| Blue Grass Airport | |
| Image2-Width: | 250px |
| Iata: | LEX |
| Icao: | KLEX |
| Faa: | LEX |
| Type: | Public |
| Owner-Oper: | Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board |
| City-Served: | Lexington, Kentucky |
| Location: | Fayette County |
| Elevation-F: | 979 |
| Coordinates: | 38.0364°N -84.6058°W |
| Image Mapsize: | 275 |
| Image Map Caption: | FAA airport diagram |
| Mapframe: | yes |
| Mapframe-Zoom: | 9 |
| Mapframe-Wikidata: | yes |
| R1-Number: | 4/22 |
| R1-Length-F: | 7,004 |
| R1-Surface: | Asphalt |
| R2-Number: | 9/27 |
| R2-Length-F: | 4,000 |
| R2-Surface: | Concrete |
| Stat-Year: | 2023 |
| Stat1-Header: | Passenger volume |
| Stat1-Data: | 1,354,136 |
| Stat2-Header: | Departing passengers |
| Stat2-Data: | 681,611 |
| Stat3-Header: | Commercial aircraft operations |
| Stat3-Data: | 17,720 |
| Stat4-Header: | Based aircraft (2021) |
| Stat4-Data: | 169 |
| Footnotes: | Source: Blue Grass Airport,[1] Federal Aviation Administration,[2] BTS |
Blue Grass Airport is a public airport in Fayette County, Kentucky, United States, 6 miles west of downtown Lexington. Located among horse farms and situated directly across from Keeneland Race Course, Blue Grass Airport is the primary airport serving central and eastern Kentucky. More than 1.3 million passengers depart or arrive annually at Blue Grass Airport. In 2017, the airport served 1,316,847 passengers via four major airline carriers: Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.[3]
The airport covers 911acres and has two runways.[4] On August 4, 2010, a new 4,000 foot runway, 9/27, opened replacing the previous 3,500 foot runway, 8/26.[5] The previous runway, which is in a similar location as the new runway except that it overlapped runway 22, was removed after a 2006 crash of a Delta Connection flight, during which all aboard except the co-pilot were killed after an attempted take-off from the wrong, shorter runway.[6] Blue Grass Airport is home to the Aviation Museum of Kentucky, which features more than 25,000 square feet of exhibit space displaying restored aircraft and memorabilia. The current main terminal building opened in 1977. On April 18, 2007, Blue Grass Airport opened an extension of Concourse B, adding six boarding gates with four new jet bridges.
This airport is protected by the Blue Grass Airport Department of Public Safety, located at 4101 Aviator Road, approximately the middle of the airport. This is an Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) facility with five apparatus bays, administration and operations, on-site residential living quarters, classroom-style training and physical training facilities, and a flight line watch room.[7] The apparatus bays are located on the level aligned with the airfield, along with the frequently used spaces are located as close as possible to the apparatus bays to minimize response times. All of the DPS officers are trained and certified in law enforcement, firefighting, and EMS. Officers of the DPS work shifts of 24-on and 48-off, which is a typical firefighter's shift. During the 24-hour work shift, they perform all aspects of public safety - law enforcement, firefighting, and EMS.[8] They are required to have 100 hours of fire training every year on top of the 40 hours of law enforcement training each year.
Blue Grass Airport is a catalyst for economic growth in the region, contributing to both the Lexington area and other parts of Kentucky. The airport is an important component of Lexington's economy, providing 3,478 jobs for Lexington and an annual economic impact of $370 million.[9] In addition to commercial passenger service, the airport also offers corporate and general aviation services, including a newly constructed general aviation terminal, U.S. Customs, charter flights, aircraft maintenance, hangars, and flight instruction.
The airport is the third busiest airport in Kentucky, behind Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (9.1 million passengers/year) and Louisville International Airport (4.2 million passengers/year).
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta, Georgia | 194,000 | Delta | |
| 2 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 102,000 | American | |
| 3 | Chicago, Illinois | 88,000 | American, United | |
| 4 | Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | 76,000 | American | |
| 5 | Detroit, Michigan | 41,000 | Delta | |
| 6 | Orlando–Sanford, Florida | 31,000 | Allegiant | |
| 7 | St. Petersburg, Florida | 26,000 | Allegiant | |
| 8 | Punta Gorda, Florida | 22,000 | Allegiant | |
| 9 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 19,000 | Allegiant | |
| 10 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 15,000 | American |
| Rank | Airline | Passengers | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delta Air Lines | 355,000 | 27.66% | |
| 2 | Allegiant Air | 217,000 | 16.92% | |
| 3 | PSA Airlines | 195,000 | 15.22% | |
| 4 | SkyWest Airlines | 105,000 | 8.14% | |
| 5 | American Airlines | 95,940 | 7.47% | |
| Other | 316,000 | 24.58% |
Blue Grass Airport began as a municipal airfield that was developed with the assistance of the Federal Civil Works Administration as part of a state-wide airport development policy in 1933. The town share for construction was $1,362 with a portion of $22,427 spent in Lexington overall.[11] Blue Grass Airport opened with a star-shaped layout. In World War II it was used by pilots training at Bowman for dead-stick landing practice in preparation for glider assaults.[12]
The original airport logo was designed by a student who attended and graduated from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Jill Reiling Markey (class of 1978) designed the logo in 1976. The current logo is based on Dr. Markey's design. For her efforts, Dr. Markey was awarded the Commission of Kentucky Colonel by then Governor Julian M. Carroll in 1976.[13]
Bluegrass Field was Auric Goldfinger's flight destination in the James Bond film Goldfinger.[21]