Sawyer International Airport
Encyclopedia
Sawyer International Airport is a public airport
located 17 miles (27.4 km) south of the central business district
of Marquette
, a city in Marquette County
, Michigan
, United States
. The airport is publicly owned by Marquette County.
This commercial and general aviation
airport is located near Gwinn, Michigan
on a portion of the former K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base
, which closed in September 1995. The airport opened for passenger service in September 1999, serving Marquette and the surrounding area. It replaced the former Marquette County Airport which closed the same year.
Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier
for the FAA
and IATA
, Sawyer International is assigned SAW by the FAA and MQT by the IATA (which had previously assigned SAW to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport
in Istanbul
, Turkey
). The airport's ICAO
identifier is KSAW.
For 12-month period ending December 31, 2008, the airport had 22,515 aircraft operations, an average of 62 per day: 49% general aviation (10,940), 47% air taxi (10,536), <1% scheduled commercial (8), and 5% military (1,031). There are 44 aircraft based at this airport: 91% single engine (40) and 9% multi engine (4).
There is an industrial park, the Telkite Technology Park, adjacent to the airport, with 1000 acres (4 km²) of land and 1500000 square feet (139,354.6 m²) of space in a Michigan Renaissance Zone, which exempts the tenant or owner from the majority of state and local taxes.
The airport is home to the Marquette County Aviation Wall of Honor which features many influential pilots and engineers.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located 17 miles (27.4 km) south of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Marquette
Marquette, Michigan
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...
, a city in Marquette County
Marquette County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Hiawatha National Forest * Huron National Wildlife Refuge* Ottawa National Forest -University:Northern Michigan University is a four-year university, established in 1899, located in Marquette, Michigan, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The airport is publicly owned by Marquette County.
This commercial and general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
airport is located near Gwinn, Michigan
Gwinn, Michigan
Gwinn is an unincorporated community in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is in Forsyth Township at on M-35 near the forks of the east and middle branches of the Escanaba River. Gwinn is a census-designated place for statistical purposes, and the CDP includes the...
on a portion of the former K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base
K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base
K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base is a decommissioned U.S. Air Force base in Marquette County, Michigan, south of the city of Marquette. The base, near the center of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, closed in 1995. The county airport, Sawyer International, now occupies a portion of the base and has scheduled...
, which closed in September 1995. The airport opened for passenger service in September 1999, serving Marquette and the surrounding area. It replaced the former Marquette County Airport which closed the same year.
Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier
Location identifier
A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation aid, or weather station, and is used for manned air traffic control facilities in air traffic control, telecommunications, computer programming, weather reports, and related services.-ICAO...
for the FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
and IATA
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
, Sawyer International is assigned SAW by the FAA and MQT by the IATA (which had previously assigned SAW to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport is one of the international airports serving İstanbul, Turkey. The facility is named after Sabiha Gökçen, the first female combat pilot in the world. Located southeast of central İstanbul, it is on the Asian side of the bi-continental city...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
). The airport's ICAO
International Civil Aviation Organization
The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
identifier is KSAW.
Facilities and aircraft
Sawyer International Airport covers an area of 2100 acres (849.8 ha). It has a single asphalt/concrete runway, 12,370 x 150 ft (3,770 x 46 m), originally re-designed in 1959 to accommodate B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers.For 12-month period ending December 31, 2008, the airport had 22,515 aircraft operations, an average of 62 per day: 49% general aviation (10,940), 47% air taxi (10,536), <1% scheduled commercial (8), and 5% military (1,031). There are 44 aircraft based at this airport: 91% single engine (40) and 9% multi engine (4).
There is an industrial park, the Telkite Technology Park, adjacent to the airport, with 1000 acres (4 km²) of land and 1500000 square feet (139,354.6 m²) of space in a Michigan Renaissance Zone, which exempts the tenant or owner from the majority of state and local taxes.
The airport is home to the Marquette County Aviation Wall of Honor which features many influential pilots and engineers.
Airlines and destinations
External links
- Michigan Airport Directory:
- Photos of the closed Marquette County Airport