Buffalo Niagara International Airport

BUF originated as Buffalo Municipal Airport in 1926. It had a small terminal building, a hangar, and four 3,000 by 100-foot cinder runways. In 1927, passenger and mail service began. In 1939 an Art Deco v-shaped terminal was completed with a cylindrical tower. Between 1940-41 a manufacturing hangar was built by Curtiss Aeroplane Co. WWII brought about more expansion of aircraft. Then, there were four runways: Runway 5/23, which was 5,630 feet long; Runway 13/31 (now 14/32), which was 5,730 feet long, Runway 1/19, which was 5,000 feet long; and Runway 8/26, which was 3,650 feet long. All of the runways were 150 feet (46 m) wide. Around this time, a new apron was built. Runways 1/19 and 8/26 were closed in the 50s, whereas 13/31 was renamed 14/32. In 1955 the terminal was expanded for the first time to 11 gates, and a restaurant was added as well. This expansion tripled the terminal’s square footage. In 1959, the Niagara Frontier Transport Authority acquired the airport, renamed the Greater Buffalo International Airport. In 1961, the terminal building was remodeled, a new concourse was built for American Airlines, and a new control tower was built. In 1965 the first scheduled jets arrived, Boeing 727s by United and American Airlines. The following year Runway 5/23 was extended to 8,100 feet. In 1971 a second terminal was built with nine gates, and it was named the “West Terminal.” In 1977 the original terminal (the “East Terminal”) was expanded, with new ticket lobbies built for United and American, the addition of jetways, and the conversion of the 1938 terminal building into a baggage claim area.
Furthermore, in 1982 two gates were added to the “West Terminal”, while the landside of that terminal was also enlarged. In 1985, the old Curtiss-Wright plant was turned into the Buffalo Airport Center industrial park (although it was demolished in 1999 to allow Runway 14/32 to be lengthened). In 1997, a new terminal building opened with 15 gates (at the cost of $56 million). This led to the demolition of the old terminal buildings. The new terminal was expanded in 2001, increasing the gates to 24. Furthermore, both runways were extended in 2006, with the main runway extended by 750 feet and the secondary runway by 1,000 feet. In 2021, an $80 million renovation was completed, adding over 54,000 square feet of space. It created secure walkways on the east and west sides of the terminal for arriving passengers (to avoid bottlenecks), it created an expanded curbside space for arriving and departing passengers. It replaced the baggage carousels with four sloped plate carousels (doubling capacity).

The airport is located 11 miles east of Downtown Buffalo and 60 miles southeast of Toronto (although the driving distance is 106 miles). 

• The FBO is Tac Air, providing charter flights, aircraft maintenance services, and more. 
• The addition of low-cost carriers Southwest and JetBlue in the 21st century led to the airport's rapid growth. 
• One in three passengers using BUF are Canadian, which is generally cheaper than flying into the U.S. from Canada due to added customs and immigration charges, the value difference between U.S. and Canadian currency, and other taxes and fees. 
• Due to U.S. COVID-19 restrictions requiring international air travel testing, Toronto-based sports teams use BUF to fly to U.S. destinations, as land crossings and domestic flights are not subject to testing.