View source for Decatur Airport

{{for|the airport in Decatur, Texas|Decatur Municipal Airport}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox airport
| name              = Decatur Airport
| image             = Decatur Airport Logo.png
| IATA              = DEC
| ICAO              = KDEC
| FAA               = DEC
| type              = Public
| owner             = Decatur Park District
| operator          = 
| city-served       = [[Decatur, Illinois]]
| location          = <!--if different than above-->
| publictransit     = {{Bus icon}} [[Decatur Public Transit System|DPTS]]
| elevation-f       = 682
| website           = [http://www.decatur-parks.org/airport decatur-parks.org/airport]
| coordinates       = {{coord|39|50|04|N|088|51|56|W|region:US-IL_scale:40000|display=inline,title}}
| image_map         = KDEC Airport Diagram.PNG
| image_mapsize     = 200
| image_map_caption = [[FAA]] diagram (February 2018)
| mapframe          = yes
| mapframe-zoom     = 9
| mapframe-wikidata = yes
| r1-number         = 6/24
| r1-length-f       = 8,496
| r1-surface        = Asphalt/concrete
| r2-number         = 12/30
| r2-length-f       = 6,799
| r2-surface        = Asphalt/concrete
| r3-number         = 18/36
| r3-length-f       = 5,298
| r3-surface        = Asphalt
| stat-year         = 
| stat1-header      = Aircraft operations (2020)
| stat1-data        = 29,285
| stat2-header      = Based aircraft (2022)
| stat2-data        = 62
| footnotes         = Source: [[Federal Aviation Administration]]<ref name="FAA">{{FAA-airport|ID=DEC|use=PU|own=PU|site=04564.*A}}. Federal Aviation Administration. effective April 21, 2022.</ref>
}}

'''Decatur Airport''' {{airport codes|DEC|KDEC|DEC}} is a public airport five miles east of [[Decatur, Illinois|Decatur]], in [[Macon County, Illinois|Macon County]], [[Illinois]], United States. The airport is owned by the Decatur Park District.<ref name="FAA" /> Airline service is subsidized by the federal government's [[Essential Air Service]] program at a cost of $2,667,922 (per year).<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.dot.gov/office-policy/aviation-policy/essential-air-service-reports | title = Essential Air Service Reports | publisher = U.S. Department of Transportation | accessdate = June 7, 2014}}</ref>

The [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) [[National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems]] for 2021–2025 [[FAA airport categories|categorized]] it as a regional [[general aviation]] facility.<ref name="NPIAS Airports">{{cite web|title=List of NPIAS Airports|url=https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/NPIAS-Report-2017-2021-Appendix-A.pdf|website=FAA.gov|publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|accessdate=February 14, 2018|date=October 21, 2016}}</ref>

It is the tenth busiest of the 12 commercial airports in Illinois.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

==Facilities and aircraft==
Decatur Airport covers 2,100 [[acre]]s (850 [[hectare|ha]]) at an elevation of 682 feet (208 m). It has three runways: 6/24 is 8,496 by 150 feet (2,590 x 46 m) asphalt/concrete; 12/30 is 6,799 by 150 feet (2,072 x 46 m) asphalt/concrete; 18/36 is 5,298 by 150 feet (1,615 x 46 m) asphalt.<ref name="FAA" />

In the 12-month period ending December 31, 2020, the airport had 29,285 aircraft operations, an average of 80 per day: 78% [[general aviation]], 15% military, 4% [[air taxi]] and 3% commercial airline. In April 2022, there were 62 [[aircraft]] based at this airport: 50 single-engine [[Airplane|airplanes]] and 12 [[Military aircraft|military]].<ref name="FAA" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=AirNav: KDEC – Decatur Airport|url=https://airnav.com/airport/dec|access-date=2022-11-16 | website=AirNav.com}}</ref>

Decatur Airport has a {{convert|24000|sqft|m2}} passenger terminal with airline counters, a restaurant, baggage claim area, and car rental counters.

The [[Illinois Army National Guard]] has an [[Army Aviation Support Facility]] (AASF) at the airport. The facility occupies {{convert|10|acre|ha}} and has three permanent buildings and a temporary building on the site.<ref name="ArmyGuard">{{cite web|url=http://www.il.ngb.army.mil/Army/ArmoryLocations.asp?city=DECATUR |title=Decatur, Illinois |publisher=Illinois Army National Guard |accessdate=2009-09-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070720170755/http://www.il.ngb.army.mil/Army/ArmoryLocations.asp?city=DECATUR |archivedate=July 20, 2007 }}</ref>

== Airline and destination ==
<!-- Please use only independent sources. The airport and airlines itself are not independent sources. -->
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2024}}
{{Airport destination list
| {{nowrap|[[United Express]]}} | [[O'Hare International Airport|Chicago–O'Hare]]
}}

On 11 March 2022, SkyWest (flying as United Express) notified the U.S. Department of Transportation that it intended to end its [[Essential Air Service]] into DEC in June 2022, which would leave the airport with no scheduled passenger service.<ref>https://www.regulations.gov/document/DOT-OST-1996-1559-0112 {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2022}}</ref> However, the Department of Transportation has refused to allow SkyWest to terminate service to Decatur.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Klint |first1=Matthew |title=U.S. DOT Forbids SkyWest from Ending Service to 29 Cities |url=https://liveandletsfly.com/skywest-end-eas/ |website=Live and Let's Fly |access-date=2022-07-31 |date=15 March 2022}}</ref>

