Duluth International Airport  148th Fighter Wing Minnesota Air National Guard | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Duluth International Airport, 17 May 1991 | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | City of Duluth | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Duluth, Minnesota | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,428 ft / 435.3 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 46°50′32″N 92°11′37″W / 46.84222°N 92.19361°W | ||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Duluth International Airport (IATA: DLH, ICAO: KDLH, FAA LID: DLH) is a public airport located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Duluth, in St. Louis County, Minnesota, USA. It serves the Duluth-Superior area including Superior, Wisconsin. The airport covers 3,020 acres (12 km²) and has two runways. It is mostly used for general aviation but is also served by two commercial airlines.
The Minnesota Air National Guard 148th Fighter Wing, equipped with F-16C Falcons is based at Duluth International Airport.
Overview
In 1974, a new Terminal Building and U.S. Customs, International Arrivals Building, were completed east of Runway 3-21 and open for operation. Runway 13-31 was shortened to 2,578 feet to accommodate construction of an addition to the International Arrivals building. This resulted in Runway 13-31 being closed as a runway due to obstructions. Runway 13-31 was subsequently re-striped in 1980, decreasing its width to 75 feet, for use as a taxiway only. In 1989, the new Terminal building and the adjacent structures were connected to form one enclosure. The original terminal building was then converted for use as offices for general aviation, the FAA, and the U.S. Weather Bureau.
Future air service The Duluth Airport board is currently looking for possible carriers to serve Duluth International Airport. The most wanted new service is non-stop service to Chicago (American Airlines used to have Chicago O'Hare-Duluth service but had to stop this service because of flight restrictions at Chicago O'Hare Airport). If Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines merge Delta Air Lines could start non-stop service from Duluth to Atlanta or Salt Lake City.
New terminal A new terminal is being planned to replace the old terminal at the Duluth International Airport. The new terminal will be able to handle more people, flights, and airlines.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger:
- Allegiant Air (Las Vegas) Gate G1
- Northwest Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul) Gates G3, G4, G5
- Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Detroit)
Cargo:
- Bemidji Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- FedEx Express (Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul)
History
The City of Duluth purchased the original property for the airport in 1929 from St. Louis County. The airport was constructed on 640 acres of land with two 2650-foot sod runways. Subsequently, in 1930, the airfield was dedicated as a public airport. The airport was called the Williamson-Johnson Municipal Airport until 1963 at which time it was renamed Duluth International Airport.
After World War II, the U.S. Air Force constructed permanent and semi-permanent facilities on land leased from the City of Duluth. Beginning in 1948, The Minnesota Air National Guard built permanent facilities on the east end of the field. In 1966, the Air Defense Command 29th Air Division, operated a SAGE Radar command and control center from the airport.[1] SAGE was an an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD. In later versions, the system could automatically direct aircraft to an interception by sending commands directly to the aircraft's autopilot. In 1969, the SAGE facility closed and the 23d Air Division replaced it. The 23d AD which was responsible for the air defense of the upper midwest.[2]
The USAF has since phased out its facilities, but the Minnesota ANG continues its operations.
In 1942, the three existing runways were paved. Each runway was 4,000 feet long, 150 feet wide, and at nearly equal angles from each other, 30, 90, and 130 degrees. They were identified as runways 3-21, 9-27, and 13-31 respectively. The Corps of Engineers extended runway 9-27 and Runway 3-21 to 5,699 feet in 1945. The USAF extended Runway 9-27 to 9,000 feet with a 1,000-foot overrun in 1951. Runway 9-27 was completely rebuilt in 1956 and further extended in 1966 to 10,152 feet in length.
The original terminal building was built in 1954, south of Runway 9-27, on the west side of Runway 3-21 and served the airport for nearly 20 years. The terminal floor area was 14,200 square feet with 280 parking spaces.
Along with its commercai airport usage, the Minnesota Air National Guard 148th Fighter Wing is located at the airport. The air national guard base occupies 153.3 acres on the northeast corner of the airport. Additionally, the munitions storage area (physically separated from the main base) occupies 16.71 acres north of Runway 09/27. The base has a total of 37 buildings; 18 industrial and 19 administrative. Normal base population is 320 personnel but surges to 1100 occur once each month during drill sessions. The 148th currently flies the F-16 ADF Fighting Falcon.
See also
- Central Air Defense Force (Air Defense Command)
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- FAA Airport Form 5010 for DLH PDF
- Duluth International Airport (official web site)
External links
- Template:PDF
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective August 8, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KDLH
- ASN accident history for DLH
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KDLH
- FAA current DLH delay information
- Airport Web Site
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
