Quad City International Airport - History

History

Franing Field, the site of the present Quad City International Airport, was picked as an ideal flying field, which consisted of 120 acres (49 ha) of level, grassy land free of obstacles. The airport made headlines right at the start, chosen as a control point for the first coast-to-coast flight in the fall of 1919. On August 18, 1927, an estimated 10,000 people came to welcome Charles Lindbergh in Moline and his famous plane, the Spirit of St. Louis on the Gugenheim tour, a cross-country commercial aviation promotion tour. In 1929, Phoebe Omlie set an altitude record above the airport in a Velie Monocoupe, the only plane ever manufactured in Moline, which still hangs in the passenger terminal. In 1947, the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Rock Island County was formed after seven townships voted to establish it. In 1957, the first count of enplaning and deplaning passengers was made with a total of 59,701 recorded. The airport underwent major remodeling in 1961 and 1968, adding everything from baggage claim to a restaurant and passenger boarding areas. The current airport terminal was completed in 1985, after studies showed that an addition to the 1954 structure would prove more costly than building an entirely new terminal. The shift to the new $11 million terminal created many new opportunities for expansion of airline facilities. Between 1979 and 1986, the number of airlines increased from two to seven.

Major carriers flying mainline jets to the Quad Cities have included AirTran Airways, America West Airlines, American Airlines, Allegiant Air, Northwest Airlines, Ozark Air Lines, Pan American World Airways, Trans World Airlines and United Airlines. At one time Mississippi Valley Airlines had its headquarters on the airport property. In the early and mid-1990s, turboprop equipment was much more prevalent. Northwest Airlink as well as other airlines operated daily flights to/from QCIA on Saab 340B turboprop aircraft. Carriers have completely replaced their turboprop equipment with newer regional jets. Allegiant Air utilizes MD 80s.

In 2001, the terminal underwent a major renovation and expansion that included two new concourses, a larger baggage claim area, new restaurants, and gift shops. The completion of the project doubled the size of the passenger terminal. The Philadelphia architectural firm DPK&A designed the new passenger air terminal concourses.

The airport set its passenger record in 2007 when 484,212 passengers boarded flights while 481,930 deplaned for a total of 966,142 passengers. It surpassed the previous record of 911,522 set the previous year. In 2008 passenger numbers started to decline. That year a total of 957,087 total passengers enplaned and deplaned from the airport, down 1% from 2007. Total passenger numbers dropped to 842,633 in 2011 due in large part to the loss of Airtran Airways.