User:Tim Zukas/sandbox
American and Eastern airlines were the first air carriers to serve Nashville, and within the year, 189,000 passengers had used the facilities.
Berry Field became the military base for the 4th Ferrying Command during World War II. The federal government added additional acreage for its military operations, and in 1946, after the war ended, the military returned a 1,500 acre airport to the city of Nashville.
With the rapid growth of air transportation, Berry Field's facilities became obsolete, and in 1958, the City Aviation Department began plans to expand the airport. A new 145,900-square-foot passenger terminal opened in 1961, a year after the inaugural flight of Nashville's first jet-powered service. Six airlines were then serving Nashville, and airline passengers exceeded half a million people (532,790). In 1963, the existing Runway (2L-20R) was extended by an additional 600 feet, and construction began on a new crosswind Runway (13-31).
Early history (1923–1962)[edit]
Originally named Chicago Air Park,[1] Midway Airport was built on a 320-acre (1.3 km2) plot in 1923 with one cinder runway that primarily served airmail services. In 1928 the airfield had twelve hangars and four runways, lit for night operations.[2][2]
A new passenger terminal opened in 1931[2] and the following year Midway Airport claimed to be the "World's Busiest" with over 100,846 passengers on 60,947 flights.[3] The March 1939 OAG shows 47 weekday departures: 13 on United, 13 American, 9 TWA, 4 Northwest and two each on Eastern, Braniff, Pennsylvania Central and C&S. New York's airport (Newark, then LaGuardia by the end of 1939) was then the busiest airline airport in the United States, but Midway passed LaGuardia around 1950 and retained the title until O'Hare claimed it in 1961.[2]
More construction was funded in part by $1 million from the Works Progress Administration; the field expanded to fill the square mile in 1938-41 after a court ordered the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad to reroute tracks that had crossed the square along the north edge of the older field. In 1941 Midway handled 25% of the nation's 417,000 airline passengers.
In July 1949 the airport was renamed after the Battle of Midway.[3] That year Midway saw 3.2 million passengers; passengers peaked at 10 million in 1959.[4] The April 1957 OAG shows 414 weekday fixed-wing departures from Midway: 83 American, 83 United, 56 TWA, 40 Capital, 35 North Central, 28 Delta, 27 Eastern, 22 Northwest, 19 Ozark, 11 Braniff, 5 Trans-Canada and 5 Lake Central. Air France, Lufthansa and REAL (of Brazil) had a few flights a week.
---
Early history (1923–1962)[edit]
Originally named Chicago Air Park,[1] Midway Airport was built on a 320-acre (1.3 km2) plot in 1923 and consisted of a single cinder runway that primarily served airmail services. During its first full year of operation in 1928 the airfield had twelve hangars and four runways, lit for night operations.[2][2]
A new passenger terminal and administration building, funded by a bond issue, was dedicated in 1931[2] by Chicago mayor Anton Cermak, and in the following year Midway Airport claimed to be the "World's Busiest" with over 100,846 passengers riding on 60,947 flights.[3]
In 1941 Midway Airport joined World War II efforts.[3] The war years were a boon for Midway, which saw new construction funded in part by $1 million in federal monies from the Works Progress Administration. Work on additional runways moved forward in 1941 when a court ordered the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad to reroute tracks that had crossed the airfield. Midway handled 25% of the nation's 417,000 passengers in that year.
The airport was renamed on July 8, 1949[3] by the City Council to "Chicago Midway Airport" in honor of the World War II Battle of Midway.[3] Midway saw 3.2 million passengers carried on 223,000 flights during 1949.
The airport's current IATA code MDW dates from 1949 when Chicago Municipal Airport was renamed Chicago Midway Airport.[3] The airport is managed by the Chicago Airport System, which also oversees operations at O'Hare International Airport and Gary/Chicago International Airport.[5] The airport is named after the Battle of Midway during World War II.
- ^ a b "Chicago Transportation: Chicago Midway Airport". USA Today. May 12, 2007.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)[dead link] - ^ a b c d e f g Cite error: The named reference
historywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f g "Midway Airport Visitors Guide (History Section)" (PDF). FlyChicago.com. May 12, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 14, 2008.
- ^ This video of Chicago Midway Airport in 1954 shows the increase in traffic that Midway Airport experienced during the 1950s."Chicago Midway Airport – 1954". YouTube. December 2, 2007.
- ^ "Chicago Airport System". Chicago Airport System. December 1, 2007.