In 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis at the Philadelphia Airport - which had just gotten its own wings two years earlier - as part of his historic solo flight between New York City and Paris. Today, PHL, the only major airport to serve the City of Brotherly Love, serves more than 31 million passengers every year.
Located about seven miles from downtown Philadelphia, the airport is situated on more than 2,300 acres and consumes more than 2.4 million square feet of building space. There are four runways, seven terminals, 120 boarding gates, and more than 20 airlines that call the airport home.
The airport also is home to more than 150 shops and restaurants, as well as an extensive arts program. Visual and performing arts featuring local artists and musicians enliven the airport year-round.
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Parking at PHL is provided by the Philadelphia Parking Authority. he airport is in the midst of renovations that will increase parking by more than 6,000 spaces, including new parking garages at Terminals E-F and the new International Terminal. PHL has short-term and long-term parking options. There is a park & ride cell phone lot as well.
Short-Term Parking - For travelers who will be at the airport for just a few hours, the best bet is the airport's short-term parking. These lots are located at the ground level near baggage claim at Terminals A, B, C, D, and E. Fees are $3 for the first half hour; $5 for 30 minutes to one hour; and so on with every half-hour increment costing an additional $2 up to a maximum of $38 for 24 hours.
Garage Parking - Parking garages for short-term parking are also available at PHL to the west of each terminal. Fees are similar to that of short-term lots: $3 for the first half hour; $5 up to the first hour; and an extra $2 for every half hour after that. The daily rate is $17.
Long Term Parking - For extended parking, there are several economy lots available. These are located past Terminal F. Free shuttle buses are available 24 hours a day to transport passengers between the economy lot and the terminals. Daily fees are $9.
Larger vehicles, such as wheelchair-equipped vans, that are too tall to park in the garages can park in the economy lot. Drivers must be able to show proper identification such as disabled license plates and/or appropriate placard.
Philadelphia International Airport (IATA: PHL, ICAO: KPHL, FAA LID: PHL) is an airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley region. As of 2008 it is the 10th busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft activity.[2] The airport is the primary international hub of US Airways and has service to destinations in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Europe, and Mexico, and in the future to China, as US Airways is expected to begin service to Beijing on March 25, 2009. [3] Most of the airport property is located in Philadelphia proper. The international terminal and the western end of the airfield are located in Tinicum Township, Delaware County.
Starting in 1925, the Pennsylvania Air National Guard used the PHL site (historically known as Hog Island) as a training field for its pilots. The site was dedicated as the "Philadelphia Municipal Airport" by Charles Lindbergh in 1927. However, there was no proper terminal building until 1940, so airlines used an airfield in nearby Camden, New Jersey. Once the terminal was completed, four airlines (American, Eastern, TWA, and United) started flights to the airport. Philadelphia Municipal became Philadelphia International in 1945, when American Overseas Airlines began flights to Europe.
US Airways became the dominant carrier at PHL through the 1980s and 1990s and shifted the majority of its hub operations from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in 2003. In 2004, Southwest Airlines announced it would begin flights from PHL, challenging US Airways in some of the major's important north-south and transcontinental markets.
Today, Philadelphia International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world and among the fastest growing in the United States. Its status as a US Airways hub and the growth of Southwest Airlines and other low-cost carriers has helped passenger traffic to reach record levels. In 2004, a total of 28,507,420 passengers flew through Philadelphia, up 15.5% over 2003.[1] In 2005, 31,502,855 passengers flew through PHL, marking a 10% increase since 2004. [2] In 2006, 31,768,272 passengers flew through PHL, a 0.9% increase. [3]
Such growth has not come without difficulties. There are questions as to how much more passenger growth can occur. PHL's present terminal and runway configuration are reaching full utilization alongside the fact that PHL remains the world's largest airport without an inground fueling system (thus requiring fuel to be trucked to each airplane), have led to congestion and flight delays. Additionally, the airport's parking facilities have been severely taxed. Complete exhaustion of all parking at the airport has become a regular occurrence.[4] However, airport officials have ambitious plans for terminal and runway expansion to resolve these issues.
PHL's fastest growing airline, Southwest, is currently working with the city and the airport to construct an expansion and improvement to its facilities. The new construction includes a joint ticket counter lobby for the D and E terminals, one large security check point for the two terminals, additional concessions, and an eventual hammerhead expansion to the E concourse. While construction on some of these projects has already begun, completion is slated for 2008-2009. More immediate growth plans for Southwest include an additional baggage service office in the D terminal, and, in fall 2007, taking over 4 gates (E1,E3,E5,E7) used by Delta Air Lines and 1 gate (E6) used by Northwest Airlines in the E terminal, when Delta moves to A East.
