Blue Grass Airport

Blue Grass Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorLexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board
ServesLexington, Kentucky
LocationFayette County
Elevation AMSL979 ft / 298 m
Coordinates38°02′11″N 084°36′21″W / 38.03639°N 84.60583°W / 38.03639; -84.60583
Websitebluegrassairport.com
Maps

FAA airport diagram
Interactive map of Blue Grass Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4/22 7,004 2,135 Asphalt
9/27 4,000 1,219 Concrete
Statistics (2025)
Passenger volume1,614,053 2.7%
Enplanements812,953
Commercial aircraft operations21,908
Source: Blue Grass Airport,[1] Federal Aviation Administration,[2] BTS[3]

Blue Grass Airport (IATA: LEX, ICAO: KLEX, FAA LID: LEX) 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.[4]

In 2025, LEX served 1,614,053 passengers, an all-time record for the facility, breaking the old record set in 2024. The 2025 passenger totals was 2.7 percent higher than in 2024.

Features and facilities

Facilities

The airport covers 911 acres (3.69 km2) and has two runways.[2][5] On August 4, 2010, a new 4,000 foot runway, 9/27, opened replacing the previous 3,500 foot runway, 8/26.[6] 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.[7] 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.

Law enforcement and fire protection

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.[8] 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.[9] They are required to have 100 hours of fire training every year on top of the 40 hours of law enforcement training each year.

Economic impact

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.[10] 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.

Passenger numbers

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).

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Allegiant Air Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, Punta Gorda (FL), St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Sarasota[11]
Seasonal: Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Myrtle Beach 		[12]
American Airlines Seasonal: Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth [13]
American Eagle Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Philadelphia
Seasonal: Miami 		[13]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta [14]
Delta Connection Detroit, New York–LaGuardia,[15] Washington–National
Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul (begins May 9, 2026)[16] 		[14]
United ExpressChicago–O'Hare, Denver[17] [18]

Statistics

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from LEX (January 2025 – December 2025)[3]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1 Atlanta, Georgia 217,050 Delta
2 Chicago, Illinois 119,130 American, United
3 Charlotte, North Carolina 109,180 American
4 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 84,150 American
5 Detroit, Michigan 60,290 Delta
6 Orlando–Sanford, Florida 33,170 Allegiant
7 St. Petersburg, Florida 28,800 Allegiant
8 Punta Gorda, Florida 25,580 Allegiant
9 Denver, Colorado 24,160 United
10 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 19,710 Allegiant

Airline market share

Largest airlines at LEX
(November 2024 – October 2025)[3]
Rank Airline Passengers Share
1 Delta Air Lines 406,000 25.75%
2 PSA Airlines 287,000 18.21%
3 Allegiant Air 264,000 16.76%
4 SkyWest Airlines 255,000 16.19%
5 Envoy Air 140,000 8.88%
Other 225,000 14.23%

History

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.[19] 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.[20]

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.[21]

Accidents and incidents

  • November 14, 1970: An Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander operated by Royal Crown Cola Corp. impacted terrain at a steep angle during a missed approach procedure possibly caused by spatial disorientation, low ceiling and rain. Both occupants were killed.[22]
  • December 5, 1987: After suffering an in-flight engine fire en route from Dallas, Texas to New York, the flight crew of a Hawker Siddeley HS.125 business jet, registration number N400PH, touched down short of the runway while attempting an emergency landing. The jet crossed a highway and struck an automobile, utility poles and two fences, killing the pilot and copilot and injuring both passengers in the aircraft and two people in the automobile. The accident was attributed to the crew's inadvertent retraction of the aircraft's flaps, causing the jet to suddenly lose altitude.[23][24]
  • August 30, 2002: A Learjet 35C, registration number N45CP, overran Runway 4 on landing, killing one passenger and seriously injuring four other occupants of the aircraft. The accident was attributed to the pilot's application of additional forward thrust after failing to properly deploy the jet's thrust reversers.[25]
  • August 27, 2006: Comair Flight 5191 took off from the general aviation runway 26 instead of the much longer runway 22, overran the runway during takeoff and crashed into the terrain behind the airport. 49 of the 50 people on board died, with the first officer being the sole survivor.[26]
  • March 25, 2009: A Cessna 182, registration number N4871N, crashed 3 mi (4.8 km) west of the airport, killing the pilot, who was flying alone. The pilot apparently became disoriented during the landing approach after losing electrical power in densely clouded IFR conditions, but the cause of the crash was not positively determined.[27]

Bluegrass Field was Auric Goldfinger's flight destination in the James Bond film Goldfinger.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Blue Grass Airport Passenger Stats for 2025" (PDF). bluegrassairport.com. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  2. ^ a b FAA Airport Form 5010 for LEX PDF, effective January 22, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c "Blue Grass Airport". Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  4. ^ Blue Grass Airport Passenger Statistics
  5. ^ "LEX airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. FAA data effective January 23, 2025.
  6. ^ 2013 Passenger Statistics Archived 2014-05-19 at the Wayback Machine Blue Grass Airport. Retrieved 2014-05-19
  7. ^ "Blue Grass Airport has undergone many changes since crash of Flight 5191".
  8. ^ "Bluegrass International Airport Public Safety Facility". CR Architects. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  9. ^ "Eyes in the Sky". Kentucky Law Enforcement. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  10. ^ Blue Grass Airport Economic Impact Study 2011
  11. ^ "Allegiant Ties Record for Largest Expansion in Company History with 44 New Nonstop Routes, plus 3 New Cities". Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  12. ^ "Allegiant Interactive Route Map". Allegiantair.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Flight schedules and notifications". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Nonstop flights to NYC returning to Blue Grass Airport". WKYT. November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  16. ^ "Flights to this Midwestern city are returning to Lexington's Blue Grass Airport". Lexington Herald Leader. February 25, 2026. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  17. ^ "United Expands Role as Denver's Most Flown Airline: Adds 35 Flights, Six Routes, 12 Gates, New Flight Bank and Three Clubs". Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  18. ^ "Timetable". Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  19. ^ City of Lexington Proposed Budget 1934
  20. ^ James A Clark Jr. Jim Clark Soldier Farmer Legislator. p. 45.
  21. ^ Letter of acknowledgement from Dr. George M. Gumbert, Jr., Chairman, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board to Jill Reiling Markey.
  22. ^ Accident description for N100RC at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 29, 2020.
  23. ^ "NTSB Probable Cause Report ATL88MA053". National Traffic Safety Board. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  24. ^ "2 Killed, 4 Injured in Kentucky Plane Crash". The Dallas Morning News. 1987-12-06.
  25. ^ "NTSB Probable Cause Report NYC02FA177". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
  26. ^ https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR0705.pdf (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. July 26, 2007. NTSB/AAR-07/05. Retrieved February 3rd, 2026
  27. ^ "NTSB Preliminary Report ERA09FA215". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  28. ^ "Goldfinger Script - transcript from the screenplay and/or James Bond movie". script-o-rama.com.
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