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Henry E. Rohlsen Airport

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Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (IATA: STX, ICAO: TISX, FAA LID: STX) is a public airport six miles (10 km) southwest of Christiansted on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.[1] The airport is named after Henry E. Rohlsen, a St. Croix native who was one of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.

Henry E. Rohlsen Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerVirgin Islands Port Authority
ServesSt. Croix, United States Virgin Islands
Elevation AMSL74 ft / 23 m
Coordinates17°42′16″N 064°48′06″W / 17.70444°N 64.80167°W / 17.70444; -64.80167
Websitewww.viport.com/herastx
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
10/28 10,004 3,049 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Total passengers472,000
Aircraft movements25,807
Based aircraft37

The airport, which was a hub for Aero Virgin Islands in the 1970s and 1980s, can receive jets up to the size of the Boeing 747s. Before 1996 the airport was known as Alexander Hamilton International Airport.[2]

History

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Check-in area
 
Apron view

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force stationed the 12th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group) at the airport for antisubmarine patrols flying B-18 Bolo aircraft from November 8, 1941, to November 10, 1942. During the time the military operated the airport, it was called Benedict Airfield. When the airport was transferred to civilian control, it was renamed to honor former St. Croix resident Alexander Hamilton.

Several airlines have operated scheduled passenger jet service to St. Croix in the past, including Air Florida with Douglas DC-9-10s, Caribair with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s, Continental Airlines with Boeing 727-200s, Eastern Airlines with Boeing 727-100s, 727-200s and 757-200s, Midway Airlines with Boeing 737-200s, Pan Am with Boeing 727-200s as well as wide-body Airbus A300B4s,[3] and Trans Caribbean Airways with Boeing 727-200s.[4] American Airlines has served St. Croix for many years. In 1974, American served the airport with Boeing 707 and Boeing 727-100 jetliners with nonstop flights to New York City.[5] In 1994, American operated Airbus A300-600R wide-body jets into St. Croix with nonstop service to Miami.[6] A Boeing 747 carrying relief supplies during the aftermath of Hurricane Marilyn landed at the airport in 1995. Satellite imagery shows the presence of C-17 and C-130 military transports in 2006 and 2015.

On November 11, 2018, the world's second-largest cargo airplane, the Antonov An-124, landed on St. Croix to deliver building supplies for houses as part of the hurricane recovery.[7]

Facilities and aircraft

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Henry E. Rohlsen Airport covers an area of 1,455 acres (589 ha), which contains one asphalt-paved runway (10/28) measuring 10,004 ft × 150 ft (3,049 m × 46 m). For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2013, the airport had 36,287 aircraft operations, an average of 99 per day: 68% air taxi, 25% general aviation, 6% scheduled commercial and 1% military. In the same period, 36 aircraft were based at this airport, including 11 single-engine, 15 multi-engine, five jets, four military aircraft and one helicopter.[1]

Terminal modernization and expansion project

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In August 2018, the Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIPA) held a charrette to announce and discuss the terminal's expansion and renovation.[8][9][10][11][12] On March 14, 2019, the VIPA announced that bidding for phase one of the upgrade project would be in September.[13][14] The renovation was expected to be complete within a year.[15]

VIPA had begun the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport Terminal Expansion and Modernization Project as of September 2020. The improvements to the terminal will be completed in four phases over a six-year period.

Phase one entails enclosing 5,500 square feet of walkway space to increase the lounge's seating capacity, refurbishing the existing passenger lounge space and restrooms, enclosing the 1,100-square-foot open-air gardens with a new roof structure to provide additional concessions space, and upgrading the mechanical systems for the additional air-conditioned area.

Phase one is estimated to cost $8.6 million and was funded by a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration in 2019 with a local match of $1.6 million from the VI Port Authority. The construction was anticipated to take 18 months and end in March 2022, but was ahead of schedule and ended on December 21, 2021.[16]

Phases two through four include the addition of a second level to accommodate jet bridges, additional hold room, concession and retail space, improvement of passenger flow and baggage handling in the terminal; redesign, expansion, and modernization of the interior of the terminal to make the best use of the existing floor plan; the addition of tropical landscaping; and changes to improve the flow of vehicular traffic. Expanding the terminal will allow St. Croix to take full advantage of its 10,000-foot runway.

