Top Destinations

Busiest domestic routes out of FWA
(July 2010 - June 2011)

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Chicago-O’Hare, IL	73,000	American, United
2	Detroit, MI Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , usually called Detroit Metro Airport, Metro Airport locally, or simply DTW, is a major international airport covering in Romulus, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It is Michigan's busiest airport....	64,000	Delta
3	Atlanta, GA Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...	35,000	Delta
4	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	28,000	American
5	Cincinnati, OH Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport , sometimes called the Greater Cincinnati Airport is located in Hebron, unincorporated Boone County, Kentucky, United States and serves the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. Despite being located in Boone County, the airport operations are...	22,000	Delta
6	St. Petersburg, FL St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport is a joint civil-military airport located in unincorporated Pinellas County, Florida, north of St. Petersburg, serving St...	20,000	Allegiant
7	Orlando-Sanford, FL Orlando Sanford International Airport Orlando-Sanford International Airport is a public commercial air service airport in Sanford, Florida, near Orlando. It was originally constructed as a military installation known as Naval Air Station Sanford that was in operation as a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance...	18,000	Allegiant
8	Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in the five-state upper Midwest region of Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.-Overview:...	5,000	Delta
9	Myrtle Beach, SC Myrtle Beach International Airport Myrtle Beach International Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Myrtle Beach, in Horry County, South Carolina, United States...	5,000	Allegiant

Airfield infrastructure

As of 2006, the airport's main Runway 5/23's usable dimensions are 11981 feet (3,651.8 m) long and 150 feet (45.7 m) wide while the grooved-surface dimensions are 12000 feet (3,657.6 m) long and 150 feet (45.7 m) wide, large enough to accommodate the NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

 orbiter, Boeing 747s, and military air mobility and aerial refueling aircraft such as the C-5 Galaxy

C-5 Galaxy

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...

, C-17 Globemaster III

C-17 Globemaster III

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...

, KC-135 Stratotanker

KC-135 Stratotanker

The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling military aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratotanker...

 and KC-10 Extender

KC-10 Extender

The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is the military adaptation of the three-engined DC-10 airliner for the United States Air Force . The KC-10 incorporates military-specific equipment for its primary roles of transport and aerial refueling. It was developed to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker...

. The runway is also equipped with BAK-14 arresting gear

Arresting gear

Arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is the name used for mechanical systems designed to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBAR aircraft carriers. Similar systems...

 on both ends for emergency arrestment of US and NATO/Allied fighter and other similar-sized tactical fixed-wing aircraft.

History

The airport was originally constructed at a cost of $10 million as a U.S. Army Air Forces base during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, opening in 1941 under the name Baer Field and later Baer Army Air Field. During wartime, over 100,000 military personnel served out of Baer Field and its more than 100 structures. The principal units at the installation were the First Troop Carrier Group and the 45th Army Air Force Base Unit. By the end of World War II, the city of Fort Wayne bought the airport from the federal government

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

's General Services Administration

General Services Administration

The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...

 for the price of $1, renaming it Fort Wayne Municipal Airport in 1946.

Under the management of the Fort Wayne/Allen County Airport Authority since 1985, the airport was renamed Fort Wayne International Airport in 1991. Through the 1990s, the airport underwent the largest expansion and revitalization in its history, with an expanded and updated terminal, runway upgrades, and the establishment of the Air Trade Center on the southwest side of the property. In 2006, a modernized 210 feet (64 m) air traffic control tower was opened on the south side of the airport, at a price of $9.7 million.

Located in the Lieutenant Paul Baer Terminal, the Greater Fort Wayne Aviation Museum recounts early aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

 history in Northeastern Indiana.

Incidents

• In late 2003, Charles McKinley shipped himself via Kitty Hawk Air Cargo
  Kitty Hawk
  Kitty Hawk or Kittyhawk may refer to:Places*Kitty Hawk, North Carolina*Kitty Hawk, is an area of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base*Kitty Hawk Air Society, an Honor Society for the Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps programAirlines...
  
   from Newark International Airport to Buffalo, New York
  Buffalo, New York
  Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
  
  , then to Fort Wayne, eventually flying to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
  Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
  Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas...
  
  , undetected through security.

• On August 18, 2004, Fort Wayne International Airport was in the national spotlight after a mysterious "liquid substance" discovered leaking from luggage forced authorities to shut down the airport, when six people fell ill. Fearing that the incident may have been an act of terrorism
  Terrorism
  Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
  
  , the FBI was involved in the investigation. Later in the day, Haz-mat ruled that there was "no biological or chemical threat" and the airport was reopened that afternoon. All who were ill recovered and it was later revealed that the substance was an agent for producing perfume.

External links

• Fort Wayne International Airport Official Website
• 122nd Fighter Wing Official Website
• Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Aerial Photo (from Indiana Department of Transportation
  Indiana Department of Transportation
  The Indiana Department of Transportation is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining and regulating transportation and transportation related infrastructure such as state owned airports, state highways and state owned canals or railroads.-Districts:INDOT is...
  
  )