Minneapolis-St. Paul International grew from a bankrupt auto speedway into the Upper Midwest's main airport, with two terminals named for Lindbergh and Humphrey.
Airliners and cargo flights within 25 nm of MSP. Routes come from a community database matched on flight numbers, so a few will be wrong or out of date. Flights without a route are marked "est." and judged from altitude and climb or descent.
History
The site was home to the Snelling Speedway in 1914. In 1920 a wooden hangar was built there to handle airmail, and the 160-acre property became known as Speedway Field. In 1923 it was renamed Wold-Chamberlain Field for two local pilots, Ernest Wold and Cyrus Chamberlain, who died in combat in World War I.
Northwest Airways won the government airmail contract in 1926 and took over the airport's only hangar, and passenger service began in 1929. The Metropolitan Airports Commission was created by legislation in 1943, and in 1948 the field became Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after international service arrived.
Construction of Terminal 1 (Lindbergh) began in 1958, and it opened to the public in 1962. Work on Terminal 2 (Humphrey) began in 1986. A $3.1 billion improvement plan began in 1996.
Quick facts
- Codes
- MSP / KMSP
- Speedway Field
- 1920
- Wold-Chamberlain Field
- 1923
- Passenger service began
- 1929
- Minneapolis-St. Paul International name
- 1948
- Terminal 1 (Lindbergh) opened
- 1962
- Terminals
- Terminal 1 (Lindbergh) and Terminal 2 (Humphrey)
Sources: MAC Facts: History of MSP, An airport's story: Minneapolis-St. Paul (University of Minnesota)
Watch and listen
Listen to live air traffic control for MSP on LiveATC. The feeds come from volunteers, so availability varies.