Toledo Express Airport
Toledo Express Airport is a civil-military airport in Swanton and Monclova townships west of Toledo in western Lucas County, Ohio. It opened in 1954-55 as a replacement to then Toledo Municipal Airport southeast of Toledo. TOL is near the crossing of State Route 2 and the Ohio Turnpike.
TOL is used by passenger and cargo airlines, general aviation, and is home to the Ohio Air National Guard's 180th Fighter Wing. The airport is a secondary airport for Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the surrounding region, including as a primary diversion point for DTW. The airport is operated by the Toledo–Lucas County Port Authority on a lease agreement from the City of Toledo. The airport also serves as headquarters and ground cargo hub for BX Solutions.
In 2015 Toledo Express recorded its third straight year of passenger growth reaching 179,911.
In 2018, buoyed by growing service to and from Charlotte, air travel through Toledo Express Airport increased by more than 22 percent for its sixth straight year of growth. Total passenger service reached 241,299 passengers in 2018.
Facilities
Toledo Express Airport covers and has two runways:- 7/25: 10,599 x 150 ft, asphalt
- 16/34: 5,599 x 150 ft ,asphalt
Aircraft use
- As of December 31, 2017, 83 aircraft are based at TOL: 21 military aircraft, 25 single engine, 15 multi-engine, 5 helicopters and 17 jets.
- In 2017, the airport averaged 102 operations per day: 54% transient general aviation, 17% air taxi, 4% commercial, 13% local general aviation, and 12% military.
Structures
- 81-acre air ramp on the south side of the airport used for air cargo, storage, ground shipping and aircraft diversions
- 8-gate domestic passenger terminal on the north side of the airfield
- Common use air cargo and cold storage building on the north side of the airfield by the terminal
- 5000 sq. ft. customs facility to handle inbound international flight crews, passengers, and cargo, opened in April 2016
Passenger service
Terminal
Toledo Express has one passenger terminal with nine gates, of which three in the central part of the terminal are primarily used on a daily basis. The terminal features an east wing that comprises one upper-level gate and two lower level gates. The ground level gates are capable of supporting up to five total aircraft at once combined. The oldest part of the terminal is the western wing, which comprises Gates 6 through 8 ; these are rarely used. During the terminal upgrades that introduced a new gate area for Gate 4 and a brand new Gate 5, the original Gate 5 was renumbered to Gate 6. Previous Gate 6 is inoperative and no longer has a jetbridge attached to it; previous Gate 7 remains a stairwell to ramp-level boarding.The terminal is mostly original from the 1950s, but several upgrades have taken place. This includes the remodeling and construction of the east wing as well as the new central gate area.
The terminal has two levels with the passenger waiting area, beyond security, on the upper level. In that area, the passengers have access to a food court and bar on the second level. There is also a children's play area. In front of security, there is a gift shop near the front entrances of the terminal near the airline ticket counters. Baggage claim is on the lower level on the east side of the terminal with two baggage carousels. The rental car counters are between the arrivals waiting area and the baggage claim. Free wireless is available terminal-wide.
2013 true market study results
The Port Authority commissioned a true market study of the Toledo catchment area to determine opportunities for air service development. The study found 510,000 people are within 30 minutes of Toledo Express. The total catchment area encompasses 981,000 residents. The actual passengers per day each way for the Toledo market is 3,241, of which TOL only captures 5.7%. Detroit Metro captures the most of 64.3%, with the remaining traveling to other airports in Cleveland and Columbus. There are also 372 international passengers per day, of which Toledo captures only 2.8%.Delta Air Lines was the largest airline in the Toledo area, with 44% of the traffic; United Airlines was second with 12.4%, and American Airlines with 10.3%.
Top markets according to the report
- Orlando/Sanford is the largest market, with 259 daily passengers, with only 36 retained, or 13.9% of the market.
- Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach came in second, with 206 daily passengers and only 3 retained.