{| class="collapsible collapsed" style="border:1px #aaa solid; width:25em; margin:0.2em auto"
|-
! Destinations map
|-
|{{Location map+ |Illinois |width=500 |float=center
|caption=Destinations from Decatur Airport <br /> {{font color | red | Red}} = Year-round destination <br />{{font color | green | Green }} = Seasonal destination <br /> {{font color | blue | Blue}} = Future destination
|places=
{{Location map~ |Illinois |lat=39.834444|long=-88.865556|position=bottom|label='''<small>Decatur</small>'''|caption=|mark=Airplane_silhouette.svg|marksize=15 }}
{{Location map~ |Illinois |lat=41.978611|long=-87.904722|position=left |label='''<small>[[O'Hare International Airport|Chicago–O'Hare]]</small>'''|label_size=90 |marksize=7 }}
}}
|}

==Ground transportation==
Public transit service to the airport is provided by [[Decatur Public Transit System]]. Route 12 operates Monday through Saturday from downtown Decatur to the airport, while Route 3 serves the airport on Sundays.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.decaturil.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DPTS_Route_Map_5_17.pdf|title=Route Map|access-date=May 31, 2023|archive-date=June 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601043412/https://www.decaturil.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DPTS_Route_Map_5_17.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Accidents and incidents ==
* On August 3, 1950 a [[United States Air Force]] [[C-47 Skytrain|Douglas C-47D]] was destroyed by fire after a take-off related accident. All five occupants survived the crash and subsequent fire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19500803-0|title=03 AUG 1950|date=November 27, 2004|work=National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)|publisher=Aviation Safety Network|accessdate=2009-09-05}}</ref>
* On October 2, 2006 a [[United States Air Force]] [[Learjet 35|Learjet C-21A]] was on a training mission flying a simulated approach when speed unexpectedly dropped and called out "speed" two times.<ref name="NTSB2" /> The pilot pulled back the number one engine [[throttle]] but the plane began to roll steeply to the right and struck the pavement before proceeding to skid through a grass infield and then across another runway before coming to a stop.<ref name="NTSB2" /> Both occupants survived.<ref name="NTSB2">{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20061002-0|title=02 OCT 2006|date=October 3, 2006|work=National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)/FAA|publisher=Aviation Safety Network|accessdate=2009-09-06}}</ref><ref name="USAF">{{cite web|url=http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123052938 |title=C-21 Accident Investigation Board completed |date=May 11, 2007 |work=Scott Air Force Base, Ill |publisher=United States Air Force |accessdate=2009-09-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515134914/http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123052938 |archivedate=2009-05-15 }}</ref>
* On December 2, 2010, a single-engine home-built aircraft, a Southerland Freebird Litesport Ultra, took off from Decatur Airport and crashed 1.5 miles east of the airport. The pilot was the only person on board and was killed in the crash. The [[National Transportation Safety Board]] determined that the probable cause of the accident was "the pilot's reported inability to control his amateur-built airplane for undetermined reasons after the airplane inadvertently became airborne while conducting a high-speed taxi."<ref>{{cite web |title=National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report |url=https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/77929/pdf |website=[[National Transportation Safety Board|NTSB.gov]] |access-date=2021-11-07 |page=1 |format=PDF |date=20 April 2012}} (link to download)</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of airports in Illinois]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Other sources ==
{{refbegin}}
* Essential Air Service documents ([http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=DOT-OST-2006-23929 Docket OST-2006-23929]) from the [[U.S. Department of Transportation]]:
** [http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOT-OST-2006-23929-0007 Order 2006-4-24]: selecting RegionsAir, Inc., d/b/a American Connection, to provide essential air service at Decatur, Illinois, for a two-year period at a subsidy rate of $1,242,250 annually.
** [http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOT-OST-2006-23929-0016 Order 2007-4-12]: selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service at Decatur, Illinois, for a two-year period at subsidies of $1,350,256 for the first year and $1,055,844 for the second year.
** [http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOT-OST-2006-23929-0033 Order 2009-10-13]: selecting Hyannis Air Service, Inc. d/b/a Cape Air, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Marion/Herrin, Quincy, and Cape Girardeau, for a two-year period beginning when Cape Air inaugurates full EAS at each of the three communities and ending at the close of the 24th month thereafter, at a combined annual subsidy rate of $5,469,768 ($2,053,783 for Marion/Herrin, $1,946,270 for Quincy, and $1,469,715 for Cape Girardeau). The Department is selecting Multi-Aero, Inc. d/b/a Air Choice One to provide subsidized EAS at Decatur, Illinois, and Burlington, Iowa, for a two-year period beginning when it inaugurates full EAS and ending at the close of the 24th month thereafter, at a combined annual subsidy of $5,253,644 ($3,082,403 for Decatur and $2,171,241 for Burlington). The Department is selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. (Great Lakes) to provide subsidized EAS at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for the two-year period from November 1, 2009, through October 31, 2011, at an annual subsidy of $1,292,906.
** [http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOT-OST-2006-23929-0055 Order 2011-12-17]: re-selecting Multi-Aero, Inc. d/b/a Air Choice One to provide essential air service (EAS) at Burlington, Iowa, and Decatur, Illinois, at a combined annual subsidy rate of $4,727,307 ($1,976,872 for Burlington and $2,750,435 for Decatur), for a one-year period from February 1, 2012, through January 31, 2013.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Decatur Airport}}
* [https://www.decatur-parks.org/airport/ Decatur Airport], official site
* [http://msrmaps.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=12&lat=39.8325&lon=-88.8625&w=750&h=750&lp=---+None+--- Aerial photo as of April 1998] from [[USGS]] ''[[The National Map]]''
* {{FAA-diagram|00710}}
* {{FAA-procedures|DEC}}
{{US-airport|DEC}}

{{Aviation in Illinois}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Airports in Illinois]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Decatur, Illinois]]
[[Category:Essential Air Service]]