Des Moines International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Des Moines International Airport
IATA: DSM - ICAO: KDSM
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator City of Des Moines
Serves Des Moines
Elevation AMSL 958 ft (292 m)
Coordinates 41°32′2.3″ N 93°39′47.1″ W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5/23 9,003 2,744 asphalt/concrete
13/31 9,001 2,744 asphalt


The Des Moines International Airport (IATA: DSM, ICAO: KDSM) is a commercial airport located in the southern part of the city of Des Moines, Iowa USA. The airport serves residents of the Des Moines metropolitan area and is the closest airport with connections to major airline hubs for people who live throughout much of east-central, north-central, and southern Iowa.

Contents

[edit] History

During the 1920s, the Des Moines area had several small private airports that catered to general aviation and air mail. In 1929, the Iowa General Assembly passed a law allowing cities to sell bonds and levy assessments in order to build municipal airports. Over 80 different sites were considered for the Des Moines Airport until a decision was made to build on 160 acres (0.65 km²) of farmland on the south side of the city. Construction of the airport began in 1932 and was completed in 1933. The airport's first passenger terminal was built shortly after the airport was completed. It was replaced by a new terminal in 1950 that has been expanded and renovated several times since then. The airport itself has expanded several times from its original 160-acre site and now covers 2,300 acres (9.3 km²) of land.

The airport was originally governed by the City of Des Moines' Parks Department. A separate Aviation Department was established by the city during the 1960s, and in 1982, a separate Aviation Policy Advisory Board was established. Even though the airport does not offer passenger service to destinations outside of the United States, the airport was renamed the Des Moines International Airport in 1986 as a way to acknowledge the presence of a United States Customs Service office at the airport.

Fewer locals than in past years choose to fly out of Eppley Airfield in Omaha or the Kansas City International Airport instead of Des Moines even though both airports offer discount airlines not available in the Des Moines market. Local usage has impoved thanks to Des Moines International Airport airing television commercials pointing out that passengers who choose to fly out of Omaha or Kansas City prevent Des Moines from attracting new airlines. This has led to record-breaking years, and the airport handled a record 1,990,167 passengers in 2004; that figure dropped to 1,903,573 in 2005 but increased to 1,959,393 in 2006. [1]

Growing enplanements and the aging terminal have led Des Moines International's board to begin planning for further expansion with a new terminal replacing the current one. The present terminal would be torn down to allow for more cargo space and a planned general aviation runway would be expanded to a full service runway. These plans are expected to be put into place once the airport handles approximately 3 million passengers a year, or 1.5 million enplanements.

Des Moines was also the first airport in the country to have WiFi access throughout the terminal.[citation needed]

[edit] Concourses

[edit] Concourse A

[edit] Concourse C

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../d/e/s/Des_Moines_International_Airport_6a96.html"
In other languages