- Las Vegas was third, with 197 daily passengers and only 1 passenger retained each day.
- Chicago–O'Hare/Midway has 174 daily passengers and had 28 passengers retained each day, for 16% of the market.
- Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater produced 152 daily passengers with 41 retained, or 27% of the market.
- Phoenix–Sky Harbor/Mesa
- Fort Myers/Punta Gorda
- New York City/Newark
- Los Angeles/Burbank/Ontario/Orange County
- Baltimore/Washington DC–Dulles/National
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
| Destinations map |
Ground transportation
Taxi and shuttle service
Taxi service at the airport is currently contracted to A1 Accurate Limousine and Airport Service. While other taxi operators are available in Toledo, none are currently able to stage at the airport.Car rental companies
Toledo Express is currently served by Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, and National.Parking lots
The airport offers two parking lots: short term and long term. Both are located on the north side of the airport and offer covered walkways to the passenger terminal. The parking lot is operated by Republic Parking Systems and it is also a partner of the Thanks Again rewards program.Government and military operations
The airport is also home to Toledo Air National Guard Base and the 180th Fighter Wing, an Air Combat Command -gained unit of the Ohio Air National Guard.Toledo ANGB consists of a Federal enclave of leased by the Department of Defense for the State of Ohio and the Ohio Air National Guard, housing combat-ready F-16C Fighting Falcon jet fighters and associated Air National Guard support units. Physical facilities consist of 3 administrative, 13 industrial and 7 services building, totaling nearly 322,000 square feet.
There are 21 military aircraft based at TOL, supported by 290 full-time Air Reserve Technician and Active Guard and Reserve personnel. Over 600 additional part-time Traditional Air National Guardsmen round out the balance of the 180 FW, capable of deploying worldwide to meet Air Force and combatant commander requirements as part of the Air Reserve Component of the U.S. Air Force. Concurrently, the 180 FW also provides traditional National Guard state support roles in the event of local and state emergencies to the Governor of Ohio.
Airport based businesses and organizations
Fixed-base operators
- Grand Aire operates as a fixed-based operator on the northwest side of the airport.
- National Flight Services operates as a fixed-based operator on the north side of the airport, and also as an engine overhaul and aircraft maintenance facility.
- TOL Aviation operates as a fixed-based operator on the north side of the airport.
Aerospace companies
- Toledo Jet Center is a business jet maintenance and avionics services company that specializes in the Cessna Citation aircraft series.
- BD Aero Works is an aircraft charter and maintenance provider.
- Quick Flight is an airline services company offer handling services at over 30 airports across the country for both above- and below-wing services. The company's headquarters is located just west of the airport in Swanton.
Corporate hangars
- Toledo Express is used for several Toledo area companies as a base for their corporate aircraft. These companies include Owens-Illinois and Owens-Corning.
- Promedica Air houses its air ambulances at Toledo Express.
Toledo–Lucas County Port Authority
- President – Paul Toth
- Airport Manager – Stephen Arnold
- Manager of Airport Administration – Linda Friend
- Receptionist/Administrative Secretary – Joyce Amborski
- Operations Specialist – Dan Spaugy
- Operations Specialist – Kyle Garris
Education
- Toledo Public Schools operates a training center at the airport. As of 2018, after acquiring the retired National Flight center, it has become known as the Aerospace and Natural Science Academy of Toledo or ANSAT. The academy is home to approximately 500-600 students from grades 9-12 and is well known for their yearly air expos. Their most recent one in 2017 saw attendance of the B-17 known as Madras Maiden as well as an F-16 from the local 180th Air National Guard base located on the airport.
Cargo Development Zone and Joint Economic Development District
The Cargo Development Zone is an area on the south side of the airport to the south of Runway 7–25, west of Runway 16–34, and north of US-20A. The site features onsite customers and a foreign trade zone. The development area will also provide access to the 78-acre air cargo ramp.
