Tupelo Regional Airport

Tupelo Regional Airport (IATA: TUP[2], ICAO: KTUP, FAA LID: TUP) is a public use airport located 3.7 miles; 3.2 nautical miles (6 km) west of the central business district of Tupelo, a city in Lee County, Mississippi, United States.[1] It is owned by the Tupelo Airport Authority.[1] The airport is mostly used for general aviation, but is also served by one commercial airline with scheduled passenger service subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. Many college football teams visiting the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), 49 miles west in Oxford, fly into Tupelo.

Tupelo Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTupelo Airport Authority
ServesTupelo, Mississippi
Elevation AMSL346 ft / 105 m
Coordinates34°16′05″N 088°46′12″W
Websitewww.FlyTupelo.com
Map
TUP
Location of airport in Mississippi / United States
TUP
TUP (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
18/36 6,502 1,982 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Aircraft operations51,598
Based aircraft14

As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 15,985 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[3] 13,319 in 2009, and 12,749 in 2010.[4] The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.[5]

Facilities and aircraft

Tupelo Regional Airport covers an area of 1,061 acres (429 ha) at an elevation of 346 feet (105 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 18/36 with an asphalt surface measuring 6,502 by 150 feet (1,982 by 46 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2011, the airport had 50,916 aircraft operations, an average of 139 per day: 56% general aviation, 38% military, 6% air taxi, and <1% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 68 aircraft based at this airport: 35% single-engine, 22% multi-engine, 9% jet, 3% helicopter, and 31% military.[1] An additional primary function of the airport is to serve as an aircraft boneyard, including scrapping, parts recycling and aircraft storage.[6]

Historical Air Service

Back in the '70s, Tupelo was served by Southern Airways with direct flights to Columbus, Memphis, and Tuscaloosa using Martin 404 piston airliners. In the '80s, Scheduled Skyways began service to Memphis and Meridian using Nord 262s and Swearingen Metroliners. When Memphis began growing as a Northwest hub, Northwest Airlink began Saab 340 turboprop service to Tupelo, with a continuing flight to Muscle Shoals. During the merger between Northwest and Delta, the Muscle Shoals flight was cut, and eventually all Northwest Airlink service was replaced by Delta Connection. Delta Connection had direct flights to Memphis and Atlanta, with the Memphis flight eventually being cut. They served Tupelo with Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft. In 2012, after Delta Connection left, Silver Airways began service to Greenville, Muscle Shoals, and Atlanta using Saab 340s. Silver Airways terminated service in October 2014 and was replaced by Seaport Airway. Seaport flew for one year, leaving at the end of October 2015. The Airport was without service for five months until April 2016 when Contour Airlines began service with five daily flights to Nashville. Since April 2016, Contour has upgraded service three times going from twin turboprop with nine seat to ERJ35s. Tupelo's annual enplanements have steadily grown and the Airport has once again obtained Primary Airport status with the FAA in 2017, 2018 and 2019.[7]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Contour Airlines began daily flights to Nashville using British Aerospace Jetstream 31 turboprop aircraft. On April 1, 2016, this service was upgraded to the Embraer E135 regional jet.

AirlinesDestinations
Contour Airlines Nashville[8]

Cargo

Tupelo has no scheduled cargo service, but gets various cargo charters from time to time, most notably Embraer EMB120s by Berry Aviation and ATR 72s by FedEx.

Army aviation support facility

Mississippi Army National Guard has Apache and Lakota helicopters based at the facility.[9]

Statistics
Carrier shares: (July 2019 – June 2020)[10]
Carrier   Passengers (arriving and departing)
Contour
4,170(94.9%)
Top domestic destinations: (June 2019 – July 2020)[10]
Rank City & IATA code Passengers Airline
1 Nashville, TN (BNA) 11,060 Contour

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for TUP PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 5, 2012.
  2. "IATA Airport Code Search (TUP: Tupelo / Lemons Municipal)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  3. "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  4. "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  5. "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
  6. http://www.airplaneboneyards.com/airplane-boneyards-list-and-map.htm
  7. DOT FAA Office of Airport Planning and Programming final Calendar Year Enplanement Data, DOT EAS Quarterly Reports and Airline Exhibit C, Monthly Reports
  8. Martin, Allie. Tupelo To Have Air Service Starting April 5th, WCBI, March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016
  9. "Tupelo Army Aviation Support Facility". Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  10. "Tupelo, MS: Tupelo Regional (TUP)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. December 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2016.

