Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
IATA: AZA – ICAO: KIWA – FAA LID: IWA
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Williams Gateway Airport Authority
Location		Mesa, Arizona
Elevation AMSL		1,382 ft / 421 m
Coordinates		33°18′28″N 111°39′20″W / 33.30778°N 111.65556°W / 33.30778; -111.65556
Website		PhxMesaGateway.org
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
12C/30C	10,200	3,109	Asphalt/Concrete
12L/30R	9,300	2,835	Concrete
12R/30L	10,400	3,170	Concrete
Statistics (2005)
Aircraft operations			276,642
Based aircraft			114
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IATA: AZA, ICAO: KIWA, FAA LID: IWA), formerly Williams Gateway Airport and formerly Williams Air Force Base, is a commercial airport located in the southeastern area of the city of Mesa, Arizona, and 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The airport is owned and operated by the Williams Gateway Airport Authority. It serves as a focus city for Allegiant Air. The airport authority is governed by a five member board, composed of the mayors and tribal governor of the town of Gilbert, city of Mesa, town of Queen Creek, Gila River Indian Community and the city of Phoenix.

As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 1,655 passenger boardings (or enplanements) in calendar year 2005 and 3,790 enplanements (all unscheduled) in 2006. According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2007–2011, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway was designated as a reliever airport, which is a general aviation airport that may be used to relieve congestion at a large commercial service airport. Allegiant Air began offering scheduled commercial service from this airport in October 2007.

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is assigned IWA by the FAA and AZA by the IATA (which assigned IWA to Yuzhny Airport in Ivanovo, Russia). The airport's former IATA code was CHD.

History

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport was built in 1941 and inaugurated in 1942 by the United States military as Williams Air Base. It served as a flight training field during World War II for military pilots. Military forces established a pilot school there, and many war airplanes that are now considered to be classics were seen there on a daily basis.

In 1948, Williams became the first jet training base, and in 1966 it was the first site of the Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) program.

The 1991 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended closing the base as its operating costs were too costly for the United States government; the base continued operating until 1993.

Entrance to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport

As the base was being shut down, it was decided that, with the growing traffic at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, an alternative airport would be needed in the area. The runway was expanded to accommodate jets, and the facility reopened in 1994 as Williams Gateway Airport. Bids began to be made for some airlines to begin flights almost immediately.

In 2004, charter airline Ryan International Airlines began offering MD-82 jet flights from there to Bullhead City International Airport in Bullhead City, Arizona, which is adjacent to Laughlin, Nevada, and many resorts.

In recent years, the airport has again become a center of flight training. Several large flight schools now take advantage of the great flying weather in the Phoenix valley.

Logo using airport's former name

On July 31, 2007, the low-cost Las Vegas-based carrier Allegiant Air announced plans to open a focus city from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, connecting the Phoenix metropolitan area to 13 destinations. First service commenced on October 25, 2007 and additional cities commencing throughout the remainder of October and complete by November 21, 2007.

In a press release on September 17, 2007, the Williams Gateway Airport Authority governing board approved a name change for Williams Gateway Airport effective October 15, 2007, after which the airport would be known as the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. The board cited a desire "to have the airport reach its highest potential in creating jobs and commercial service development" as the reason behind the change.

Facilities and aircraft

Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport covers an area of 3,020 acres (1,222 ha) which contains three paved runways:

• Runway 12C/30C: 10,200 x 150 ft (3,109 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
• Runway 12L/30R: 9,300 x 150 ft (2,835 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete
• Runway 12R/30L: 10,400 x 150 ft (3,170 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 280,719 aircraft operations, an average of 769 per day: 93% general aviation, 4% military, 3% air taxi and <1% scheduled commercial. There are 111 aircraft based at this airport: 58% single-engine, 8% multi-engine, 19% jet and 15% helicopter.

Airlines and destinations

Destinations served from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport

FAA diagram of AZA

Other

• Air Evac (Medevac airline)
• Fighter Combat International

Training

• Advanced Training Systems International, a fighter combat and maintenance training school
• Mesa Pilot Development
• Airline Transport Professionals
• University of North Dakota Aerospace
• Chandler Gilbert Community College A&P Training

Board of directors

In 1994, the Willams Gateway Airport Authority was established with a three member board with representation from the three cities immediately adjacent to Williams Field. The original governing board consisted of the mayors of the town of Gilbert, city of Mesa, and town of Queen Creek, who continue as members today.

In later years, the Gila River Indian Community and the city of Phoenix joined the Williams Gateway Airport Authority board. Gila River Indian Community joined in 1995 and the City of Phoenix joined in 2006.

Now that the change of the Williams Gateway Airport name to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport has occurred, the board approved resolution and ordinance does not change, diminish, give away, negate nor reduce any of the five board of directors and their respective city, town or tribal government member voting authority and respective ownership. Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport continues to be owned and operated by the Williams Gateway Airport Authority.

