Yes.
Bangor International Airport’s runway was built to handle B-52 bombers.
The airport began in 1927 as a civilian airfield and later became Dow Air Force Base. The base built what was then the longest runway east of the Mississippi River in 1958 to accommodate the bombers.
The base closed in 1968, but the city of Bangor bought most of the facility and reopened it the next year as Bangor International. Part of the former base remains in military use as Bangor Air National Guard Base.
The Bangor airport’s single runway is still unusually long, at 11,440 feet. However, its record length was surpassed in August 1960 by the longest runway at New York International Airport, later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport.
That runway’s length was extended to 14,511 feet. It remained the longest commercial runway in North America until the opening of a 16,000-foot runway at Denver International Airport in 2003.
The Maine Trust for Local News partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources
- Bangor International Airport: The History of Bangor International Airport
- U.S. Air Force: Air National Guard Maine
- AirNav.com: Bangor International Airport FAA information
- AirportHistory.org: The History of New York John F. Kennedy Airport
- AirNav.com: John F. Kennedy International Airport FAA information
- AirNav.com: Denver International Airport FAA information
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