Des Moines International Airport is a joint civilian-military commercial service airport 5 miles (8 km) southwest of

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, the capital of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. The airport's 2,600 acre campus includes two runways, 46 buildings, 7 parking facilities, and the terminal. Six commercial airlines offer service from DSM (American, Allegiant, Delta, Frontier, Southwest and United). The airport is managed by the Des Moines Airport Authority. The

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. With the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of September 3, 1982, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was required to develop a ...

for 2017–2021 called it a primary commercial service airport. In 2016 a record 2.48 million passengers used the airport, up 5 percent from 2015. In 2019, DSM served 2.92 million passengers, a record for the airport. The airport hosts the 132nd Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard.

History

In the 1920s the Des Moines area had several small airports for general aviation and

airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...

. In 1929, the Iowa General Assembly passed a law allowing cities to sell bonds and levy assessments to build municipal airports. Over 80 sites were considered for the Des Moines Airport until a decision was made to build on 160 acres (0.65 km²) of farmland south of the city. Construction of the airport began in 1932 and was completed in 1933. The airport's first passenger terminal was built shortly after the airport was completed. It was replaced by a new terminal in 1950 that has been expanded and renovated several times. The present concourses were built in 1970, along with the remodeling of the terminal. The airport itself has expanded several times from its original site and now covers 2,625 acres (10.6 km²). The airport was originally governed by the City of Des Moines' Parks Department. A separate Aviation Department was established by the city during the 1960s, and in 1982, a separate Aviation Policy Advisory Board was established. The airport was renamed the Des Moines International Airport in 1986 to acknowledge the presence of a

United States Customs Service The United States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted criminal in ...

office at the airport. In 2011, the City of Des Moines transferred control from the city to the Des Moines Airport Authority. The city retains ownership of the land but transfers title to all property and equipment to the

public authority A public-benefit nonprofit corporationnonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity orga ...

. In turn, the authority agreed to a 99-year lease on the land. In 2016, a record 2.48 million passengers used the airport, up 5 percent from 2015.

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

records say the airport had 919,990 passenger boardings (enplanements) in

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2008, 853,596 in 2009 and 932,828 in 2011. In July 2021, the airport announced plans to become a base for

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air is an American ultra low-cost carrier, ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline focuses on serving leisure traffic from small and medium-sized cities which it considers to be underserved, using an ult ...

Expansion

Interior renovation work began in 2009 on the airport and concluded in 2010. The project, designed by Brooks Borg Skiles AE LLP, included new carpets, paint, gate counters, seating, a new ceiling, signage, and a fire sprinkler system. Also included in the upgrade was a common-use project allowing any airline to use any gate at the airport. A new restroom was also added to the C concourse to allow for future concourse expansion. The airport modernized baggage handling capabilities with expanded processing facilities as well. In addition to work inside the passenger terminal, the airport was building a rental car facility and new parking facilities. Throughout 2022 and 2023, major construction at the airport involved the complete reconstruction of runway 05/23, and ongoing (as of September 2023) construction that led 31/13 to be closed as well.

Terminal replacement

In April 2022, the Des Moines International Airport released their terminal study, calling for a new terminal building to be built, replacing the current one. Older plans capped the airport capacity to 17 gates, 5 more than their current terminal design. The new plan allows for a minimum of 18 gates with a further expansion option of up to 22 gates and 5 additional commercial aircraft parking spaces with the project being built in phases to mitigate costs. In May of 2022, the airport asked the surrounding towns and counties to contribute more than $2 million to the airport expansion plans. Work on the new terminal project is set to begin in 2024 with an estimated price tag of $769 million.

Facilities

Des Moines International Airport lobby area

The airport covers 2,625 acres (1,062 ha) at an elevation of 958 feet (292 m). It has two runways: 5/23 is 9,004 by 150 feet (2,744 x 46 m); 13/31 is 9,001 by 150 feet (2,744 x 46 m). In the year ending December 31, 2021, the airport had 66,320 aircraft operations, average 182 per day: 44% airline, 9% air taxi, 44%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

and 4% military. 105 aircraft were then based at the airport: 63 single-engine, 16 multi-engine, 23 jet, and three

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

. The terminal has two concourses; concourse A with gates A1–A5 (used by

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

, and

United Express United Express is a regional airline network that supports United Airlines operations, primarily by serving smaller cities and connecting traffic to United's main hubs. Representing six percent of United's total capacity for 2024, United Express ...

