Key West International Airport

Key West International Airport
Aerial view of Key West International Airport
IATA: EYW ICAO: KEYW FAA LID: EYW WMO: 72201
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Monroe County
Serves	Key West, Florida
Elevation AMSL	3 ft / 1 m
Coordinates	24°33′22″N 081°45′34″W / 24.55611°N 81.75944°W / 24.55611; -81.75944Coordinates: 24°33′22″N 081°45′34″W / 24.55611°N 81.75944°W / 24.55611; -81.75944
Website	eyw.com
Map
EYW Show map of Florida EYW Show map of the US Location of airport in Florida / United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 9/27 4,801 1,463 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations 62,293 Based aircraft 59
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Key West International Airport (IATA: EYW, ICAO: KEYW, FAA LID: EYW) is an international airport located in Monroe County, Florida, two miles east of Key West.

Flights departing from EYW often have weight restrictions because the airport's runway is only 4,801 feet (1,463 m) long.

Key West's aviation history began in 1913, with a flight to Cuba by Augustin Parla. In 1928, Pan American Airways began scheduled flights from Key West. The main runway at Meacham Field was pressed into U.S. Army use after the Pearl Harbor attack, and into U.S. Navy use later in World War II as an alternative to the Trumbo Point seaplane base and the main Naval Air Station for fixed-wing and lighter-than-air (i.e., blimp) aircraft on Boca Chica Key. After the war, the city took over what became Key West Municipal Airport. In January 1953, the city gave Monroe County the title to Meacham Field, allowing the county to apply for Federal Aviation Administration grants. Around the same time, the airport became Key West International Airport.

National Airlines began flights to Miami in the mid 1940s with Lockheed Lodestar twin prop aircraft, although the airport did not have a paved runway until around 1956. National served Key West for nearly 25 years and later operated Convair 340 and Convair 440 prop aircraft, as well as Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops, into the airport. In 1968, National began the first jet flights into Key West with Boeing 727-100s, providing nonstop service to Miami. By 1969, National was operating daily 727 jet service direct to Washington National Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport via intermediate stops in Miami, West Palm Beach, and Orlando.