Columbia Metropolitan Airport

The airport covers 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) and has two runways: 11/29 is 8,601 ft × 150 ft (2,622 m × 46 m) and 5/23 is 8,001 ft × 150 ft (2,439 m × 46 m). It has a 50 ft × 50 ft (15 m × 15 m) helipad. The center 75 ft (23 m) of runway 5/23 is asphalt; the edges are grooved concrete.[1][5]

The airport is a hub for UPS Airlines and was a hub for Air South, a former low-cost carrier.

As of 31 December 2019 the airport had 57,284 aircraft operations, average 157 per day: 31% air taxi, 32% general aviation, 28% airline and 9% military. 87 aircraft were then based at the airport: 49 single-engine, 10 multi-engine, 17 jet, 5 gliders and 3 helicopter.[1]

The terminal opened May 30, 1965, and was renovated in 1997. The renovation was designed by Heyward, Woodrum, Fant & Associates, Ltd.[6] It replaces a terminal built in the early 1950s which was a replacement of a terminal built several years earlier in the early 1950s.[7] Since the late 1980s, capital improvements have been undertaken, including a renovated and expanded terminal, a new parking garage (completed in 2003), the lengthening of the runways, and better interstate access. The terminal has several services, including gift shops, the Everett Adams Memorial Chapel, restaurants and bars inside the terminal. Free wireless internet service is provided throughout the airport as well as small number of recharge stations with access to outlets.

Police and fire/rescue services are provided by the Columbia Metro Airport Department of Public Safety. Public safety officers are South Carolina Police Academy Class 1 officers, and South Carolina Fire Academy IFSAC Firefighter II, and Airport Firefighter. Some have basic EMT certifications. The Department has three ARFF units, one RIV unit, one fire pumper, and a service truck. Law enforcement is covered by four patrol vehicles. The Department provides fire services at the FAR 139 level only. Structural firefighting is handled by Lexington County Fire Service.

Passenger service is currently provided by five scheduled airlines, with commercial cargo service being handled by three scheduled airlines and numerous air freight operators. Two fixed-base operators also serve the Metro facility with various charter flights. The airport maintains a newly dedicated air cargo terminal, the Columbia Airport Enterprise Park (CAE Park) and Foreign Trade Zone #127. Columbia Metropolitan Airport recently completed a $45 million terminal expansion and renovation. Annually, the airport serves about 1 million passengers, though prior to the Great Recession, nearly 1.5 million passengers were served.[8]

Passenger[9]

Airlines	Destinations
American Airlines	Dallas/Fort Worth
American Eagle	Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare,[10] Dallas/Fort Worth, New York–LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Washington–National Seasonal: Miami
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta
Delta Connection	Atlanta, New York–LaGuardia
United Express	Chicago–O'Hare, Washington–Dulles

Destinations map
Columbia Charlotte Chicago–O'Hare Dallas/Fort Worth Atlanta Washington–Dulles New York–LaGuardia Washington–National Philadelphia Miami Destinations from Columbia Metropolitan Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination

In August 1996, the UPS Airlines-owned cargo airline opened an $80 million southeastern regional hub at the airport, one of six regional hubs throughout the United States. The hub offers next-day, second-day and third-day air service. The buildings encompass 352,000 square feet (32,700 m²) and the 44-acre (180,000 m²) ramp is large enough to hold 22 DC-8 aircraft. The hub can process 42,000 packages an hour. Other major air cargo companies serving the airport include ABX Air and FedEx Express.

• A Volpar 18 (registration N47A[13]) crashed on February 26, 1971 while attempting to land at the airport. The aircraft crashed in poor visibility and fog while performing a missed approach, killing the pilot and seven passengers.[14]
• A Beechcraft C90 King Air (N711FC[15]) crashed on December 20, 1973 while attempting to land at the airport. The aircraft collided with trees after descending below minimum descent altitude in poor visibility. The pilot and a passenger were killed and another passenger was seriously injured.[16]
• A Learjet 60 (N999LJ[17]) crashed on September 19, 2008 while attempting a rejected takeoff on runway 11, crashing instead into the hillside across a road beyond the end of the runway. Four people died in the accident, including the two pilots. The sole survivors were musicians Travis Barker of Blink 182 and DJ Adam Goldstein, who died a year later.[18]
• On December 20, 2020, a Western Global Airlines Boeing 747 lost a wingtip on its right wing while taxiing before take-off at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, for a flight to Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California. No one aboard was reported injured.[19]

• The airport's two airplane runways measure 8,000 feet (2,400 m) and 8,600 feet (2,600 m) in length.
• The airport runways can accommodate an airplane of any size, including the Boeing 747 and the military C-5A.
• The airport contains its own police department, fire station, and post office (Air Mail Facility).
• Decorative and semi-natural ponds bordering the sides of the airport terminal can be used by the airport fire department to put out fires.
• The air traffic control tower is 105 feet (32 m) tall.
• More than 1.1 million passengers travel through Columbia Metropolitan Airport each year.
• More than 1,400 people work at the airport.

• An opening scene in the 2006 film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, was shot in the Columbia Metropolitan Airport terminal although it is labeled as "New York Airport."
• Air scenes from the 1943 World War II film A Guy Named Joe, starring Spencer Tracy and Lionel Barrymore, and directed by Victor Fleming, were filmed at what was then called the Columbia Army Air Base.

• Columbia Metropolitan Airport, official site
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective October 5, 2023
• FAA Terminal Procedures for CAE, effective October 5, 2023
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KCAE
  • ASN accident history for CAE
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KCAE
  • FAA current CAE delay information