Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (IATA code: MSP, ICAO code: KMSP), is an international airport in the Fort Snelling Unorganised Territory, Minnesota, United States, located 16 km (10 miles) from both downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The airport is a joint civil-military public use facility, and supports both Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard operations. MSP serves as a major hub for Delta Airlines, as well as the home airport Sun Country Airlines, which is based out of Minnesota. MSP is operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commision. In 2019, Minneapolis-Saint Paul had 39,555,036 in passenger traffic.

Quick Summary:

● Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (IATA code: MSP, ICAO code: KMSP) is an international airport located just outside of both downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul

● MSP is a joint civil-military public use airport, serving civilian aviation as well as Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard operations

● In 2019, Minneapolis-Saint Paul had 39,555,036 in passenger traffic

● MSP has two terminals with 131 total gates, and four runways

Geography:

Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport is situated 16 km (10 miles) with both downtown Minneapolis and Downtown Saint Paul. Airport coordinates are 44° 52′ 55″ N, 093° 13′ 18″ W. It has an elevation of 256 m (841 ft) above mean sea level.

History:

Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport began in 1919 as Speedway Field. The first hangar was a simple wooden structure, which was built in 1920 for airmail services. In 1923, the airport was renamed "Wold–Chamberlain Field" after World War I pilots Ernest Groves Wold and Cyrus Foss Chamberlain. In 1929, passenger services began. By 1948 the site was renamed to "Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport/Wold-Chamberlain Field". The Wold–Chamberlain portion of the name is now seldom used. 

Construction for the current Terminal 1 began on October 26, 1958. A 600,000 square foot (56,000 m2) terminal with 24 gates on two concourses was built, costing eight million USD. The terminal was completed on January 13, 1962, and operations began on January 21. The current Concourse C was completed in 1971 and the current Concourse G was completed in 1972, both as part of an expansion of the terminal. This project also focused on renovating existing concourses into bi-level structures with new holding rooms and jet bridges. Concourses A and B opened on June 1, 2002, as part of a $250 million terminal expansion designed by Minneapolis-based Architectural Alliance. The project included a $17.5 million extension of Concourse C which added six additional gates. These gates were opened on October 31, 2002.

Terminal 2 was first built in 1986 and was subsequently rebuilt in 2001. The terminal is mostly used for charter and low cost airlines, such asMinnesota-based Sun Country and Southwest. The terminal has since been expanded and now has a total of 14 gates.

Facility and Operations:

Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport has two terminals with 131 gates total. International arrivals are processed in Concourse G in Terminal 1, and in Terminal 2.

Terminal 1: Has 117 gates across seven concourses, lettered A–G

Terminal 2: Has 14 gates across one concourse, lettered H

Ground transportation:

The terminal buildings are directly located off of Minnesota State Highway 5.

The METRO light rail Blue Line stops both at the Hub Building Terminal 1 (Lindbergh Station) and Terminal 2 Humphrey Terminal (Humphrey Station). It links the airport with downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America in nearby Bloomington, while also operating a shuttle service between the two airport terminals. Travellers can use the rail line to go between the two sites.

The Terminal 1 station is the only underground station on the line, as the rails return to the surface near Terminal 2. Due to concerns about threats such as terrorism, specific emphasis went into ensuring that the tunnels are highly blast-resistant. The underground portion was the most expensive section of the entire rail project.

Runways:

04/22 is 11,006 ft (3,355 m) long and 150 ft (46 m) wide

17/35 is 8,000 ft (2,438 m) long and 150 ft (46 m) wide

12R/30L is 10,000 ft (3,048 m) long and 150 ft (46 m) wide

12L/30R is 8,200 ft (2,499 m) long and 150 ft (46 m) wide

Military Facilities:

The Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Joint Air Reserve Station at MSP houses the 934th Airlift Wing, an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) unit and the 133d Airlift Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard. The 934th consists of over 1,300 military personnel, with approximately 250 full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technician (ART) personnel. The 133rd has similar manpower, making for a total military presence of over 2,600 full-time and part-time personnel.