Springfield-Branson National Airport

NIGHT VISIT 💫

You never know what’s going to visit on the overnight shift at our SGF airport. It’s a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, on its way to Oshkosh.

Thanks to Kevin Houseman for the pics. 

PARKING LOT UPDATE

We're almost halfway done with the parking lot repaving.

Today, crews began removing old pavement near the center section of long-term parking. We had to tow more than 20 vehicles to make way for the pavement milling machines.

Vehicles were towed to another section of the lot. If you return to the airport, and can't find your ride, please look for the signs with instructions on what to do. Apologies for the inconvenience!

More information here:

www.flyspringfield.com Summer 2024 parking informatioin

AIRLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE WOES

KY3’s Joe Hickman did an in-depth report Monday on the complicated facts of airline customer service.

If you’ve spent loads of time waiting for your plane to be parked, or spent an hour waiting for your bag, we encourage you to view and read Hickman’s reporting.

The written version of the report, which you can find on the KY3 website, provides more details than the video version:

Springfield-Branson National Airport says airlines are to blame for delays on runways after arrival and long baggage claim waits Springfield-Branson National Airport officials explain why incoming evening flights may have longer wait times to get to the terminal gate and unload luggage.

UPDATE: PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE - June 12

On Thursday, June 13, we expect to resume the process of repaving the parking lot at the airline terminal. This means that vehicles remaining in the closed section of long-term parking will be moved to make way for the paving machines. Vehicles will be moved to a different part of the lot.

More information here: https://www.flyspringfield.com/parking-lot-resurfacing-2024

Widespread 2-3 inches with localized pockets of 5-7 inches of rain this evening and tonight. This may lead to flash flooding. Think of safety. This is especially true for outdoor recreation like floating or camping.

UP UP AND 🎈🎈

Where are you flying this summer?

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to move through the region this weekend, with the potential for some strong to severe thunderstorms on Saturday. Stay tuned for further forecast updates.

UPDATE: PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE - May 31

The northeast section of long-term parking is now roped off, barricaded, and officially closed.

Vehicles that are parked there have approximately two weeks to leave. After that, they will be towed to another section of the lot and repaving of the northeast section will begin.

If your vehicle is moved, instructions for finding it will be on signs posted in the lot.

Please forgive the inconvenience.

Work will continue throughout the summer with sections of long-term parking being closed one at a time. It’s impossible to provide exact dates of what will happen when; much depends on weather, and the paving contractor’s schedule.

Visit the airport's website for timely updates:

https://www.flyspringfield.com/parking-lot-resurfacing-2024

DISASTER DRILL

Airport firefighters, along with firefighters from Springfield, MO Fire Department and Willard Fire Protection District, spent Wednesday evening participating in the airport's tri-annual disaster drill. The Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management and local hospitals also participated.

The feds require the airport to have these drills in order to host airline service.

This year the scenario involved an airliner that has landed, but then crashes into a truck carrying hazardous cargo. Actors play the roles of injured and deceased passengers. The "airplane" is actually a mock fuselage that has propane gas piped into it. The propane fuels the fire you see in the photos.

Many thanks to all the organizations that participated!

READY FOR THE WORST

It's a perfect day for the airport's tri-annual disaster drill ...

Preparations are underway this morning for the event which begins at 6:00 this evening. So, if you hear lots of sirens, see flashing lights, +smoke, don't worry, it's just a drill!

UPDATE: PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE - May 25

The short-term parking lot reopened at 3:39 PM on Friday. 

Work will continue throughout the summer with sections of long-term parking being closed one at a time. It’s impossible to provide exact dates of what will happen when; much depends on weather, and the paving contractor’s schedule.

UPDATE: PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE - May 23

The paving contractor is all but finished resurfacing the short-term parking lot at the airline terminal. The lot should be open for public use sometime on Friday — just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The photo shows the short-term lot mid-afternoon on Thursday. The vehicles in the photo belong to the paving crews.

A big thanks to the paving contractor, APAC, for making up time lost to thunderstorms earlier this week.

Work will continue throughout the summer with sections of long-term parking being closed one at a time. It’s impossible to provide exact dates of what will happen when; much depends on weather, and the paving contractor’s schedule.

UPDATE: PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE - May 22

Thunderstorms have largely missed the Springfield area over the past 36 hours and that's good news for the parking lot maintenance project at the airline terminal.

Over the past two days crews made up some time lost to rain earlier. There's now a remote possibility that part of the short-term parking lot could re-open this weekend.

