Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport

MSP began in 1919 as Speedway Field, which resulted from several groups joining together to take control of the former Twin City Race Track, which was bankrupt. The first hangar (built in 1920) was a wooden structure used for airmail. The Minneapolis Park Board took over on June 1st, 1928, and the following year passenger service began. The airport was renamed the Wold-Chamberlain Field in 1923 in honor of WWI pilots Ernest Groves Wold and Cyrus Foss Chamberlain. Next, it was renamed the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airport/Wold-Chamberlain Field in 1944, and finally, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport/Wold-Chamberlain Field in 1948 (although the Wold-Chamberlain is rarely used today). Terminal 1 opened on January 21st, 1962, with 56,000 square feet and 24 gates over two concourses (at the cost of $8.5 million). The terminal was expanded in the early 70s, with Pier D (now Concourse C; it was expanded in 1985 and included the airport’s first moving walkway) and Pier A (now Concourse G) added in 1971 and 1972, respectively. The existing concourses were also rebuilt into bi-level structures with holding rooms and jet bridges. A $250 million expansion project led to Concourses A and B opening on June 1st, 2002. Furthermore, on October 31st, 2002, Concourse C was extended by six gates (at the cost of $17.5 million). Terminal 2, it was built in 1986 (and rebuilt in 2001). Its primary use is charter and low-cost airlines. Its expansion has taken its gate total to 14. Whereas it originally used a color labeling system for concourses, the system was replaced with letters in 2000.
 

The airport is located 10 miles from downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul. Under Minnesota state law, the parcel of land where the airport is located is not part of any city or school district, and therefore there is no formal address.

•  A 2022 J.D. Power survey, which ranked all U.S. and Canadian airports on a scale of up to 1,000, gave MSP a score of 800, making it the best airport in both the U.S. and Canada. 
• There were proposals in the 1990s to build a new airport on the fringes of the cities to handle larger aircraft due to noise complaints, a move which was resisted due to the potentially negative economic impacts. A compromise was that the Metropolitan Airports Commission would outfit homes near the airport with sound insulation and air conditioning, which they tried to renege on, citing changed economic conditions in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. This led to lawsuits, which were settled. By the end of the program in 2014, some 15,000 single-family homes and 3,303 multi-family units were provided noise mitigation at the cost of $95 million.
•  The MSP is also a military airport. It is home to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Joint Air Reserve Station, supporting both Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard flight operations.