Further reading
  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket DOT-OST-2009-0160) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
    • Ninety-day notice (July 14, 2009): from Mesaba Aviation, Inc. of its intent to discontinue unsubsidized scheduled air service at the following communities, effective October 12, 2009: Paducah, KY; Alpena, MI; Muskegon, MI; Hancock, MI; Sault Ste. Marie, MI; International Falls, MN; Tupelo, MS and Eau Claire, WI.
  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket DOT-OST-2009-0305) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
    • Memorandum (November 19, 2009): closing out docket DOT-2009-0160 and opening up eight new dockets for the various communities (Alpena, MI; Eau Claire, WI; Hancock/Houghton, MI; International Falls, MN; Muskegon, MI; Paducah, KY; Sault Ste. Marie, MI; Tupelo, MS).
    • Order 2010-5-18 (May 13, 2010): setting final past-period subsidy rates for Mesaba Airlines, Inc., d/b/a Delta Connection, for its forced service at Alpena and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, International Falls, Minnesota, and Tupelo, Mississippi. Also selecting Mesaba to provide essential air service (EAS) at three of these four communities on a prospective basis. At the fourth community, Tupelo, we are tentatively selecting Mesaba to provide service based on a pro-rata application of the rate Mesaba agreed to which the staff applied to a reduced service level.
    • Ninety Day Notice (July 15, 2011): from MESABA AVIATION, INC. and PINNACLE AIRLINES, INC. of termination of service at Tupelo, MS.
    • Order 2011-9-5 (September 13, 2011): prohibiting suspension of service and requesting proposals
    • Order 2012-5-17 (May 22, 2012): selecting Silver Airways, formerly Gulfstream International Airways, to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Greenville, Laurel/Hattiesburg, and Tupelo, Mississippi, and Greenbrier/White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia (Lewisburg), using 34-passenger Saab 340 aircraft, for a combined annual subsidy of $16,098,538. Tupelo will receive 18 weekly round trips over a Greenville-Tupelo-Atlanta routing
    • Order 2012-6-3 (June 6, 2012): extending the Essential Air Service obligation of the two wholly owned subsidiaries of Pinnacle Airlines Corporation – Mesaba Aviation, Inc. and Pinnacle Airlines, d/b/a Delta Connection at the eight communities listed below (Muscle Shoals, AL; Alpena, MI; Iron Mountain/Kingsford, MI; Brainerd, MN; International Falls, MN; Greenville, MS; Laurel/Hattiesburg, MS; Tupelo, MS) for 30 days, through, July 9, 2012.
    • Notice of Intent (April 9, 2014): of Silver Airways Corp. ... to discontinue subsidized scheduled air service between Atlanta, Georgia (ATL) and each of Muscle Shoals, Alabama (MSL), Greenville, Mississippi (GLH), Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi (PIB), and Tupelo, Mississippi (TUP). Silver Airways intends to discontinue this service on July 8, 2014 or such earlier date as permitted by the Department in any final order terminating the eligibility of any of these communities under the essential air service (EAS) program.
    • Order 2014-4-24 (April 22, 2014): prohibits Silver Airways Corp., from terminating service at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Greenville, Laurel/Hattiesburg, Meridian, and Tupelo, Mississippi, for 30 days beyond the end of the air carrier's 90-day notice period, i.e. August 7, 2014. We are also requesting proposals from air carriers interested in providing Essential Air Service (EAS) at Muscle Shoals, Greenville, Laurel/Hattiesburg, Meridian, and/or Tupelo.
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