KBFM - Mobile Intl. Airport New
Mobile International Airport (IATA/FAA: BFM, ICAO: KBFM) is located within the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, approximately three nautical miles south of downtown Mobile and directly beside Mobile Bay. The airport combines two substantial runways with immediate road, rail and maritime access. Its unusually varied traffic includes aircraft manufacturing and delivery flights, cargo services, maintenance operations, business and general aviation, charters and occasional military movements.
The ai... Mobile International Airport (IATA/FAA: BFM, ICAO: KBFM) is located within the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, approximately three nautical miles south of downtown Mobile and directly beside Mobile Bay. The airport combines two substantial runways with immediate road, rail and maritime access. Its unusually varied traffic includes aircraft manufacturing and delivery flights, cargo services, maintenance operations, business and general aviation, charters and occasional military movements.
The airfield originated as Bates Field, Mobile's first municipal airport, established in 1929. The United States Army Air Corps acquired the site in 1938, after which it developed into Brookley Army Air Field and later Brookley Air Force Base. During the Second World War, Brookley became a major aircraft overhaul, supply and logistics centre whose waterfront location allowed aircraft and components to arrive by ship. At its wartime peak, the installation employed approximately 17,000 civilian workers.
The closure of Brookley Air Force Base in 1969 had a severe impact on the regional economy, but the extensive runways, aprons and hangars gave the site a strong foundation for recovery. One of Brookley's most unusual later operations occurred in 1984, when Space Shuttle Enterprise arrived aboard NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft before being transferred by barge to the Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans.
Brookley's modern transformation accelerated after Airbus selected Mobile in 2012 for its first commercial-aircraft final assembly facility in the United States. A320-family production began in 2015, A220 manufacturing followed in 2019, and a second A320-family line opened in 2025. Today, the aerospace campus includes production hangars, paint shops, logistics buildings and aircraft-delivery facilities, creating an operating environment rarely encountered at a regional airport.
Passenger service returned to KBFM in 2019 through a compact two-gate terminal. The airport is now being prepared to assume Mobile's principal scheduled passenger role, with a new approximately 143,000-square-foot terminal planned to open in spring 2027. The initial development provides five contact gates, an elevated roadway, rental-car facilities, surface parking and a five-storey parking garage, with future expansion planned.
This scenery captures KBFM during one of the most important periods in its history. The operational airfield, Airbus manufacturing campus, maintenance and cargo facilities, surviving Brookley infrastructure and developing passenger-terminal complex combine to offer an exceptional setting for airliner, delivery, cargo, military and general aviation operations.
Key Features
- High-quality, highly detailed model of KBFM Mobile International Airport, accurately reflecting the current airport layout with all major structures and comprehensive airside and landside detail
- Precisely recreated ground layout with extensive custom markings, signage and surface details
- Exceptionally detailed new passenger terminal with a fully modeled interior
- Complete industrial, maintenance and cargo complex, with all hangars included and selected facilities featuring modeled interiors
- FPS-friendly design with PBR materials, high-resolution day and night textures, advanced dynamic lighting and custom sound effects
- Airport-specific vehicles, animated people, jetways, trains and ground traffic, complemented by selected landmarks, buildings and bridges from Mobile's harbour and downtown
