Esler Regional Airport

Esler Field Esler Regional Airport Esler Army Airfield
USGS aerial image, 2004
IATA: ESF ICAO: KESF FAA LID: ESF
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Owner/Operator	Louisiana National Guard
Serves	Central Louisiana
Location	Rapides Parish, near Pineville, Louisiana
Elevation AMSL	112 ft / 34 m
Coordinates	31°23′42″N 092°17′45″W / 31.39500°N 92.29583°W / 31.39500; -92.29583Coordinates: 31°23′42″N 092°17′45″W / 31.39500°N 92.29583°W / 31.39500; -92.29583
Map
ESF Location of airport in Louisiana
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 9/27 5,999 1,828 Asphalt 14/32 5,601 1,707 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft operations 8,300 Based aircraft 27
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Esler Field, also known as Esler Regional Airport, (IATA: ESF, ICAO: KESF, FAA LID: ESF) is a military and public use airfield in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, near the City of Pineville. It is located 10 nautical miles (12 statute miles, 19 kilometres) northeast of the central business district of Alexandria, Louisiana, The airfield is owned by the Louisiana Army National Guard and is the home of Army Aviation Support Facility #2 (AASF#2).

This airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation airport. It has no scheduled commercial airline service at present but was served by Delta Air Lines in the past with mainline passenger jet service.

After World War I in 1919 the Army had abandoned Camp Beauregard and turned the property over to the state of Louisiana, which returned it to the United States, however interest in the military utilization of Camp Beauregard increased significantly in 1939 when war began in Europe. The United States needed a training ground for American troops. In 1940 the land was returned to the War Department for use as a World War II training area. That area included the now-abandoned Camps Claiborne and Livingston and what has become Esler Regional Airport.