Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
North American Hub
Hub Manager - MPMike
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (IATA: STL, ICAO: KSTL, FAA LID: STL) is an international airport serving Greater St. Louis. It is about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown St. Louis in unincorporated St. Louis County between Berkeley and Bridgeton. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state with 250 daily departures to about 90 domestic and international locations. In 2010, 12.3 million passengers traveled through the airport.
Named for Albert Bond Lambert, an Olympic medalist and manufacturer of Listerine, the airport rose to international
prominence in the 20th century, thanks to its association with Charles Lindbergh, its groundbreaking air traffic control, its status as the hub of Trans World Airlines, and its iconic terminal. Designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the building inspired terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France.
The airport was originally a balloon launching base named Kinloch Field which was part of the 1890s Kinloch Park suburban development. The Wright brothers and their Exhibition Team visited the field while touring with their aircraft. During a visit to St. Louis, Theodore Roosevelt flew with pilot Arch Hoxsey on October 11, 1910, becoming the
first U.S. president to fly. Later, Kinloch hosted the first experimental parachute jump.
In June 1920 the Aero Club of St. Louis leased 170 acres of cornfield, the defunct Kinloch Racing Track and the Kinloch Airfield in October 1923, during The International Air Races. The field was officially dedicated as Lambert-St. Louis Flying Field in honor of Albert Bond Lambert, an Olympic silver medalist golfer in the 1904 Summer Games, president of Lambert Pharmaceutical Corporation (which made Listerine), and the first person to receive a pilot's license in St. Louis. In February 1925, "Major" (his 'rank' was given by the Aero Club and not the military) Lambert, bought the field and added hangars and a passenger terminal. Charles Lindbergh's first piloting job was flying airmail for Robertson Airlines from Lambert Field; he left the airport for New York about a week before his record-breaking flight to Paris in 1927. Later that year, Lambert sold the airport to the City of St. Louis, making it the first municipally-owned airport in the United States.
In the late 1920s, Lambert Field became the first airport with an air traffic control system—albeit one that communicated with pilots via waving flags.
The airport has two terminals with a total of 5 concourses. International flights and passengers use Terminal 2, whose lower level holds the Immigration and Customs gates. Passengers can move between the terminals on complimentary buses that run continuously, or via MetroLink. It is possible to walk between the terminals via Concourse D, however connection was blocked in 2008 with the closure of Concourse D.
About 8:10 p.m. on April 22, 2011, a EF4 tornado struck the airport's Terminal 1, destroying jetways and breaking more than half of the windows. One plane from Southwest Airlines was damaged when the wind pushed a baggage conveyor belt into it. Four American Airlines planes were damaged, including one that was buffeted by 80 mph crosswinds while taxiing after landing. One aircraft, with passengers still aboard, was moved away from its jetway by the storm. The FAA closed the airport on April 22 at 08:54 pm CDT, then reopened it the following day at temporarily lower capacity. The C concourse is expected to be renovated and fixed up by April 2012.
The damage to Concourse C forced several airlines to use vacant gates in the B and D concourses, including AirTran, American, Cape Air, and Frontier. Airport officials predict that it may take $30 million and until mid-2012 to completely recover. Later in the year, the TSA declared Lambert Airport its "Airport of the Year" for "exceptional courtesy, high-quality security" and the excellent response by airport officials during and after the tornado.
Named for Albert Bond Lambert, an Olympic medalist and manufacturer of Listerine, the airport rose to international
prominence in the 20th century, thanks to its association with Charles Lindbergh, its groundbreaking air traffic control, its status as the hub of Trans World Airlines, and its iconic terminal. Designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the building inspired terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France.
The airport was originally a balloon launching base named Kinloch Field which was part of the 1890s Kinloch Park suburban development. The Wright brothers and their Exhibition Team visited the field while touring with their aircraft. During a visit to St. Louis, Theodore Roosevelt flew with pilot Arch Hoxsey on October 11, 1910, becoming the
first U.S. president to fly. Later, Kinloch hosted the first experimental parachute jump.
In June 1920 the Aero Club of St. Louis leased 170 acres of cornfield, the defunct Kinloch Racing Track and the Kinloch Airfield in October 1923, during The International Air Races. The field was officially dedicated as Lambert-St. Louis Flying Field in honor of Albert Bond Lambert, an Olympic silver medalist golfer in the 1904 Summer Games, president of Lambert Pharmaceutical Corporation (which made Listerine), and the first person to receive a pilot's license in St. Louis. In February 1925, "Major" (his 'rank' was given by the Aero Club and not the military) Lambert, bought the field and added hangars and a passenger terminal. Charles Lindbergh's first piloting job was flying airmail for Robertson Airlines from Lambert Field; he left the airport for New York about a week before his record-breaking flight to Paris in 1927. Later that year, Lambert sold the airport to the City of St. Louis, making it the first municipally-owned airport in the United States.
In the late 1920s, Lambert Field became the first airport with an air traffic control system—albeit one that communicated with pilots via waving flags.
The airport has two terminals with a total of 5 concourses. International flights and passengers use Terminal 2, whose lower level holds the Immigration and Customs gates. Passengers can move between the terminals on complimentary buses that run continuously, or via MetroLink. It is possible to walk between the terminals via Concourse D, however connection was blocked in 2008 with the closure of Concourse D.
About 8:10 p.m. on April 22, 2011, a EF4 tornado struck the airport's Terminal 1, destroying jetways and breaking more than half of the windows. One plane from Southwest Airlines was damaged when the wind pushed a baggage conveyor belt into it. Four American Airlines planes were damaged, including one that was buffeted by 80 mph crosswinds while taxiing after landing. One aircraft, with passengers still aboard, was moved away from its jetway by the storm. The FAA closed the airport on April 22 at 08:54 pm CDT, then reopened it the following day at temporarily lower capacity. The C concourse is expected to be renovated and fixed up by April 2012.
The damage to Concourse C forced several airlines to use vacant gates in the B and D concourses, including AirTran, American, Cape Air, and Frontier. Airport officials predict that it may take $30 million and until mid-2012 to completely recover. Later in the year, the TSA declared Lambert Airport its "Airport of the Year" for "exceptional courtesy, high-quality security" and the excellent response by airport officials during and after the tornado.