The long-term lots are open and there's plenty of parking.

Work will continue throughout the summer with sections of long-term parking being closed one at a time. It’s impossible to provide exact dates of what will happen when; much depends on weather, and the paving contractor’s schedule.

🚒 NEED A RIDE ⁉️ 🚒

Attention all peeps ‼️

This is Pinkly Flamingo, resident mingo at the Springtown Port O’ Air and I’m in charge around here fur cryin’ out loud ‼️‼️

TODAY you are so honored to hear from ME about this great little deal here at the port o air … , / its a bigley fire truck my peeps used to use in case of aeroplane fires 🔥‼️

That’s right you saw it here first., it’s the 1994 Oshkosh T1500, the perfect recreational vehicle for your desert getaway be cause it holds gallons and gallons and gallons of water fur petes sake❗️

Now, peeps, seriously, If it were up to little ole moi, I’d let this go for ten pounds of shrimp and a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but no, no, Mister Cox says its an auction fur cryin in the bucket‼️🙈

So click right here, https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/springfield,mo/auction/view?auc=3503868 and take a look see.

and remember, I’m a wind tunnel of self-indulgence ‼️😬 Bee sure to click photos for more of the datails❗️ Best Wishes to All, Pinkley

UPDATE: PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE

The work of repaving the parking lots at the airline terminal is now well underway.

These Tuesday morning photos show the paving contractor, APAC Southern Missouri, milling the west end of short-term parking.

Milling is the process of removing the first couple of inches of the old surface with a large grinding machine. The grounds are loaded into the dump truck and hauled away. Once the milling is done, "hot mix asphalt" will be put down to form a new surface.

Work will continue throughout the summer with sections of long-term parking being closed one at a time. It’s impossible to provide exact dates of what will happen when; much depends on weather, and the paving contractor’s schedule.

Please forgive the inconvenience!

⚠️ UPDATE: PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE

The short-term lot is now empty. Repaving of the lot will likely begin early Thursday morning, May 16. If your vehicle has been moved, instructions for finding it will be on signs posted in the lot

Click the photo for more information.

flyspringfield.com Summer 2024 parking informatioin

UPDATE — PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE

May 10, 2024

The short term lost closed five days ago and we're waiting for the lot to empty. On or about May 20, vehicles still in the lot will be towed to the long-term parking lot and resurfacing of short-term will begin.

If your vehicle has been moved, instructions for finding it will be on signs posted in the lot. Look for the signs in the middle of the parking lot.

Timely updates can be found on the airport website:

https://www.flyspringfield.com/parking-lot-resurfacing-2024

You've got a year peeps, a year, FUR CRYIN' OUT LOUD‼️

Click here for more info: https://www.flyspringfield.com/real-id

Springfield-Branson National Airport Comments with obscenities, outside links, advertising, not pertaining to posts, may be deleted.

SUMMER TRAVEL SEASON

It’s not often that we have two Delta mainline aircraft on the ground at the same time in Springfield. Today was one of those days. Here you seen them: two Boeing 717s. Unfortunately, one of them was broken and being repaired …

Nonetheless, it serves to remind us to remind you that the busy summer travel season is about to kick in. That means longer lines at the airport, and not just this airport, but nearly all North American airports.

Don’t forget – this summer be at the airport at least two hours before your flight is scheduled to leave. That way, there's less chance that you'll miss your flight.

SMASHING GOOD TIME

Today, Thursday, May 2, everyone at the airport gets a chance to donate to the Make-a-Wish Foundation and then smash a pie into a manager's face. So, if you're at the airport today, donate and smash away!

Rumor has it that an airline manager will be on the firing line 😜 ...

The event is sponsored by Paradies Lagardère. That's the company that runs the gift stores at the airport. Thank you Paradies!

Make-A-Wish America

BEST OF AWARDS

Newsweek has included our airport as a contender for its Reader’s Choice awards: “Best Small Airport.”

We’d be honored if you cast your vote for us. The list of entrants can be found here:

https://newsweek.com/readerschoice/best-small-airport

PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE

Update - May 1, 2024

The start of the resurfacing project has been bumped to May 6. We'll provide updates on the airport website:

https://www.flyspringfield.com/parking-lot-resurfacing-2024

-------------------

This spring and summer we’ll be resurfacing the public parking lots at the airline terminal.

