General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport[3] (IATA: PIA[4], ICAO: KPIA, FAALID: PIA) is a civil/military public airport five miles west of Peoria, in Peoria County, Illinois, United States.[2] It is on the northwest edge of Bartonville, near Bellevue. It is owned by the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria,[2] which often refers to it as Peoria International Airport.[5][6] It was formerly the Greater Peoria Regional Airport.[7][8]
On May 19, 1932, the citizens of Peoria voted to have an airport. On 195 acres (0.8 km2), American Airways (now American Airlines) and Chicago and Southern Airlines brought in airmail and passenger services on four shale-surfaced runways. The land was purchased by 261 Peoria businessmen who formed the Peoria Airport, Inc.[11] It was turned over to the Peoria Park District in 1937, then to the newly formed Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria in 1950.
American Airlines and Chicago and Southern started flights to Peoria in 1945; C&S pulled out in 1949-50 and American left in 1962, then returned for a couple years starting in 1991. TWA served Peoria 1947 to 1960 and 1983 to 1991; Continental from 1977 to 1983; United from 1984 to 1995; Republic/Northwest 1986 to 1988; and Ozark from 1950 until it merged into TWA. Peoria's first jets were Ozark DC9s in 1966. A curious artifact of airline regulation: Peoria never had nonstop flights beyond Chicago until Ozark was allowed a nonstop to New York La Guardia in 1969.
On April 25, 2007, the Greater Peoria Airport Authority announced a new nine-gate terminal will be built and the old building demolished. On October 10, 2008, the airport was renamed "General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport" during a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Ross Perot, a friend of the late Wayne A. Downing.[3][12][6] The new terminal, designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills of Jacksonville, Florida and the Dewberry architecture firm of Peoria, and built by Turner Construction, opened on April 27, 2011.[13][14] As of August 24, 2012, the airport was in negotiations for international flights using a temporary customs facility.[15]
In 2016, the Ray Lahood International Arrivals Terminal was completed, with more gates, TSA services, and a US Customs Port of Entry facility.[16][17]
The airport authority selected a site for a new control tower in 2012, with a design phase from 2013 to 2015 and finalized in 2017; however, funding dried up before a new tower was built.[19] As of May 2023, the airport is planning to use funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and updating design plans to incorporate FAA requirement changes since 2017.[19]
Facilities and aircraft
Peoria International Airport covers 3,800 acres (1,538 ha) at an elevation of 661 feet (201 m). It has two runways: 13/31 is 10,104 by 150 feet (3,080 x 46 m) concrete; 4/22 is 8,004 by 150 feet (2,440 x 46 m) concrete.[2][20][6]
Destinations from General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination
On October 21, 1971, Chicago & Southern Airlines[a] Flight 804, an ATECO Westwind II, crashed 2 miles west of PIA after striking power lines in limited visibility and low clouds, killing all 14 passengers and two crew aboard. The cause was found to be the pilot knowingly descending below the minimum descent altitude before being visual with the runway.[29]
^According to the Aviation Safety Network report,[29] the airline involved in the accident was founded in 1969 and ended operations in 1971. Chicago and Southern Air Lines was a completely different airline that was founded in California in 1933 and merged in 1953 with Delta Air Lines to become Delta-C&S for two years until 1955, reverting to Delta Air Lines.
