Portland International Jetport

Portland International Jetport
IATA: PWM ICAO: KPWM FAA LID: PWM PWM Show map of Maine PWM Show map of the US Location of airport in Maine / United States
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	City of Portland
Serves	Portland, Maine
Location	Portland, Maine
Elevation AMSL	76 ft / 23 m
Coordinates	43°38′46″N 070°18′33″W / 43.64611°N 70.30917°W / 43.64611; -70.30917Coordinates: 43°38′46″N 070°18′33″W / 43.64611°N 70.30917°W / 43.64611; -70.30917
Website	www.portlandjetport.org
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 11/29 7,200 2,195 Asphalt 18/36 6,100 1,524 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 1,667,734 Aircraft Operations 46,633 Based Aircraft 45
Source: Federal Aviation Administration and Portland Jetport.

Portland International Jetport (IATA: PWM, ICAO: KPWM, FAA LID: PWM) is a public airport two miles (3 km) west of downtown Portland, in Cumberland County, Maine. It is owned and operated by the city of Portland. A portion of the Jetport's property, including the main runway, is in the neighboring city of South Portland.

The airport is the busiest in the state. In 2007 it handled a record 1.6 million passengers, up 17.0% from the previous year, and handled 1.7 million passengers in the years 2008–2011. In recent years, the Jetport has benefited from service by low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. A survey conducted in June 2011 found PWM to be the most affordable airport in the region, and the third most affordable in New England. In October 2011, PWM completed a $75 million renovation and expansion of its terminal to allow more airline service and more amenities for passengers.

The airfield was founded in the late 1920s by Dr. Clifford "Kip" Strange, who needed space for his JN-4 "Jenny" Biplane. Known as Stroudwater Field, the airport received its first commercial service on August 1, 1931, when Boston-Maine Airways began a flight from Portland to Boston. Two years later, the city of Portland bought the airfield and changed its name to Portland-Westbrook Municipal Airport. "Westbrook" referred to the location of the last directional light before the airport in the nearby city of Westbrook.

The present airport started to take shape in the 1950s. The March 1951 chart shows runway 1 4260 ft long, runway 10 2900 ft, and runway 15 4010 ft. Runway 11/29 was built in 1957 and lengthened to 6,800 feet (2,073 m) in 1966. The current terminal opened in 1968, when jet flights began.