providence, most of which continue on to Boston with local stops along the way. Travel time to South Station in Boston about 85 minutes, while the travel times to both Providence and to Wickford Junction are about 15 minutes. Amtrak has formally stated they will not stop at the station for the foreseeable future citing a lack of economical feasibility, however, a long-term proposal to reroute and modernize Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service would include a stop at the station.

Road

T. F. Green Airport has direct access to I-95 via the T. F. Green Airport Connector Road, a 1.1-mile (1.8 km) freeway. The airport is served by major car rental companies as well as by local taxi and limousine services.

Bus

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) offers public bus transportation to and from the cities of Providence (Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence) and Newport. In particular:

Intermodal station

An intermodal station, completed in October 2010, includes an elevated walkway to the terminal, a rental car garage, and commuter rail parking.

1999 runway incursion

On December 6, 1999 at approximately 8:35pm Eastern Standard Time, a runway incursion occurred involving United Airlines flight 1448 (a Boeing 757) and FedEx Express flight 1662 (a Boeing 727) on Runway 5R/23L. Shortly after landing on Runway 5R, United 1448 was instructed by the air traffic control tower to taxi to the gate, part of the instructions including crossing Runway 16. Due to the low-visibility conditions that night, the pilots became disoriented and turned down the wrong taxiway, which led them back towards the active runway they had just arrived on. The tower controller, unaware of United's mistake, cleared FedEx 1662 for takeoff on Runway 5R. United 1448 then confirmed with the controller that they should cross the runway in front of them (neither party aware that they were in fact not near Runway 16) and the aircraft continued moving towards Runway 5R/23L.

United 1448 sounding confused then radioed that they were near taxiway Kilo, and as they re-entered Runway 5R/23L, reported that "somebody just took off" overhead, referring to FedEx 1662 that had indeed just become airborne in very close proximity to the United aircraft. However, the controller appeared not to take this seriously, stating, "you shouldn't be anywhere near Kilo", and advised the United 1448 crew to hold position. United 1448 then informed the tower that they were now on an active runway, which they mistakenly believed to be 23R/5L (inactive at the time). A moment later the pilot corrected himself, stating that they were on 5R/23L. United 1448's crew was told again to stand by, so the aircraft remained idle at the intersection of the active runway, while the controller cleared MetroJet 2998 for takeoff on the same runway. The United 1448 pilot immediately interjected to insist that the plane was on the active runway, to which the controller belligerently denied telling them it was not an active runway. Meanwhile, the MetroJet pilot having heard the exchange realized there was confusion over the whereabouts of United 1448 and refused the takeoff clearance stating, "We're staying clear of all runways until we figure this out".

Despite all this confusion, the controller again cleared MetroJet 2998 for take off on Runway 5R. They again refused to accept the clearance for take-off until the United 1448 was confirmed to have arrived at the gate. Once United 1448 was confirmed to be at the gate, MetroJet 2998 finally departed on Runway 5R.

The US Airways crew operating Flight 2998 were praised by a US Air spokesperson for their actions of avoiding a near-disaster. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board followed and while no fault was assigned to the controller, she was required to undergo retraining before returning to service. The pilots were debriefed by United, received additional training and were returned to service.

Part of the confusion was United 1448's inability to correctly identify the runway they were on. During the radio exchanges, United 1448 refers to 23L/5R as 23R/5L and vice versa. Runway 23R/5L has been closed since this incident and is now taxiway V.

2007 CRJ accident

On December 16, 2007, Air Wisconsin (US Airways Express) flight 3758, a CRJ-200 arriving from Philadelphia, departed the left side of runway 5 after a hard landing by an unstabilized approach. Although the aircraft sustained substantial damage, none of the 31 passengers and crew aboard were injured.