T
ucson International Airport
(IATA: TUS, ICAO: KTUS,
FAA LID: TUS) is a public
joint civil-military airport owned
by the City of Tucson 8 mi south
of downtown Tucson, in Pima
County, Arizona. It is the second
busiest airport in Arizona, after
Phoenix Sky Harbor International
Airport. The National Plan of
Integrated Airport Systems for
2011–2015 categorized it as a
primary commercial service
airport since it has over 10,000
passenger boardings per year.
Federal Aviation Administration
records say the airport had
1,779,679 enplanements in 2011,
a decrease from 1,844,228 in
2010. Tucson International is
operated on a long-term lease by
the Tucson Airport Authority,
which also operates Ryan Airfield,
a general aviation airport. Tucson
International Airport is not a hub
or focus city for any airline. Public
transportation to the airport is
Sun Tran bus routes No. 6 and No.
25. In 1919 Tucson opened the
first municipally owned airport
in the United States. In 1928
commercial flights began with
Standard Airlines (later American
Airlines); regular airmail service
began in 1930. The 1936 airport
directory shows Tucson Municipal
at 32°11′N 110°55′W “just north
of the railroad” (since removed)
referring to the site that was then
being used as the city’s airport
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southeast of the intersection of S.
Park Ave. and E. 36th St.
During World War II the airfield
was used by the United States
Army Air Forces Air Technical
Service Command. A contract
flying school was operated by
the USAAF West Coast Training
Center from July 25, 1942 until
September 1944. In 1948 the
Tucson Airport Authority was
created as a non-profit corporation
to operate the airport and oversee
policy decisions. The nine member
board is elected by a group of
up to 115 volunteer residents
from Pima County Arizona. The
airport was moved to its current
location south of Valencia Road
and operated on the west ramp out
of three hangars vacated by World
War II military manufacturing
companies. A new control tower
was constructed in 1958 to replace
the original WWII wooden framed
version. The Tucson Airport
Authority was also involved in
bringing the Hughes Missile Plant
(now Raytheon) to Tucson. In
fact, in 1951, according to author
David Leighton, it was the TAA
that sold the land to the Hughes
Aircraft Co., for construction of
the plant. In March 1956, the
Civil Aeronautics Board approved
routes out of Tucson for Trans
World Airlines (TWA), in spite
of opposition from the already
established American Airlines
but it wouldn’t be until December
of that year that the first planes
began service. In April 1957
airlines scheduled 21 departures
a day: 15 American, 4 TWA and 2
Frontier. The first jet flights were
operated by American Airlines
with Boeing 707 and Boeing 720B
jetliners around September 1960.
During the mid and late 1970s,
American was flying wide body
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 jets
nonstop to Dallas/Ft. Worth and
also to Chicago via an intermediate
stop in Phoenix. By the late 1980s,
American was operating Boeing
767-200 wide body jetliners from
the airport with nonstop service to
Dallas/Ft. Worth. The DC-10 and
767 were the largest jetliners ever
to serve Tucson with scheduled
passenger flights. On November
15, 1963 a new terminal designed
by Terry Atkinson opened with
an international inspection
station. The Tucson International
Airport name was legitimate:
Aeronaves de Mexico had begun
Douglas DC-6 propliner service
to Hermosillo and beyond in
1961. By the mid 1970s, successor
airline Aeromexico was continuing
to serve Tucson with McDonnell
Douglas DC-9-30 jet flights
nonstop to Hermosillo with
direct, no change of plane service
to Ciudad Obregon, Culiacan,
Guadalajara and Mexico City.
Bonanza Air Lines began DC-9
jet service to Mexico as well
during the late 1960s with flights
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