History
Scheduled passenger airlines
- Efforts to build a modern airport started shortly after World War II, when civic leaders realized that Toledo Municipal Airport was inadequate. A number of locations were proposed and discarded until 1952, when a consortium of six major Toledo companies – Libbey-Owens-Ford, Owens-Illinois, Owens-Corning Fiberglas, Champion Spark Plug, Electric Auto-Lite, and Willys-Overland – acquired the site of Toledo Express Airport west of Toledo and sold the land to the city at cost.
- The airlines moved to the new airport around the beginning of 1955; the April 1957 Official Airline Guide lists thirteen weekday United Airlines departures, six Trans World Airlines, six Delta Air Lines, four Eastern Air Lines and four Capital Airlines.
- The November 1979 OAG shows jets on seven airlines. Nonstops flew Toledo to:
- * Air Florida: Boeing 737-200 – Washington, D.C. National Airport
- * Delta Air Lines: Boeing 727-200, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 – Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dayton
- * Eastern Air Lines: Boeing 727-200, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 – Columbus and direct to Miami and Tampa
- * Frontier Airlines : Boeing 737-200 – Detroit, MI and direct to Denver
- * Trans World Airlines : Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200 – St. Louis
- * United Airlines: Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, Boeing 737-200 – Chicago O'Hare Airport, Cleveland, Denver
- *USAir: BAC One-Eleven, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 – Pittsburgh
- In 1979 the OAG shows Air Wisconsin and Comair at Toledo as independent commuter airlines, Air Wisconsin flying Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners nonstop to Chicago O'Hare and Detroit while Comair Piper Navajos flew nonstop to Cincinnati.
- February, 1985 – Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727-200s flew to San Francisco via Dayton, Ohio.
- January 8, 1989 – American Eagle Airlines operating for American Airlines began nonstop service to Chicago O'Hare with four daily flights. By December 1989 American Eagle had five nonstop weekday ATR-42s between Chicago and Toledo while United Express operated by Air Wisconsin had four weekday round trips between Chicago and Toledo, three with Fokker F27s and one with a BAe 146-200. The OAG shows other airlines at Toledo at the end of 1989 including:
- * Continental Express operated by Britt Airways: Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia – nonstop commuter turboprop service to Cleveland, OH Continental Express' last flight, to CLE, was to end on March 1. 2001
- * Delta Air Lines: Boeing 727-200, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 – nonstop service to Atlanta, GA and Fort Wayne, IN
- * Delta Connection operated by Comair: Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner – nonstop commuter turboprop service to Cincinnati, OH On March 13, 2011, Delta Air Lines' last flight from Toledo, a Delta Connection CRJ flight to MSP, was operated. Northwest Airlines also operated from the airport until its acquisition by Delta.
- * Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines: Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner – nonstop commuter turboprop service to Detroit, MI
- * USAir: Boeing 727-200, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 – nonstop service to Dayton, OH and Pittsburgh, PA
- * USAir Express: British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 – nonstop commuter turboprop service to Dayton, OH and Indianapolis, IN
- 1997 is the busiest year in Toledo Express' history. 679,841 fly out of KTOL. Much of the growth is attributed to AirTran Airways offering low cost jet flights to Orlando, Florida.
- March 13, 2012 – Direct Air suspended operations from the airport. The charter carrier was subject to Chapter 7 liquidation on April 12, 2012.
- December 5, 2012 – Allegiant Air announces new twice weekly service from Toledo Express and Punta Gorda, FL replacing previous suspended service by Direct Air.
- December 12, 2012 – Sierra West Airlines, a cargo air carrier, signed a 30-year lease to open a new aircraft and crew base at Toledo. The airline announced it would lease a 17,555 sq. ft. hangar formerly used by BD Aeroworks.
Burlington Air Express / BAX Global hub
Accidents and incidents
- On October 29, 1960, a chartered plane carrying the Cal Poly football team, hours after a loss to Bowling Green State University, crashed on takeoff at the Toledo Express Airport. Eighteen of the forty-eight people on board were killed, including sixteen players, the team's student manager, and a Cal Poly football booster. This is the deadliest accident to occur at Toledo Express Airport.
