This article was originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of Briefings
Located about six miles from downtown Duluth, the Duluth International Airport covers over 3,000 acres and serves the Twin Ports area of Northeastern Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. It is the third-busiest airport airport in Minnesota, behind Minneapolis-St. Paul International and Rochester International.
The Duluth International Airport completed a total of 3,789 scheduled flights and carried nearly 155,000 passengers in a 12-month period ending in May 2014. The airport completed nearly 38,000 operations in a 12-month period ending August 2013, most of which were general aviation. However, three major commercial airlines serve the Duluth airport, including Delta Connection, which offers daily flights to Minneapolis and Detroit; United Express, which flies to Chicago O’Hare twice daily; and Allegiant Air, which offers weekly flights to Orlando, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The airport also offers private and charter flights through Monaco Air Duluth, the airport’s fixed-base operator.
One unique aspect of the Duluth International Airport is its ability to operate in extreme weather changes. In 1991, the city of Duluth experienced a Halloween “mega-storm” and received nearly 37-inches of snow in a three-day period. However, the airport was the only one in the state to stay open and resume operations thanks to its dedicated maintenance force.
The City of Duluth purchased the original 640-acre property in 1929 for $70,000 and began construction on three runways. In 1940, Northwest Airlines began the first regularly scheduled air service to Duluth, although that service was discontinued in 1942 because of the country’s increasing involvement in World War II.
In 2009, the airport broke ground to complete a new passenger terminal. State and national lawmakers granted nearly $17 million toward the project, which was completed in 2013.
In October 2013, the Duluth City Council approved $3.4 million in bonds for the airport to build a three-story enclosed parking ramp. The ramp will add an additional 400 parking spots and a skyway leading to the terminal. Construction is expected to end on the project in October 2014.
