Albert Lea Municipal Airport


Albert Lea Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles north of the central business district of the city of Albert Lea, in Freeborn County, Minnesota, United States.
Albert Lea Municipal Airport was recently granted over $3 million in federal economic stimulus funds to relocate the main runway, which followed another announcement about a recent grant to rehabilitate the airport's crosswind runway. Work began in 2011 and was completed within one year. The old runway which parallels the new runway was converted to serve as the new runway's taxiway.

Facilities and aircraft

Albert Lea Municipal Airport covers an area of at an elevation of 1,261 feet above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 17/35 is 5,000 by 100 feet and 5/23 is 2,898 by 75 feet.
For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2011, the airport had 26,175 aircraft operations, an average of 71 per day: 91% general aviation, 8% air taxi and 1% military. At that time there were 52 aircraft based at this airport: 75% single-engine, 5% multi-engine, 5% glider and 15% ultralight.

Soaring contests

Albert Lea Airport hosts a variety of major soaring contests, usually the week after Mother's Day in May. The airport is the only site in the United States to have hosted all seven classes of glider competition.
From 1990-2008 Albert Lea was the host site for the International Aerobatic Club Doug Yost Challenge Aerobatic Competition. This contest was moved to Spencer, Iowa due to construction in the area needed for the contest.