Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport (IATA Airport Code STL) is the primary airport for Saint Louis, Missouri and the surrounding area. In 2003, over 20 million passengers traveled through the airport.

History

The airport was originally a balloon launching base named Kinloch Field. The Wright brothers visited the field while touring with their aircraft, and Theodore Roosevelt flew on their aircraft while it was visiting, becoming the first U.S. president to fly.

In 1920, Major Albert Bond Lambert purchased the field and developed it into an airport with hangars and a terminal. Charles Lindbergh departed the airport for his record-breaking flight to Paris in 1927. Later that year, Lambert sold the airport, now known as Lambert Field, to the City of St. Louis. Lambert thus became the first municipal airport in the United States.

Before World War II, Robertson Airlines, Marquette Airlines, and Eastern Airlines provided passenger service to St. Louis. During the war, the airport became a manufacturing base for McDonnell Aircraft and Curtiss-Wright.

After the war, Minoru Yamasaki was commissioned to design a new passenger terminal at Lambert. Completed in 1956, the four-domed terminal design inspired future terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris.

Trans World Airlines gradually became Lambert's dominant carrier, and established a hub there in the 1980s. The St. Louis hub survived TWA's bankruptcy in 1993, and by the late 1990's it accounted for almost all of the airline's operations.

After American Airlines bought TWA and merged its flight operations in 2001, Lambert became a reliever for American's existing hubs at Chicago O'Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth. American transferred many mainline TWA routes to American Connection, a group of affiliated regional carriers. Passenger traffic, which peaked at 30.5 million in 2000, dropped to 20.4 million in 2003.

Terminals

Main Terminal

Concourse A

• Air Canada Jazz Gates A18, A19, A21 (Toronto)
• America West Airlines Gate A16 (Phoenix)
• Continental Airlines Gate A14 (Houston Bush, Newark)
• Continental Express Gate A14 (Houston Bush, Cleveland, Newark)
• Delta Air Lines Gates A2, A4, A6 (Atlanta, Cincinnati)
• Comair dba Delta Connection Gates A2, A4, A6 (Atlanta, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City)
• Northwest Airlines Gates A3, A5 (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul)
• Mesaba Airlines dba Northwest Airlink Gates A3, A5 (Memphis)
• United Airlines Gates A18-A19, A21 (Chicago O'Hare, Denver)
• United Express Gates A18-A19, A21 (Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Washington Dulles)
• US Airways Express Gate A15 (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh)

Concourse B

• American Connection (Turboprop flights only -- Bloomington/Normal, Burlington IA, Cape Girardeau, Cedar Rapids, Champaign/Urbana, Columbia MO, Decatur, Des Moines, Evansville, Fayetteville AR, Fort Leonard Wood, Indianapolis, Jackson TN, Joplin, Kirksville, Madison, Marion, Memphis, Nashville, Owensboro, Paducah, Peoria, Quincy, Springfield IL, Springfield MO)

Concourse C

• American Airlines (Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Cancun, Chicago O'Hare, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York LaGuardia, Orange County, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Seattle, Tampa, Tulsa)
• American Connection (Regional Jet flights only -- Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Dayton, Denver, Des Moines, Hartford, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, Newark, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Antonio, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington Dulles, Washington Reagan, Wichita)
• American Eagle (Boston, Raleigh/Durham)

Concourse D

• Frontier Airlines Gate D6 (Denver, Cancun)

East Terminal

Concourse E

• Midwest Connect Gate E31 (Milwaukee)
• Southwest Airlines Gates E2-E24 (Albuquerque, Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham, Chicago Midway, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston Hobby, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Louisville, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Tampa, Tulsa)
• USA 3000 Airlines Gates E-29, E-31, E-33 (Ft. Myers, St. Petersburg)

Transit

The airport is served by two Metrolink light rail stations, which offer direct service to downtown St. Louis and the suburbs in Illinois, one station stopping at the newer East Terminal, with the other station connecting to the Main terminal.

Expansion Plans

Lambert Airport is in the first phase of a major expansion, the largest capital improvement project in St. Louis history. It is expected to be completed in the first part of 2006. The first phase includes:

• construction of a nearly two mile (3 km) long third parallel runway;
• the purchase of more than 1500 acres (6 km²) of land and over 1900 residences, primarily in Bridgeton;
• relocating seven major roads;
• building Missouri's first traffic tunnel;
• moving a Missouri Air National Guard facility and several airport support operations; and
• funding the design and construction of a new school in the Pattonville School District.

The $1.1 billion first phase is funded by fees collected from users of the aviation system.

External Links

• The airport's website
• Lambert's Expansion Program