As of 2005, there are two studies which deal with expanding runway capacity at PHL airport. The first is the Runway 17-35 Extension Project EIS [6] which has completed the Final Environmental Impact Statement and ground has been recently been broken. The plan is to extend runway 17-35 to length of 6,500 feet, extending it at both ends and incorporating the proper runway safety areas. The second study, the PHL Capacity Enhancement Program [7] has a much larger scope and is considering more drastic ways to increase runway capacity at PHL. Manchester Airport's expansion plans for a second parallel runway involved working closely with PHL air traffic controllers to implement a training program due to similarities in runway configuration in which aircraft must taxi over an active runway.
Ground transportation
Taxis charge a flat rate of $26.25 from the airport to central Philadelphia.
SEPTA operates regional rail service and bus service between the airport and the surrounding area.
Rental cars are available through a number of companies, all of which must be reached by shuttle bus.
As a benefit to students, local schools including The University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, and Swarthmore College have provided transportation to the Airport by means of shuttles during such times as Spring Break and Thanksgiving.
Each of the four stations is fully handicapped accessible and is located next to the baggage claim at each terminal with escalator and elevator access from each terminal's skyway. All R1 Regional Rail trains provide service to the airport from Glenside, Pennsylvania via Center City, Philadelphia. On weekends, R1 trains provide extended service via the R2 and R3 lines from the airport to Warminster, Pennsylvania and West Trenton, New Jersey, respectively. On weekdays, some R1 trains also serve the airport via the R2 line. Incoming trains from the city first arrive at Terminal A, and arrive last at Terminals E and F, where the line terminates.
Although the airport is only located several miles from Center City, the stations are located in zone 5, and peak fares apply at all times, which costs passengers US $7.00 one-way to any of the five stations in the Center City zone, when paying on board the train. Discounts are available for tickets purchased before boarding; advance purchases can be made at a station, another sales location, and by mail-order through the Transit Store link on SEPTA's airportparkingphiladelphia.
Philadelphia International Airport has seven terminal buildings, which are divided into seven lettered concourses. Terminals A East and A West, B, C, and D are all interconnected, and it is possible to travel through all of these without reentering security. Terminal E can be reached from Concourse D through a pre-security bridge; however, Terminal F, completed in 2003, is completely separate. There are, however, shuttle buses inside security between Terminal F and Terminal C using gate C16, an old US Airways Express gate and between Terminal F and Terminal A, at gate A1. There is a large shopping/dining area between Concourses B and C.
Ongoing construction at the airport will add new passenger facilities between Terminals D and E, connecting E to the rest of the Terminal complex.
The Philadelphia metropolitan area is the largest in the United States without nonstop flights to East Asia. This is most likely due to its proximity to major airports in New York City and Washington D.C. In July 2007, US Airways announced that it would seek federal approval for a non-stop route between Philadelphia and Beijing, China.
On September 26th, 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it has awarded US Airways a new route between its Philadelphia hub and the Chinese capital city of Beijing. The daily service to China is scheduled to begin on March 25, 2009 with a wide-body Airbus A340 aircraft configured to seat 269 (42 Envoy and 227 economy).
It is expected in 2007 that there will be a relocation of airlines, with the upcoming renovation of Terminals D and E. Delta Air Lines has moved from Terminal E to Terminal A East, Frontier Airlines is expected to move to either A East or Terminal D.
Terminal A East
This terminal, originally the airport's international terminal, is now used mainly by domestic carriers, but also sometimes by US Airways for international flights. It is directly connected to A West, B, C and D, and therefore, passengers can move freely between the five terminals. A East is well upgraded and well maintained, and recently received a new baggage claim upgrade.
Terminals B and C
Terminals B and C are the two main US Airways terminals. They are connected to each other through a very large shopping mall and food court, the Philadelphia Marketplace. The gate waiting areas have recently within the past year started getting remodeled, though there is a lack of waiting space at many of the gates, but aesthetically, the terminal is in good condition. The facilities are fairly modern and dining options on the concourses are also available.
Terminal D
Terminal D, along with Terminal E, is slated for renovation. Currently, its dining options are limited. Baggage claim areas and ticket counter areas are heavily in need of upgrades. Terminal D is home to Southwest Airlines' growing presence at Philadelphia, and because Southwest's ticketing takes place in Terminal E, Southwest passengers must cross from Terminal E to Terminal D. Currently under construction is a new combined ticketing area for the two terminals, located directly between the two, that will alleviate this problem. This terminal is connected to the shopping area of Terminals B/C through a post-security walkway.
Terminal E
This terminal is also slated for renovations. Like in Terminal D, food selections are generally limited. Ticketing areas are strained for space because of Southwest's rapid growth. Also strained by Southwest's growth is the baggage claim area. It serves Southwest passengers arriving in both Terminals D and E, in a very limited space. Overall, the baggage claim area is in dismal condition, requiring very heavy operations in a very cramped area. Also, the baggage area has troubles with heating in winter, due to the close proximity of the doors to the carousels. To help reduce the congestion problems in the baggage area, Southwest now shares AirTran's baggage carousel in the Terminal D baggage claim for passengers arriving there. It also has its own baggage services office located nearby in D. Delta Air Lines, which previously operated out of Terminal E, moved to Terminal A East on November 15, 2007.
