Chicago Rockford International Airport, is a general aviation and commercial airport in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States. It is located 68 miles (109 km) northwest of Chicago and four miles (6 km) south of Rockford. The airport served over 215,000 passengers in 2007.
CHICAGO ROCKFORD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HISTORY
RFD traces its history back to 1917, when Camp Grant was established during World War I as an U.S. Army Cavalry Camp. During the events of World War II, Camp Grant was made into a military training base and prisoner of war confinement center.
Following the war, the state of Illinois adopted the Airport Authority Act. The Greater Rockford Airport Authority was created in 1946. For more than forty years, the facility was referred to as the Greater Rockford Airport, serving the area as a regional airport. In 1987, the current passenger terminal was constructed in an effort to attract more passenger service. Six years later, United Parcel Service opened its first of two cargo facilities at the airport. The location became a selling point as a transportation facility for cargo as well as for passengers. However, declining passenger numbers led to the temporary loss of scheduled passenger airline service in 2001. Although the Rockford airport had previously had flights to the O’Hare airport, for many residents, it was far more affordable to get to Chicago by bus or by their own car and then fly. In 2003, passenger service was restored to the airport as the facility marketed itself towards leisure travelers; instead of offering regional service primarily to O’Hare or other Midwestern destinations, Rockford offered low-cost flights to Florida.
CHICAGO ROCKFORD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LOCATION
CHICAGO ROCKFORD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FACTS
ICAO/IATA: KRFD/RFD
Lat: 42°11′43″N
Long: 89°05′50″W
Elevation: 742 ft.
Runway length available: 01/19 8199×150 ft. :: 07/25 10004×150 ft.
