Metropolitan Airports Commission history

The lawsuits questioned the constitutionality of portions of the law that established the MAC. Ultimately, the state and the MAC prevailed, and in August 1944, the MAC officially assumed control of Wold-Chamberlain and Holman Field.

After the war, scheduled commercial service to Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Manila began on July 15, 1947 on a 50-passenger Northwest DC-4.

With new international partnerships and four scheduled airlines operating out of it, the name Wold-Chamberlain Field was officially changed to Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in 1948.

The MAC acquired land for the current airport in 1949, paying $38,300 for 160 acres.

Anoka County-Blaine Airport In 1950 the MAC acquired 1,200 acres of farmland in Anoka County to develop a second major airport, which it thought would be needed in 10 to 15 years.

A Mississippi River flood in 1952 prompted Northwest Airlines to look for a new location for its maintenance base at the St Paul Airport, which was susceptible to high water.

By 1955 MSP had passed a milestone by serving more than 1 million passengers annually.

In 1956, Northwest Airlines had 5,500 employees globally and was growing rapidly.

5, 1961, as a Northwest Airlines DC-8 stopped at MSP in route to Chicago.

The opening of the new terminal at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in 1962 only marked the beginning of a period of sustained growth.

Another 470 acres were added in 1966 to create the present-day airport.

For the MAC’s leadership, the boom in passenger numbers came to a head in 1967.

In 1968, Flying Cloud had 446,198 take-offs and landings, or operations.

Northwest started work in 1969 on an $18 million hangar expansion to service 747s and DC-10s.

In November of 1970, as the Vietnam War continued, the “Servicemen’s Center” opened at MSP. Volunteers staffed the center 24 hours a day.

In 1971, the MAC hired Claude Schmidt as its first director of environment and noise abatement.

In 1972, after further negotiations, the MAC and the Metropolitan Council did reach an agreement on the Ham Lake site.

Also, airline leases to operate at MSP weren’t open for renegotiation until the summer of 1973.

One procedure to reduce noise in 1974 involved having arriving commercial flights approach MSP at a steeper angle, reducing noise for residents several miles from the airport, but not those neighborhoods closest to MSP.

Planning the new terminal Studies of a new, modern facility began after forecasts projected that passenger counts would reach 4 million by 1975.

Hamiel had been hired in 1977 by Ray Glumack, the MAC’s former executive director.

Soon after deregulation in 1978, MSP had 15 major carriers and eight commuter airlines serving the market, with 13 more waiting in the wings and four international airlines looking for access to gates, Glumack said.

That enabled the 1979 acquisition of Airlake, which is located in Lakeville, almost 29 miles from Minneapolis’ City Hall.

Passenger service to Glasgow soon followed and on June 2, 1980, Northwest flew the first Twin Cities-to-London (Gatwick) direct flight on a Boeing 747.

United States airlines lost more than $600 million in 1981, a year of recession and government efforts to curb inflation – the interest rate on mortgage loans averaged 17 percent that year.

In 1984 a new seven-level, $20 million parking ramp opened at Terminal 1 with 2,000 spaces.

The concession program at MSP continued to grow as well, with the first McDonald’s opening in 1985.

The plan led eventually to Northwest buying Republic for $884 million in 1986.

Sun Country was eventually sold to B. John Barry, a banker, in 1988.

In September of 1989, Northwest CEO Steven Rothmeier and his team resigned, replaced by Checchi and a new management group.

Since 1992, the MAC has spent $512 million on noise mitigation.

By 1993, Northwest was floating the idea of bankruptcy due to its continuing debt burden.

Also in 1996, a Northwest reservation center opened in Chisholm, Minn.

The construction of runway 17/35 started in the spring of 1999 and necessitated the removal of a half-million truckloads of dirt.

The grand opening took place on May 2, 2001, with a Hawaiian band playing and Sun Country Airlines, Champion Air and Omni Air International planes occupying the gates.

Pictured: The new Blue Line Light Rail Transit tunnel under construction at MSP in 2002.

The runway was initially planned to be open to air traffic in 2003.

The new LRT line opened in 2004, providing airport employees and passengers another option for transportation to both MSP terminals.

Pictured: The new runway 17/35, shortly after it opened in October 2005.

Although a deep recession technically started in December 2007, air travel began to slip well before that date as the economy lost momentum.

On April 15, 2008, the two carriers announced a merger agreement.

Over a period of more than a year, the two airlines’ merged their operations, including the repainting of Northwest planes with the Delta livery, consolidation of gates in some airports and, in 2009, the merger of Northwest’s WorldPerks frequent flier program with Delta’s SkyMiles program.

Spirit Airlines began service at MSP in the spring of 2012, offering an a la carte pricing system for flights to Chicago and Las Vegas.

In 2013, Endeavor Air – a regional carrier for Delta that had previously been known as Pinnacle Airlines and had an air service agreement with Northwest – moved its headquarters from Memphis to MSP Airport.

Mark Dayton, along with explorer and climate activist Will Steger, were on hand for the announcement in October 2014, with Jeff Hamiel, the MAC’s CEO and executive director, and representatives from Ameresco, the firm that developed and operates the system.

Hamiel era ends; Ryks begins In September of 2015, long-time MAC CEO Jeff Hamiel announced his pending retirement.

The MAC hired a recruiting firm to conduct a national search for Hamiel’s replacement, and in March of 2016, a MAC committee recommended Brian Ryks, the head of the Grand Rapids, Mich.

In 2017, KLM Airlines began offering seasonal service to Amsterdam out of MSP. The route from KLM, a partner with Delta for North Atlantic service, offers travelers an additional way to get to Europe and a large number of connections to international destinations.

The MAC worked overtime to welcome visitors to the Twin Cities for Super Bowl 52 in February of 2018, as passenger volumes led to the busiest day in MSP’s history.

In the airline service category, Aer Lingus – an Irish airline – announced recently that it will start non-stop service to Dublin in the summer of 2019.