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==History== In 1919, Tucson opened the first municipally owned airport in the United States. In 1928 commercial flights began with Standard Airlines (later [[American Airlines]]); regular [[airmail]] service began in 1930. The 1936 airport directory shows Tucson Municipal at {{coord|32|11|N|110|55|W|region:US-AZ_type:airport|name=Tucson Municipal Airport (1936)}} "just north of the railroad" (since removed) referring to the site that was then being used as the city's airport southeast of the intersection of S. Park Avenue and E. 36th Street. During [[World War II]] the airfield was used by the [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Air Technical Service Command]]. A contract flying school was operated by the USAAF West Coast Training Center from July 25, 1942, until September 1944. In 1948, the '''Tucson Airport Authority''' was created as a [[non-profit corporation]] to operate the airport and oversee policy decisions. The nine member board is elected by a group of up to 115 volunteer residents from [[Pima County, Arizona]]. The airport was moved to its current location south of Valencia Road and operated on the west ramp out of three hangars vacated by World War II military manufacturing companies. A new control tower was constructed in 1958 to replace the original WWII wooden framed version. The Tucson Airport Authority was also involved in bringing the [[Hughes Aircraft Company|Hughes Missile Plant]], now known as [[List of United States Air Force plants|Air Force Plant 44]] and operated by [[Raytheon Missiles & Defense|Raytheon]], to Tucson. TAA sold the land to the Hughes Aircraft Co., for the construction of the plant.<ref>David Leighton, ''The History of the Hughes Missile Plant In Tucson, 1947β1960,'' Private Publication, 2015 (Pg.4)</ref> In March 1956, the Civil Aeronautics Board approved routes out of Tucson for [[Trans World Airlines]] (TWA), over opposition from American Airlines, but flights did not begin until December of that year.<ref>David Leighton, ''The History of the Hughes Missile Plant In Tucson, 1947β1960,'' Private Publication, 2015 (Pgs.24 & 27)</ref> In April 1957, airlines scheduled 21 departures a day: 15 American, 4 TWA, and 2 [[Frontier Airlines (1950-1986)|Frontier]]. The first jet flights were [[American Airlines]] [[Boeing 707]]s and [[Boeing 720]]s around September 1960. American began flying wide-body [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]]s from Tucson nonstop to [[Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex|Dallas/Ft. Worth]]<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.departedflights.com/AA120174intro.html |title=December 1, 1974 System Timetable |date=1974-12-01 |publisher=American Airlines |access-date=2024-11-24}}</ref> and to [[Chicago]] via [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] beginning in fall 1971 and continuing through the 1970s.<ref>http://www.departedflights.com, January 20, 1979 American timetable</ref> In 1981, [[Eastern Airlines]] was operating direct [[Airbus A300]] wide-body service to [[Atlanta]] via an en-route stop in Phoenix.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.departedflights.com/EA050181.html|title = Eastern Air Lines May 1, 1981 Route Map}}</ref> In the late 1980s American was flying [[Boeing 767-200]]s nonstop to Dallas/Ft. Worth.<ref>http://www.departedflights.com, December 15, 1989 Official Airline Guide</ref> The DC-10, A300, and 767 were the largest airliners ever to serve Tucson on scheduled passenger flights. On November 15, 1963, a new terminal designed by Terry Atkinson opened with an international inspection station. The '''Tucson International Airport'''<ref>{{cite news | title = Nov. 16: Today in Arizona History | url = http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_57eafe46-04cd-11e1-9d79-001cc4c002e0.html | newspaper = [[Arizona Daily Star]] | date = November 16, 2011| access-date = July 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapptucson.org/context_study.pdf|title=List of The Most Common Types of Scholarships|website=mapptucson.org|access-date=July 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324095421/http://mapptucson.org/context_study.pdf|archive-date=March 24, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> name was legitimate: [[Aeronaves de Mexico]] had begun [[Douglas DC-6]] service to [[Hermosillo]] and beyond in 1961. In the mid-1970s successor airline [[Aeromexico]] flew [[McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30]]s nonstop to Hermosillo and on to [[Ciudad Obregon]], [[Culiacan]], [[Guadalajara]] and [[Mexico City]].<ref>February 1, 1976 Official Airline Guide</ref> [[Bonanza Air Lines]] began DC-9 jet service to Mexico in the late 1960s with flights to [[Mazatlan]], [[La Paz]] and [[Puerto Vallarta]],<ref>http://www.timetableimages.com, April 28, 1968 Bonanza timetable</ref> and successor airlines [[Air West]] and [[Hughes Airwest]] flew DC-9s from Tucson to Mexico with their service being extended to Guadalajara, Mazatlan, La Paz and Puerto Vallarta.