While Phase 1 of the HERA Terminal Expansion is fully funded, VIPA is actively seeking funding sources for Phases 2 through 4. The project is estimated to cost $140 million.[17]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
American Airlines Miami
Seasonal: Charlotte
Cape Air Nevis, Saint Thomas, San Juan, Vieques[18]
Delta Air Lines Seasonal: Atlanta
Fly The Whale Saint Thomas,[19] San Juan–Isla Grande[20]
Frontier Airlines San Juan
JetBlue San Juan (resumes December 12, 2024)[21]
Silver Airways San Juan
Sky High Seasonal: Santo Domingo–Las Américas
Spirit Airlines Fort Lauderdale
Destination map
class=notpageimage|
Destinations from Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX)
Red = Year-round destination
Green = Seasonal destination
Blue = Future destination
Destination map - regional
class=notpageimage|
Destinations from Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX)
Red = Year-round destination
Green = Seasonal destination
Blue = Future destination

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
DHL Aviation San Juan
FedEx Express San Juan

Statistics

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Top destinations

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Busiest domestic routes from STX (March 2023 – February 2024)[22]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1   Miami, Florida 95,230 American
2   Fort Lauderdale, Florida 46,450 Spirit
3   Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 45,520 Cape Air, Silver, Fly The Whale
4   San Juan, Puerto Rico 32,230 Cape Air, Sea Flight, Silver
5   Charlotte, North Carolina 16,930 American
6   Atlanta, Georgia 15,250 Delta

Airline market share

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Largest airlines at STX (March 2023 - February 2024)[23]
Rank Airline Passengers Share
1 American Airlines 224,000 44.34%
2 Spirit Airlines 98,880 18.61%
3 Silver Airways 66,220 13.13%
4 Fly The Whale 56,780 11.26%
5 Delta Airlines 30,510 6.05%
6 Other 33,330 6.61%

Accidents and incidents

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  • On July 24, 1979, Prinair Flight 610 crashed shortly after takeoff from Alexander Hamilton Airport. One crew member and seven passengers were killed.[24]
  • On December 7, 2017, at about 8:54 p.m., a private plane, a Beech Baron on its way to St. Thomas, had to return to St. Croix due to an emergency and crashed before it could make it to the runway, resulting in five fatalities.[25] A preliminary investigation revealed that engine failure caused the crash.[26] It was also revealed that the pilot operating the aircraft was unqualified to fly multi-engine airplanes.[27]

References

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  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for STX PDF, effective July 5, 2007
  2. ^ "Virgin Islands Port Authority". The United States Virgin Islands' Airports and Seaports. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  3. ^ "Pan Am A300B4-203". AirlineFan.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  4. ^ http://www.departedflights.com Archived December 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Official Airline Guides (OAGs) dated Nov. 15, 1979 and July 1, 1983; http://www.airchives.net[permanent dead link‍], Caribair system timetables; http://www.timetableimages.com Archived February 2, 2001, at the Wayback Machine, July 7, 1969 Trans Caribbean Airways system timetable
  5. ^ http://www.departedflights.com Archived December 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Dec. 1, 1974 American Airlines system timetable
  6. ^ http://www.departedflights.com Archived December 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Oct. 1, 1991 Official Airline Guide (OAG), St. Croix-Miami schedules
  7. ^ "Watch: Second Largest Cargo Plane in the World Delivers Payload to St. Croix -". Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  8. ^ "Port Authority Hosting Charrette As It Unveils Plans For St. Croix Airport Redesign; Community Invited To Attend". Archived from the original on August 12, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  9. ^ "VIPA Invites Public to Vision Charette to Discuss Rohlsen Airport Upgrades | St. Croix Source". Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  10. ^ "Henry E. Rohlsen Airport Terminal Expansion & Upgrade". Virgin Islands Port Authority. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "St. Croix Airport Redesign Unveiled: Second Floor, Escalator, Jet Bridges, Baggage Handling Expansion And More". Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  12. ^ staff, Source (August 22, 2018). "Feds Put V.I. at Top of List for Redevelopment of Rohlsen Airport". Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  13. ^ "Port Authority Sprucing up Marine Facilities and Airports". March 14, 2019.
  14. ^ "Status of the Airports and Seaports of the United States Virgin Islands" (PDF). Virgin Islands Port Authority. March 13, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  15. ^ "Contractor: STX Airport Renovation Should be Complete in 12 Months". October 6, 2020.
  16. ^ "VIPA Celebrates Completion of Phase One of Terminal Expansion". December 21, 2021.
  17. ^ "MODERNIZING AND EXPANDING THE HERA TERMINAL". VI Port Authority. 2021.
  18. ^ "Cape Air Enhances Vieques Network in 1H25". Aeroroutes. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  19. ^ "Fly The Whale Expected To Commence Daily Flights By April 28th - Just In Time For Carnival Parades". April 20, 2023.
  20. ^ "Fly the Whale to Launch Daily Flights Between St. Croix and Puerto Rico March 15". February 12, 2024.
  21. ^ "JetBlue Announces Puerto Rico Expansion, New Mint Service to Three Cities, and Three New Destinations". JetBlue Newsroom. May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  22. ^ "OST_R - BTS - Transtats". www.transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  23. ^ "Christiansted, VI: Henry E. Rohlsen (STX)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
  24. ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
  25. ^ "Five Are Dead In Plane Crash At St. Croix Airport". Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  26. ^ "Engine Failure Led To Plane Crash, FAA Preliminary Investigation Reveals". Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  27. ^ "Pilot Who Operated Plane That Crashed At St. Croix Airport Was Not Licensed To Fly Multi-Engine Aircraft, FAA Records Show". Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
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