- In the early morning hours of February 15, 1992, an Air Transport International Douglas DC-8-63F cargo jet, operating for Burlington Air Express as Flight 805, crashed 3 miles north of the runway into a wheat field just after executing its second missed approach. All four crew members perished and the aircraft, carrying mostly computer parts was completely destroyed. The cause of the crash is listed as "spatial disorientation" by the captain.
- December 15, 2006 – Security heightened when Toledo Express Airport noted there was a bomb threat. A note that was found in the commuter aircraft simply put it as 'bomb' and that was enough for the airport to take the necessary precautions. They later learned there was no explosives on board of the aircraft.
- January 12, 2007 – A bomb threat was called to 911 on a cell phone that American Eagle Flight 4359 flying out of the Toledo Express Airport had a bomb on board. This caused Toledo officials to heighten security at the airport. The plane had pushed away from the terminal and was getting ready to take off for Chicago–O'Hare when the 911 call was made at around 10:30 a.m. The plane had 30 passengers and three crew members on board, and no injuries were reported. The plane had sat isolated on a runway for about an hour before the fire trucks and other vehicles approached. The FBI and city fire officials did not know whether the caller was the one making the threat. The FBI are continuing to determine who sent the call in, but they also determined later in the day that the bomb threat was a hoax. American Eagle is a regional service for American Airlines.
- January 16, 2007 – A second bomb threat within four days at the Toledo Express Airport had been declared another hoax. The bomb threat was sent through e-mail to the airport.
- September 11, 2019 - A Convair 440 operating as a cargo plane crashed near the airport while preparing to land. Both occupants were killed.
Northeast blackout of 2003 and other notable diversions
During the time when Northwest maintained the hub at Detroit Metro, Toledo Express served as the primary diversion point for inbound aircraft including international arrivals. The airport has accepted, on numerous occasions, the diversions of 747s, DC-10s, DC-9s, and A320s.
Toledo Express has also accepted diversions for other airports in the regional including both Chicago O'Hare and Midway if a suitable alternative isn't available closer. During a significant fog event in 2004 that caused ground stops in the Chicago area, American Eagle diverted 4 ERJ-145s to Toledo and ATA diverted a Boeing 757-200 operating from Washington National to Midway.
Failed commercial start-up attempts
Toledo has had a few air service announcements made that never materialized or were dropped prior to being operated.| Airline | Destination | Planned aircraft | Targeted start |
| Air Georgian | Toronto | Beech 1900 | August 10, 2000 |
| Direct Air | Chicago Midway | Fairchild Metro III | 1995 |
| JetAmerica | Melbourne, Fla; Minneapolis; Newark | Boeing 737-800 | August 14, 2009 |
Passenger air service history
Airline service before 1955 operated from present day Toledo Executive Airport formerly known as Toledo Municipal Airport and Toledo Metcalf Airport.| Airline | Destination | Aircraft scheduled | Service date | Comments |
| Air Florida | New York JFK, Tampa, Washington National | Boeing 737–200, DC-9-10 | JFK: 6/14/79-9/5/79, DCA: 10/26/79-9/30/1982, TPA: 02/1980-9/30/1982 | |
| AirTran Airways | Atlanta, Dayton, Orlando | Boeing 737–200, DC-9-30, Boeing 717-200 | 11/14/1996-2/28/1998, 10/3/2000-4/29/2002 | |
