Orlando Melbourne International Airport

Orlando Melbourne International Airport is a public airport northwest of downtown Melbourne, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. On central Florida's Space Coast, the airport is reached by NASA Boulevard (State Road 508). It is governed by a seven-member board which is appointed by the Melbourne City Council and the private sector. The airport budget is part of the Melbourne municipal budget; the airport receives no local tax dollars. The projected expenses for 2010 is $14.1 million. The director of the airport is Richard Ennis.HistoryMelbourne International Airport began in 1928 when a Pitcairn Aircraft landed on a cow pasture strip north of Kissimmee Highway.Airmail service started in late 1928 when the airport was designated a fueling stop. In 1933 the City of Melbourne acquired 160acre west of Indian River Bluff to develop as a new airport, which was further developed and operated as Naval Air Station Melbourne during World War II.Returned to the city as a Surplus Property Airport after the War, Melbourne Airport was deeded to the city in 1947. It was a municipal airport until 1967 when the city created the Melbourne Airport Authority to plan, operate, maintain, and develop the airport, then called Melbourne Municipal Airport.In January 1951 the airport had runways 4, 9, 13, and 16, all 4000to long.Scheduled airline flights began in 1953. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide listed four Eastern Airlines departures, Martin 4-0-4s to Vero Beach, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville.