Presque Isle International Airport
Presque Isle International Airport
Presque Isle International Airport (IATA: PQI, ICAO: KPQI, FAA LID: PQI), formally Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle, is a mile northwest of Presque Isle, in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. It serves the residents of Presque Isle and a vast area of northern Maine and northwestern New Brunswick. Airline flights to Boston Logan International Airport, its only scheduled destination, are subsidized by the federal government's Essential Air Service program at a cost of $8,700,000 (per year). Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 13,385 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 13,513 in 2009 and 15,052 in 2010. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). The airport has the third longest active runway in Maine at 7441' (behind Bangor International Airport, 11,440' and Brunswick Executive Airport, formerly Naval Air Station Brunswick runway 1R/19L, 8000'), and fifth longest overall (after the Loring Commerce Centre, formerly Loring Air Force Base (runway closed), 12,100', and Brunswick Executive Airport 1L/19R (runway closed), 8000'). It was once hub to Aroostook Airways, a commuter airline in the 1970s, with service to several cities throughout New England.
Location
46.689°N, 68.045°O · 163 m s. n. m. (534 ft)
General data
Runways · 2
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 3 Official publication
Approach
Common traffic (CTAF)
Automated weather
Frequencies from the official publication: FAA NASR, AIRAC 01 OCT 2026, checked on Oct 16, 2026. They change with each amendment: not for navigation without checking the current AIP. See the official publication In MHz.
History
World War II
During World War II the federal government appropriated the airport, establishing an air base for planes bound to and from Great Britain. Lane Construction of Hampden was one of the contractors who worked on upgrading the airport for the military. Almost overnight, Presque Isle Army Airfield became a vital air transport installation and the city found itself a busy war center. During the Second World War, Clark Gable was briefly stationed at Presque Isle before being sent to England. Operations during this period were described by Ernest K. Gann, based on his personal experiences in the Air Transport Command, in his book Fate Is the Hunter.
Post-war
When the United States Air Force closed Presque Isle Air Force Base in 1961, the former Air Force Base was redeveloped. A business park, which includes Northern Maine Community College (which is closely integrated with the nearby University of Maine at Presque Isle), was developed on one side of the base, while the other portion became Northern Maine Regional Airport, now Presque Isle International Airport.
The Skyway Industrial Park sits adjacent to Presque Isle International Airport which offers commercial airline as well as general aviation services to the entire region. FedEx and United Parcel Service augment park accessibility by air to and from major markets.
Skyway Industrial Park, owned by the city of Presque Isle and administered by the Presque Isle Industrial Council, has been attractive to a variety of new businesses. As of 2024, over 60 companies have located on the park. Located adjacent to the airport and within 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of downtown, the park has become a dominant feature in the local and regional economy, and is financially self-sufficient.
The airport saw frequent service prior to the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act, which led to a collapse in service as airlines pulled out of less profitable markets. Presque Isle currently relies on Essential Air Service to serve its market of approximately 200,000 residents. In 2024, the airport became the first Essential Air Service destination for JetBlue.
What flies here
From our own logbook: 14 aircraft documented between 2025 and 2025.
Types seen here
Airlines with documented aircraft
A count of our own aircraft profiles, year by year, from the public United States flight records: it reflects what we have documented, not the airport’s total traffic.
Airlines operating here · 1
Other airlines with direct routes
Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).
Photo: US Geological Survey · Public domain · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 16, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 16). Presque Isle International Airport (PQI). Retrieved October 25, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/PQI
MLA
“Presque Isle International Airport (PQI).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 16 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/PQI. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Presque Isle International Airport (PQI).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 16, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/PQI.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Presque Isle International Airport (PQI). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/PQI (Accessed: 25 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_pqi,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Presque Isle International Airport (PQI)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-16},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/PQI},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/PQI}},
urldate = {2026-10-25},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-25}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/PQI |title=Presque Isle International Airport (PQI) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-16 |access-date=2026-10-25 |language=en}}