<ref>http://www.timetableimages.com, July 1, 1968 Air West timetable</ref><ref>http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1972 Hughes Airwest timetable</ref> By late 1989, three Mexican air carriers were serving the airport: [[Aero California]] with nonstop [[Douglas DC-9-10]] jet service from Los Cabos, [[Aeromexico]] with nonstop [[McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30]] jet service from both [[Guaymas]] and Hermosillo, and [[Aviacion del Noroeste]] with nonstop [[Fokker F27]] turboprop service from Hermosillo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.departedflights.com/TUS89intro.html|title = TUS89intro}}</ref> The terminal underwent minor remodeling during the 1960s and 1970s, and its interior was featured in the 1974 film ''[[Death Wish (1974 film)|Death Wish]]'' starring [[Charles Bronson]]. From the early 1970s to the early 1980s [[Cochise Airlines]] was based in Tucson. This commuter airline operated [[Cessna 402]]s, [[Convair 440]]s, [[de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter]]s and [[Swearingen Metroliner]]s. Cochise scheduled passenger flights to cities in Arizona and southern California. A remodeling in 1985 doubled the size of the terminal from 150,000 to 300,000 sq ft and rebuilt the concourse into separate, two-level structures with jet bridges.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Tucson Airport Authority |url=http://www.flytucson.com/includes/media/images/2014-History-of-TAA.pdf |publisher=Tucson Airport Authority |date=2014 |access-date=May 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524004024/http://www.flytucson.com/includes/media/images/2014-History-of-TAA.pdf |archive-date=May 24, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1987 the airport lengthened the primary runway a half-mile to the southeast for noise abatement reasons and installed arresting barriers for military planes.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1987-02-11 |title=Tucson airport runway work expected to cut down noise |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-daily-star-tucson-airport-runway/159649240/ |access-date=2024-11-24 |work=Arizona Daily Star |page=C10 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> A Concourse Renovation Project was finished in 2005βthe last phase of a remodeling begun in 2000 that added {{convert|82000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} to ticketing and baggage claim designed by [[HNTB]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hntb.com/our-work/projects/tucson-airport-expansion-tucson-arizona|title=HNTB β Tucson Airport Expansion|access-date=June 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701114215/http://www.hntb.com/our-work/projects/tucson-airport-expansion-tucson-arizona|archive-date=July 1, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> On March 19, 2008, the previous East and West concourses and gates were renumbered with the East Concourse becoming Concourse A: Gates A1βA9, and the West Concourse becoming Concourse B: Gates B1βB11. In 2019, the Tucson Airport became the third facility in Arizona with an [[ATP Flight School]] training center.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rico |first=Gabriela |date=2019-12-31 |title=Tucson Real Estate: New flight school lands at Tucson airport |url=https://tucson.com/business/tucson-real-estate-new-flight-school-lands-at-tucson-airport/article_1af42031-0e12-563a-8907-8cea633e6598.html |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=Arizona Daily Star |language=en}}</ref> In January 2014, the Tucson Airport Authority board approved a no-cost, 20-year property lease with the Federal Aviation Administration for a property on which to build a new federally-funded control tower to replace the 1950s vintage tower currently in use. The new tower is located on the south side of the airport, near Aero Park Blvd. On April 6, 2016, the Tucson Airport Authority announced the Terminal Optimization Program (TOP). The program (campaign name, ''A Brighter TUS'') includes a variety of terminal improvements, including relocation and improved capacity at the Security Screening Checkpoints, enhanced concession and revenue opportunities, upgrade of building systems, and maximizing use of space. Renovation began in June 2016 and was completed in November 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flytucson.com/includes/media/docs/Whats-New-at-TIA-4_6_16.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=May 25, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519013110/http://www.flytucson.com/includes/media/docs/Whats-New-at-TIA-4_6_16.pdf |archive-date=May 19, 2016 }}</ref> Effective November 30, 2023, the airport closed runway 11R/29L permanently and began construction of a new south parallel runway and center taxiway. The project will take about 2 years to complete and open sometime in 2026. Runway 11L/29R was renumbered 12/30 and the crosswind runway 3/21 was renumbered 4/22. When completed, the new parallel runway will be designated 12R/30L and 12/30 will be designated 12L/30R.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.faa.gov/tus|title=TUS Long-Term Airfield Changes|website=faa.gov|accessdate= December 1, 2023}}</ref>
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