Work is scheduled to begin May 1 with the closing of the short-term parking lot. While short-term is closed, everyone will have to park in the long-term lots. Work will continue through-out the summer with sections of long-term parking being closed one at a time.

We apologize for the inconvenience!

WHOA!

We did not expect to see this: it’s a flight simulation for our Springfield airport!

The video is a trailer from the company making the simulation, iniBuilds. The simulation runs in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

A quick explanation about the way the simulation identifies the airport …

The three-letter identifier assigned to the Springfield airport is SGF. The simulation uses four letters, KSGF. Here’s what’s going on …

Airport identifiers, or “codes,” were largely developed and assigned in the 1930s and 1940s. You’ll see them on your ticket, or when booking a flight. It gets rather confusing, but airports actually have four letter codes. The first letter identifies the country, and the rest identify the airport. So, from an international perspective, the Springfield airport is KSGF. “K” is for United States, and “SGF” is for our airport.

In the United States, we typically drop the “K” when referring to a domestic airport. That’s why you normally see only three letters. Overseas, they include the “K” to denote United States. And since the simulation was produced in the United Kingdom, that’s why you see KSGF.

Now you know! 😀

RW Profiles Springfield Branson | Microsoft Flight Simulator Welcoming a well known name in the flight sim community for their work on GSX profiles, RW Profiles release their first ever scenery - Springfield-Branson (K...

NEW FEDERAL AIRLINE RULES BENEFIT CUSTOMERS

Airlines must pay cancellation cash and can no longer hide fees under new federal rule:

Airlines must cough up cancellation cash and can no longer hide fees under new federal rule Airlines will be required to give refunds in cash for things like canceled or seriously changed or delayed flights, the administration said.

SHUTTLE SERVICE

Firefighting at airports presents challenges. Chief among them: having enough water. A few days ago, airport firefighters, along with firefighters from the Willard Fire Protection District, practiced the “water shuttle.”

Firefighters typically use water shuttles in rural areas that have few, if any, fire hydrants.

Suppose a farmhouse is burning and the nearest fire hydrant is miles away. A fire engine arrives, and firefighters start the battle using water carried on board the fire engine. Fire engines typically carry between 500 and 1,000 gallons.

It doesn’t take long to use that much water, so firefighters often set up a water shuttle. Here’s how it works …

A portable water tank is set-up next to the fire engine. A fire service tanker truck then dumps water into the portable tank (see first photo). The fire engine then pumps the water out of the tank and on to the fire. The now empty tanker truck then goes to the nearest water source, refills, then “shuttles” more water to the fire engine. The water source can be a hydrant, pond, lake, river, etc.

We have hydrants at the airport, but they’re far apart. Our working assumption is that a water shuttle will be needed for any major aircraft fire. That’s where Willard firefighters comes in. Since a large part of their service area is rural, they have the equipment and knowledge to set-up effective shuttle service.

The airport has mutual aid agreements with several area fire departments. During a major aircraft fire, Willard firefighters will provide shuttle service for all other firefighters on the scene.

In the second photo you can see the Willard fire department’s portable tank (sitting on the ground), the water tanker, and the fire engine.

The fourth photo is from a different angle. The portable tank is on the far left. The Willard fire engine is in the middle, and the truck on the right is one of the airport’s aircraft rescue fire trucks. Note the hoses running between the two trucks: the fire engine is transferring water to the aircraft rescue truck. The rescue truck then sprays water several hundred feet on to the imagined fire. Water is coming out of the nozzle at a rate of about 1,000 gallons a minute.

We want to thank the Willard Fire Protection District, and all the other fire departments, for helping to keep you safe.

GENERAL AVIATION UPDATE

The expansion and remodeling project for our general aviation terminal is moving right along.

The general aviation terminal (also known as the GA terminal) is where privately owned aircraft load and unload passengers at the airport. It’s also where those aircraft are fueled and serviced. It’s separate from the airline terminal that most people are familiar with.

The GA terminal was built in 1990 and is too small for current demand. The remodel and expansion project will make the building more efficient and will give GA customers more space and amenities.

The project includes updated restrooms, expansion of the administration area and pilot lounge, and the addition of a large public community room.

The total cost of the project is $6,727,371. Funding comes from airport reserve funds. The project will be completed later this year.

Nabholz Corporation Dake Wells Architecture

KEEP ON FLYING!

The number of people flying from Springfield continues growing. Airport total passenger numbers up 12% for the first 3 months of 2024, compared to same period last year. That’s 35 consecutive months of growth. Thank you for flying Springfield!