Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (IATA: LAL, ICAO: KLAL, FAA LID: LAL) is a city owned, public use airport located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) southwest of the central business district of Lakeland, a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a reliever airport.
The airport possesses a Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 139 operating certificate entitling it to conduct commercial passenger aircraft operations and the current terminal facility, which opened in late 2001, was designed to enable it to conduct airline operations with minimal modifications. Scheduled commercial airline service returned to the airport in June 2011, when Direct Air began service to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Niagara Falls, New York and Springfield, Illinois. However, commercial service was suspended on March 13 when Direct Air unexpectedly announced an end to operations. The charter carrier, who offered flights from Lakeland to Niagara Falls and Plattsburgh, New York; Springfield, Illinois and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with Boeing 737 aircraft, was subject to Chapter 7 liquidation on April 12, 2012.
LAKELAND LINDER REGIONAL AIRPORT HISTORY
Origins
In 1940, the Lakeland City Commission passed a resolution to replace the city’s Lakeland Municipal Airport, which was built in 1933 & early 1934. The new airport, tentatively named Lakeland Municipal Airport No. 2 was named Drane Field in honor of Herbert J. Drane, one of Lakeland’s outstanding citizens.
The city had barely begun work on the new airport when, with war already raging in Europe, it leased the facility to the War Department. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers improved the three existing runways and constructed the necessary buildings to operate a training facility to fly combat bombers and fighters. The new base, initially a sub-base of MacDill Field, near Tampa, was named Lakeland Army Air Field. Thousands of men received part of their flight training in Lakeland during the war. After the war ended, the Army Airfield was left unused due to the size of the facility far exceeding the needs of the city as well as the costs involved of converting it to civil use.
LAKELAND LINDER REGIONAL AIRPORT LOCATION
LAKELAND LINDER REGIONAL AIRPORT FACTS
ICAO/IATA: LAL/KLAL
Lat: 27°59′20″N
Long: 082°01′07″W
Elevation: 142 ft.
Runway length available: 05/23 5000×150 ft. :: 09/27 8500×150 ft.
