St. Louis International Airport Reopens After Level EF-4 Tornado

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St. Louis International Airport Reopens After Level EF-4 Tornado By Steve Hall

		April 25, 2011 - Lambert-St. Louis International Airport was shut down on Friday night after a EF-4 tornado hit the airport causing severe storm damage, ripped through the airport with terminal 1 and concourse C suffering the most of the damage. An EF-4 tornado can produce wind speeds between 166 to 200 miles per hour. High winds blew out up to 50 percent of windows and caused roof damage and considerable storm damage at the entrances of the airport and along roadways. On Saturday Lambert reopened and began handling arrival flights and on Sunday the airport began handling arrival and departure flights. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport sustained extensive damage from a storm Friday night. The National Weather Service has confirmed that damage at the Airport was part of an incredible trail of destruction caused by an EF-4 Tornado. It was the strongest tornado to hit the St. Louis area since 1967.

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is the primary airport for St. Louis, Missouri, and the surrounding area. It is the largest airport in the state. As many as nine in-bound flights from three airlines (AirTran, Delta and Southwest) were scheduled to land at Lambert after 5 p.m. Saturday. The Airport and airlines worked to restore a majority of inbound and outbound flights for Easter Sunday, but a full schedule of flights will take a few more days because of heavy damage to the C Concourse. Lambert is working to temporarily move four airlines off that damaged concourse to vacant gates in Concourses B and D. Travelers or people planning to pick up passengers at the Airport are still urged to contact their respective airlines for more specific information regarding the return of departing and arriving flights at Lambert. When Lambert was hit by the storm they lost their main electrical supply and went on airport emergency generators. The airport received full electrical power by Sunday. St. Louis City and St. Louis County emergency management teams continue to assist with the clean-up of the airport and surrounding areas. The airport has been working around the clock to cleanup and repair damages.

		Lambert is the 30th busiest airport in the U.S. as ranked by Airports Council International North America. Lambert served more than 12.3 million passengers in 2010. Lambert St. Louis International Airport is an Enterprise Fund Department of the City of St. Louis. It is wholly supported by airport user charges. No general fund revenues are used for the operation, administration, promotion or maintenance of airport facilities. Other News Stories (For the latest news please checkout our home page) NASA Honors Pioneer Astronaut Alan Shepard With Moon Rock Flight Attendants Indict American Airlines Top Execs With ?Moral Contempt? WWII C-87 Liberator Express Airman Identified Bush Era Alert System To Be Phased Out This Month A New C-130 The MC-130J Shadow II Completes First Flight FAA, ATC Supervisors To Handle Presidential And EXEC1F Flights SuperSonic Car On Track To Break The World Land Speed Record No Clear Winner, TSA Vote Leads To Runoff Election US Airways Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Sabre DOT Issues Vulnerability Report On The FAA?s ATC System Final Flight Of Space Shuttle Endeavour, Canada's Contribution European Commission Blacklist Airlines From Operating In The EU Southwest Airlines To Close Deal With AirTran DOT Expands Airline Passenger Protections Bell Helicopter Honors "Heroes of Aviation" Kentucky, Sale Of Two State Aircraft ?Smart Government Initiative? NLRB Issued Complaint Against Boeing For Unlawful Labor Practices Aircraft Repair Stations Choose AAIRRG As Insurance Carrier BAE Systems Enhances UK Royal Air Force Training Capabilities Eglin Air Force Base Receives First F-35 Full Mission Flight Simulator Rockwell Collins, Safety Benefits Of Head Up Flying Guidance System Civil Aviation Authority Sets Out Policy On Performance Based Navigation Discovery Air Announces Debt Repayment Moller International Schedules Test Flight Of The M400 Skycar EADS To Conduct Flight Demonstrations Of Its Armed AAS-72X Helicopter U.S. Air Force And Northrop Honor 50 Year History Of The T-38 Talon Jet Boeing Delivering 787 Pilot Training On Global Scale FAA Spoke On Biometric Pilots Licenses Before U.S. House Committee NTSB Report Details How Close United Airlines Flight 889 Came To A Midair FAA Administrator Changing ATC Scheduling Practices ICAO Standards Weak On Shipping Lithium Batteries By Aircraft Report Shows UK Airline Pilots Suffer Significant Fatigue New Touch Screen Attendant Control Panel For Airplane Cabin Upgrades