City: Shreveport, LA

Category: Getting Here, Getting Around

Telephone: (318) 673-5398

Address: 1550 Airport Dr.

Description: Located north of downtown, this general aviation facility served as the first airport in the region in 1931, with a small building, windsock, and an open field on which to land. The airport grew over the years, with paved runways, lighting, and hangars being built. In 1952, a new airport was constructed where the current Shreveport Regional airport is located, allowing the downtown field to become a general aviation and reliever facility. When the local economy went sour in the 1980s, the airport experienced a decrease in air traffic but continued to invest in its future by extending one of the two runways to 5,017 feet and repaving it (the other runway is 3,200 feet in length, and at 75 feet in width, less than half as wide as the longer one). The current building, constructed in 1971, had a major interior renovation in 1990. With the economic growth in the area associated with the Haynesville Shale, the film industry, commerce, and an increase in general aviation, the downtown airport is positioned to experience a renaissance. Greg’s Runway Café opened in January 2009, serving breakfast and lunch to flyers, locals, and film crews who use the airport as a location in their movies.