FLYUAA NOV Issue | Page 36

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 36| FlyUAA| www.FlyUAA.org| November Issue 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 Issue November| www.FlyUAA.org| FlyUAA| 37