Tulsa International Airport

TUL opened on July 3rd, 1928, and was purchased by the City of Tulsa the following year. Originally called Tulsa Municipal Airport, it was put under the supervision of the Tulsa Park Board. The original terminal building was comprised of wood and tar paper (and had the appearance of a warehouse), and the landing strips and taxiways were mowed grass. Nonetheless, the airport handled enough passengers for Tulsa to claim that it was the world's busiest airport, including 7,373 passengers in February 1930 and 9,264 passengers in April of that year. Braniff Airways and TWA originally serviced the airport, and later in the 1930s, American Airlines also began servicing TUL. In 1932, a newer Art Deco terminal was opened with a control tower, and its rounded corners gave the building a futuristic appearance. The Spartan School of Aeronautics opened in 1929 and was activated by the US Army Air Corps on August 1st, 1939, as an advanced civilian pilot training school. During WWII, the 138th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard was organized at the airport. It remains there to this day. On January 4th, 1941, the war department announced that Tulsa would be the site of a $15 million plant, and Air Force Plant No. 3 was built on the east side of the airport.
Operated by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation, the plant manufactured, assembled, and modified bombers from the USAAF from 1942 to 1945. Following the war, the plant continued to build the Boeing B-47 Stratojet and the Douglas B-66 Destroyer. Following the war, two former Air Force hangers were required by American Airlines to start a maintenance and Engineering base. In 1957, TUL was serviced by American Airlines, Braniff Airways, Continental Airlines, Central Airlines, and TWA. By the mid-1950s, the City of Tulsa was growing rapidly, and it had become apparent that a new terminal building would be required. As such, the new terminal building opened on November 16th, 1961, and on August 28th, 1963, the airport was renamed Tulsa International Airport. In 1969 the old terminal building from the 1930s was demolished to allow for a runway expansion project. The Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust was established in 1967 to build, operate, and maintain airport facilities. Although the Trust is independent of the city, all board members are appointed by the Mayor of Tulsa and confirmed by the City Council. In October 1978, the Tulsa Airport Improvement Trust leased Tulsa International Airport to the City of Tulsa, acting through the Tulsa Airport Authority. In exchange, the Airport Authority agreed to disburse all airport-related income to the Tulsa Airport Improvement Trust. The 1960s-era terminal was renovated in 2010. Initially, Concourse B added skylights, raised the low ceilings, improved passenger waiting areas, gate redesigns, and a new replacement of the HVAC system.
Furthermore, Concourse A was renovated in 2015. In 2013, Allegiant Air began to service TUL, whereas in 2018 service by Frontier Air returned (having discontinued service a decade earlier). TUL recovered from COVID-19 rather swiftly, with new routes added by American Airlines, Breeze Airways, Allegiant Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.

The airport is located five miles northeast of downtown Tulsa.

• The original Air Force Plant No. 3 is now used by Spirit Aerosystems, building commercial aircraft parts for Boeing, and by the IC Bus Corporation, which assembles school buses at another part of the plant. 
• The Tulsa Air and Space Museum, established in 1998, is located on the airport's northwest side. In 2006 the museum added the James E. Bertelsmeyer Tulsa planetarium. 
• Lufthansa Technik Component Services LLC (LTCS), a subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG, is headquartered at Tulsa Airport, providing maintenance, repair, and overhaul services to airlines. 
• There are numerous FBOs at TUL: Atlantic Aviation, Legacy Jet Center, Sparks Aviation, Tulsair, and United States Aviation.