Missoula International Airport/Johnson-Bell Field (IATA: MSO, ICAO: KMSO) is a public airport located four miles (6 km) northwest of the city of Missoula in Missoula County, Montana, USA. The airport has two runways. There are currently several expansion projects planned or underway, including the construction of 150 foot control tower. An expansion of the terminal building, providing a new security screening area, was completed in 2007. 582,821 passengers passed through the airport in 2011.[1][2].
[edit] History
Missoula's first landing strip was laid out in 1923 south of the university. An additional strip near the Western Montana Fair Grounds on what is now Sentinel High School was sold to the county in 1927 at the request of the Missoula chapter of the National Aeronautic Association and would become Missoula's first true airport. The current airfield is named after that chapter's first president, Harry O. Bell along with mountain flying pioneer Bob Johnson of Johnson Flying Service (now Minuteman Aviation). The original Garden City Airport was renamed Hale Field in 1935 and would operate as such until closing forever in 1954. The airport was gradually replaced by the Missoula County Airport opened in 1941 with WPA funds and the cooperation of the US Forest Service who needed access to an airport. The new airport was renamed Johnson-Bell Field in 1968 and today serves nearly 600,000 passengers a year.[3]
[edit] New Control Tower
The Missoula International Airport is currently building a new 150 foot tall control tower that will be replacing the old control tower, that had served the airport since 1961[4]. The new control tower will be one of the tallest control towers in the Pacific Northwest once completed, and the tallest in Montana. The price tag of the new tower is an estimated 6.77 million dollars[5].
[edit] Airlines and destinations
[edit] Top Destinations
Top ten busiest domestic routes out of MSO
(July 2010 - June 2011) [7]
| Rank |
City |
Passengers |
Carriers |
| 1 |
 Salt Lake City, UT |
68,000 |
Delta |
| 2 |
 Seattle, WA |
59,000 |
Alaska |
| 3 |
 Denver, CO |
59,000 |
United |
| 4 |
 Minneapolis, MN |
37,000 |
Delta |
| 5 |
 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ |
20,000 |
Allegiant |
| 6 |
 Los Angeles, CA |
18,000 |
Allegiant |
| 7 |
 Las Vegas, NV |
16,000 |
Allegiant |
| 8 |
 Chicago O’Hare, IL |
6,000 |
United |
| 9 |
San Francisco, CA |
5,000 |
United |
| 10 |
 Portland, OR |
1,000 |
Alaska |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Salt Lake City, UT
Seattle, WA
Denver, CO
Minneapolis, MN
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
Los Angeles, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Chicago O’Hare, IL
Portland, OR
