Northwest Florida Regional Airport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Northwest Florida Regional Airport Eglin Air Force Base
USGS aerial photo as of 15 February 1999
IATA: VPS ICAO: KVPS FAA LID: VPS VPS Location of the Airport in Florida
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Owner/Operator	United States Air Force
Serves	Fort Walton Beach, Destin
Location	Valparaiso, Florida
Elevation AMSL	87 ft / 27 m
Coordinates	30°29′00″N 086°31′31″W / 30.48333°N 86.52528°W / 30.48333; -86.52528
Website	www.FlyVPS.com
Runway
Runway Length Surface ft m 12/30 12,005 3,659 Asphalt 1/19 10,012 3,052 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations 126,060
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

The Northwest Florida Regional Airport (airport code KVPS) is an airport that serves the city of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. An airport code is a short, unique set of letters used to identify airports around the world. This airport is special because it is used by both regular people (public) and the military.

What Airlines Fly Here?

Many different airlines use Northwest Florida Regional Airport. This means you can fly to and from many places!

Here are some of the airlines that serve this airport:

• American Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Airlines
• US Airways
• Vision Airlines

Runways and Buildings

Northwest Florida Regional Airport shares its runways with Eglin Air Force Base. This is a military base. Sharing runways helps both civilian and military planes use the same space.

The airport has two main runways:

• One runway is called 12/30. It is about 12,005 feet (3,659 meters) long. It has a surface made of asphalt and concrete.
• The other runway is called 1/19. It is about 10,012 feet (3,052 meters) long. Its surface is made of asphalt.

The airport also has a large building for passengers. This building is called the airport passenger terminal. It is about 110,000 square feet in size. Inside, there are gates where people get on and off planes. Some gates have jet ways that connect directly to the plane. Other gates are on the ground level for smaller planes.

How Busy Is It?

This airport is quite busy! In the year leading up to March 31, 2006, there were 126,060 aircraft operations. This means planes took off or landed about 345 times each day.

Most of these operations were by military planes (71%). About 19% were scheduled commercial flights, like the ones you might take for a vacation. The rest were from general aviation (private planes) and air taxis (small planes for hire).

Images for kids

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  Gates at VPS