History
In August 1928, a property in Vandalia, Ohio was called the "Dayton Airport".
On December 17, 1936, the airport opened as the "Dayton Municipal Airport". The Dayton Municipal Airport had three 3,600-foot (1,100 m) concrete runways and connecting taxiways.
On September 15, 1947, the Dayton Municipal Airport became the largest commercial airport in Ohio. In 1952, the city of Dayton named the airport "James M. Cox-Dayton Municipal Airport" in honor of the former Governor of Ohio and Democratic candidate for President of the United States. To meet the demands for air service, a ground breaking ceremony was held in 1959 for construction of a new $5.5 million terminal building designed by Yount, Sullivan and Lecklider, which was completed in 1961. The airport's name became "James M. Cox Dayton International Airport" in 1975.
The airport was a hub for Piedmont Airlines opening July 1, 1982 until its merger with US Airways. After the merger, USAirways continued to maintain Dayton as a hub for a short while. USAir, and its successor US Airways, kept Dayton as a Midwest focus-city with routes to other major cities. The airport also served as a hub for Emery Worldwide, a freight carrier.
Dayton International Airport experienced growth during the 1980s. In 1981, Emery Worldwide completed construction of an air freight/cargo hub sortation facility adjacent to Runway 6L–24R. Emery constructed additions to the facility until the early 1990s, making it one of the largest air freight facilities in the world at the time.
A $50 million renovation of the airport's terminal building, designed by Levin Porter Associates, was completed in 1989. In addition, a new 2-lane access road was installed to facilitate traveling to and from the airport.
In 1998, the airport commenced renovation of the terminal building. This $25 million project was completed in 2002. The renovations included installation of energy efficient climate control systems, lighting, windows and entry/exit doorways, as well as a new paging system, ceiling tiles and carpeting. Also during this period, the news, gift shops, and food and beverage concessionaires improved their respective leased areas in the terminal building.
Today, the airport covers over 4,500 acres (18 km2), and has approximately 4.7 miles (7.6 km) of runway. The Dayton International Airport is served by fifteen airlines and has sixteen non-stop destinations. The airport has an estimated $1 billion economic impact on the Dayton area economy.
Read more about this topic: Dayton International Airport
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