| Air Wisconsin | Akron-Canton, Chicago O'Hare, Cleveland, Columbus, Flint, Fort Wayne, Kalamazoo, Pittsburgh, South Bend | BAe 146, BAe ATP, Dash 8–300, Dash 7, Metro III | ?-02/03/1993 | Operating independently and later as United Express. |
| Allegiant Air* | Las Vegas | MD-80 | 12/15/2005-4/24/2006 | |
| America West Express | Columbus, Flint | Beech 1900 | Operated by Mesa dba Superior Airlines | |
| American Eagle* | Dallas/Fort Worth | ERJ-145 | Operated by Simmons Airlines and Chautauqua Airlines | |
| Atlantic Coast Airlines | Cincinnati | Dornier 328JET | dba Delta Connection | |
| Atlantic Southeast Airlines | Atlanta, Cincinnati | ATR 72, CRJ-200, CRJ-700 | dba Delta Connection | |
| Beaver Aviation / BAS Airlines | Beaver Falls, Detroit City, Youngstown | Piper Navajo | Early 1980s | |
| Capital Airlines | Akron, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Muskegon, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia | Viscount, DC-3, DC-4 | 1/8/1948-05-31-1961 | * Merged with United. * At the time, 14 flights at startup was the most ever for a new city. |
| Chicago Express Airlines | Chicago Midway, South Bend | Jetstream 31, Saab 340 | 1993–1995, 6/28/2002-1/4/2005 | Operating independently and later as ATA Connection |
| Chicago and Southern Airlines | Detroit, Fort Wayne | Merged with Delta | ||
| Comair | Atlanta, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis | Piper Chieftain, Piper Navajo, EMB-110, Saab 340, EMB-120, Metro III, CRJ-100, CRJ-200, CRJ-700 | 1979, 01/03/1981-? | Operating independently and later as Delta Connection |
| Continental Express | Cleveland | EMB-120, Beech 1900, Dash-8-200 | ||
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Fort Wayne | Convair 440, Boeing 727–200, Boeing 737–300, MD-88, DC-9-30 | ||
| Eastern Airlines | Columbus | Constellation L-1049G, Locheed Electra, Boeing 727–100, Boeing 727–200, DC-9-30, DC-9-50 | ||
| Frontier Airlines | Denver, Detroit | Boeing 737–200, MD-80 | ||
| Liberty Airlines | Chicago Midway & O'Hare | Convair 440 | 02/1982-5/16/1983 | Plans for CMH, CLE, STL, BUF, & EWR scrapped. Also flew CAK-ORD |
| Midway Connection | Chicago Midway | EMB-120, Dornier 228 | ||
| Mesaba Aviation | Detroit, Youngstown | Dash 8–200, Fokker 27, Metro III, Saab 340 | Original and dba Northwest Airlink | |
| Piedmont Airlines | Dayton | Boeing 727–200, Boeing 737-200 | Merged with USAir | |
| TransMeridian Airlines | Las Vegas, Sanford/Orlando | Boeing 757–200, Boeing 727–200, MD-80 | Filed for Bankruptcy | |
| Trans Midwest Airlines | Columbus, Dayton, Detroit Metro, Lima | Piper Navajo | 1983–1985 | |
| Trans World Airlines | St. Louis | Boeing 727–100, DC-9, Martin 404 | ||
| United Airlines | Chicago O'Hare, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Newark, Peoria, Saginaw, Washington National, Youngstown | DC-8 series 21, Boeing 727–122, 727–222, Boeing 737–222, Caravelle, Boeing 720, Convair 340, DC-6B | ||
| US Airways | Pittsburgh | Convair 580, Boeing 727–200, MD-80, Boeing 737-200/300/400, DC-9-30, BAC One-Eleven, Fokker 100, Fokker 28 | ||
| US Airways Express | Dayton, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh | Metro III, Jetstream 31, Saab 340, Dash 8-100/200, ERJ 145, Dornier 328 | Operated by Trans States Airlines, Jetstream Int'l / PSA Airlines, Allegheny Airlines, Chautauqua Airlines, Shuttle America | |
| Vision Airlines | Myrtle Beach | Boeing 737-400 | 6/1 – June 29, 2012 |
- *Carrier continues to serve other destinations.
- Referenced New Articles:,