A five-member airport Board of Directors is composed of elected officials from neighboring cities and a tribal government. Authority communities are as of 2007:

• Gilbert
• Gila River Indian Community
• Mesa
• Queen Creek
• Phoenix

Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa/Phoenix, Arizona, offers the perfect climate for aerospace. In addition to being a reliever to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Williams Gateway serves a variety of aircraft including corporate, cargo, general aviation and military. The airport's three expansive runways (10,401 feet; 10,201 feet; and 9,301 feet) allow for excellent access for every type of aircraft operation from a single-engine Cessna to the Boeing 747-400.

WGA is developing as an international aerospace center with aircraft manufacturing, maintenance, modification, testing and pilot training. Currently, more than 20 aviation companies operate on the facility, and the remaining 1,000 acres available for aviation company locations is in high demand.

In addition to the area's skilled labor force, excellent year-round flying weather and access to international markets, WGA's assets make it a prime location for global-minded companies. WGA has been designated as foreign Trade Zone #221 as well as a Military Reuse Zone, offering aviation companies a significant financial edge in the global marketplace.

WGA is governed by an airport authority consisting of Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek and the Gila River Indian Community. Because of its successful conversion from Williams Air Force Base, other base reuse facilities across the country now look to WGA and its board for direction in their own redevelopment efforts. WGA now has more than 1,000 jobs and is on its way to becoming a major employment hub for high paying jobs in the East Valley. The airport's current annual economic impact on the community is more than $251 million and continues to grow exponentially as development progresses.

History

The former Williams Air Force Base played a strategic role in America's aviation history. Over a span of 52 years, more than 26,500 men and women earned their wings at Williams. Gearing up for the combat pilot demands of World War II, the Army Air Corps broke ground in Southeast Mesa, Ariz. for its Advanced Flying School on July 16, 1941. In February 1942, the growing military base's name was changed to Williams Field to honor Charles Linton Williams, an Arizona-born pilot. The facility was redesignated as Williams Air Force Base (WAFB) in January 1948. WAFB was the U.S. Air Force's foremost pilot training facility, graduating more student pilots and instructors than any other base in the country and supplying 25 percent of the Air Force's pilots annually. WAFB provided training for a variety of fighter and bomber aircraft including the AT-9, AT-17, P-38, AT-6, B-17, B-24, P-51, P-47, F-86, F-100, T-37 and T-38.

WAFB was closed in 1993 and created a loss of more than 3,800 jobs and $300 million in annual economic activity. The state and communities began work immediately to redevelop the base after the announcement of closure in 1991. The Governor's Economic Reuse Advisory Board was appointed by then Governor Fife Symington in 1991 to coordinate reuse efforts. The Williams Air Force Base Economic Reuse Plan was spearheaded by the Reuse Advisory Board and approved by the Governor of Arizona in 1992. The plan determined the base be developed as an aerospace center and an educational, research and training facility with the airport serving as a reliever to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Aviation uses identified included commercial passenger service, aircraft manufacturing, maintenance, modification, air cargo operations and flight training.

To work toward ownership and operation of the airport, an Intergovernmental Agreement Group (IGA) was established on Oct. 15, 1992. The IGA developed legislation to create the Williams Gateway Airport Authority (WGAA). The airport officially opened in March 1994 and the WGAA was established in May 1994; this allowed the IGA to be dissolved. Today, the WGAA Board consists of the mayors from the City of Mesa and Towns of Gilbert and Queen Creek and the Governor of the Gila River Indian Community.

Cooperation among the various jurisdictions surrounding Williams Gateway Airport, the campus and the business community, coupled with innovative planning efforts has set the stage for successful development of Williams Gateway Airport for civilian use.

Location & QuickFacts

Owner & Manager

Airport Operations and Facilities

Airport Communications

Airport Services

Runway Information

Runway 12C/30C

Runway 12L/30R

Runway 12R/30L

Radio Navigation Aids

Remarks

• VOLUNTARY NOISE ABATEMENT PROCEDURES IN EFFECT. AVOID LOW OVERFLIGHT OF NOISE SENSITIVE AREAS SURROUNDING ARPT. FOR NOISE ABATEMENT INFO CTC ARPT OPNS 602-565-7967 BTN 0600-2200 OR 480-988-7700 BTN 2200-0600.
• TWY K SOUTH OF TWY A CLSD INDEFLY.
• BE ALERT TO INTENSE HELICOPTER TRAINING ACTIVITY DURING DAYLIGHT HRS.
• TRANSIENT PARKING ON THE MIDDLE RAMP ONLY.
• OCNL WILDLIFE INVOF ARPT.

Based Aircraft

Operational Statistics

 
Williams Gateway Airport

5835 S. Sossaman Rd.
Mesa, Arizona 85212 USA
Tel: 480-988-7600 Fax: 480-988-2315

E-mail: poakley@flywga.org

URL: http://www.flywga.org/

(Click on the photo to enlarge)

http://www.airport-data.com/airport/IWA/

http://www.dot.state.az.us/aviation/airports/airports_list.asp?FAA=IWA
http://www.flywga.org/
http://www.visitingphx.com/gateway.html
We thank them for the data!