) and concourse C, with gates C1–C7 (used by

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

, American Eagle,

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a brand name under which Delta Air Lines has air service agreements with domestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to their network by serving passengers primarily in small and medium-sized cities in the domestic mark ...

, Allegiant Airlines and

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines, Inc. is a major American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 120 destinations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, and employs more than 5,000 staff. ...

). Five B-labeled parking spots are used for light aircraft maintenance and temporary parking of airliners. This area is located to the south of the terminal. The airport is home to a maintenance base for Endeavor Air.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Air National Guard

The Iowa Air National Guard has occupied an area located at the end of runway 13/31 since the 1960s and has been home to the 132nd Wing. With the increased need of remotely piloted aircraft,

Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ISTAR stands for Military intelligence, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, #ISTAR, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employ ...

(ISR) and

cyber warfare Cyberwarfare is the use of cyber attacks against an enemy state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, manipulation or economic ...

in the 21st century the U.S. Air Force transitioned the 132nd from a

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

fighter unit to an ISR and cyber warfare unit starting in 2013. This ended the 132nd's nearly 70-year history as a fighter wing, having previously flown P-51 Mustangs, then F-84 Thunderstreaks, F-100 Super Sabres, and A-7 Corsair IIs, finally transitioning to the F-16 Falcon in the 1980s. Initially it had been considered to transition the wing to the

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in 2014. However, it was felt by Iowa legislators that the ISR mission would offer more training and skills to the airmen of the 132nd which would be applicable in the 21st century and help boost Iowa's economy. The 132nd's predecessor units participated in air combat during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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, and the

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. These mission changes created some debate over the base's status as a military base, as the Des Moines Airport attempted to void the base's lease and charge "fair market value" for its use, consistent with FAA funding rules at the time. In addition, the removal of the fighters had resulted in the disbanding of the Guard's firefighting unit, forcing the airport to privatize firefighting operations which the base's unit had previously provided. The dispute was addressed in the short term by the reassignment of Black Hawk helicopters from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment, of the Iowa Army National Guard, from

Boone, Iowa Boone ( ) is a city in Des Moines Township, Boone County, Iowa, Des Moines Township, and county seat of Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Boone ...

, to the base, occupying the hangars that formerly held F-16s. This issue was permanently resolved by President Obama's signature on H.R. 5944, which allowed airports continued access to FAA grant funding by classifying remotely piloted vehicle operations as aeronautical. With the addition of the Army National Guard unit to the base, a transition to a joint base status has begun. Eventually, Air National Guard operations will occupy the area to the west of the main gate, while Army operations will occupy the east.

Statistics

Annual traffic

Accidents and incidents

* On December 2, 1978,

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

A N41447 of SMB Stage Line crashed short of the runway while on a cargo flight from

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Both occupants survived. Airframe icing was a factor in the accident. * On November 25, 1985, a Rockwell Aero Commander crashed on approach due to icing and possibly wake turbulence, killing the pilot and six members of the

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

women's cross country team. * On November 3, 2000, a Luscombe 8A, privately owned and piloted by Lt. Col. Michael O'Grady, Operations Group commander for the 132d Fighter Wing, crashed and was destroyed when during an approach to land on runway 31R, killing the pilot. The

NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inc ...

report cited pilot error as the main case of the crash. * On December 18, 2010, a small red

Beechcraft Bonanza The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous productio ...

crashed while performing an emergency landing at DSM. The Airport Director stated that the small craft had engine problems and turned around for the airport. The aircraft eventually lost the engine and pilot was able to glide to the end of the runway. The aircraft clipped the end of the runway fence with its landing gear, making the nose of the craft dip into the snow. Police and emergency reported only minor injuries.

References

Sources

External links

Des Moines International Airport
official site
Aerial image as of 5 April 2000
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a Collaboration, collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the eff ...

'' * * {{Authority control Airports in Iowa Buildings and structures in Des Moines, Iowa Transportation in Des Moines, Iowa Transportation buildings and structures in Polk County, Iowa Airports established in 1932 1932 establishments in Iowa