Fresno Yosemite International Airport

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Fresno Yosemite International Airport Template:Airport codes, formerly known as Fresno Air Terminal, is a public airport located in southeastern Fresno, in Fresno County, California. However, the airport is at least 92 miles away from its co-namesake national park. The airport covers 2,150 acres (8.7 km²) and has two runways and one helipad. It is the major air transportation center for the San Joaquin Valley, with major air carrier service to airline hubs throughout the Western United States, as well as direct international flights to Guadalajara.

History

The airport was originally named Fresno Air Terminal. In 1988 the FAA designated the airport as an "International Point of Entry," making it eligible for international flights. In 1995 the name was changed to attract out-of-state and international visitors to Yosemite National Park. Since its opening, the airport has gone through multiple renovations and expansions. In 2002 a new new two-level Concourse building was completed and in 2006 construction of a new Federal Inspection Facility (FIS) was completed. In 2005 the IATA airport code is in the process of being changed from FAT to FYI.

Fresno has also served as headquarters for at least two airlines. Roughly 1996-1998, Air 21 flew Fokker F28 jets to various destinations; as far east as Colorado Springs, and as far west as San Francisco. Allegiant Air also called Fresno home, but has since moved it's headquarters to Las Vegas.

In the 1980s, it was commonplace to see larger commercial aircraft in/out of Fresno, but there was a shift in the 1990s and nearly all mainline jets had been replaced by small regional aircraft. Aside from long standing MD80 service to Dallas on American Airlines, Mexicana, and Allegiant Air are the only airlines that operate larger aircraft into Fresno as of 2007. Frontier will pull out in June of 2007, and US Airways operated Airbus A319 equipment to Las Vegas briefly in 2006.

Quick facts

Airport covers 2,300 acres (9.3 km²)
Fresno completed 2006 with 1.281 million passengers traveling through Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
WiFi access available throughout airport.
FAT was the first airport in the country to implement an anti-terrorist facial recognition system, shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The first airport in the Nation to install a web-based, wireless system (PASSUR Flight Information Display) to list active flight arrivals and departures.
The Category IIIB Landing System is one of the most sophisticated in the nation, necessary when navigating through the Valley's winter tule fog.
The vast majority of air traffic in and out of the airport is private aircraft. Only 7% of the air traffic is commercial, 6% is military, and the remainder is private.
The 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard is based out of the Fresno Yosemite International Airport.[1]
The California Army National Guard maintains an Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot (AVCRAD) at the airport. The mission of this unit is to perform high level maintenance and repair on Army aircraft. Its jurisdiction covers a 15-state region in the Western United States.
Both the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry operate an Air Attack Base at the airport for fighting forest fires with aerial tankers.