Philadelphia Intl (Private Terminal)

A Legacy of Private Aviation

The present airport site was known as Hog Island, and the Pennsylvania National Guard began using it in 1925 as a training airfield. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh dedicated the site to Philadelphia Municipal Airport, although the terminal building was only opened in 1940. Until then, airlines used Camden Central Airport in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, but upon completion of the Terminal, American, Eastern, TWA, and United all moved their operations to Philadelphia. The United States Army Air Forces used the airport as a First Air Force training airfield in WWII. The Rising Sun School of Aeronautics of Coatesville performed primary flight training at the airport under contract to the Air Corps beginning in 1940. In contrast, after the Pearl Harbor attack, the I Fighter Command Philadelphia Fighter Wing used the airport to provide air defense of the Delaware Valley. Various units were assigned to the airport throughout the war before being sent to advanced training or being deployed overseas, including the 33rd, 58th, 355th, and 358th Fighter Groups. The airport's jurisdiction was transferred to the Air Technical Service Command in June 1943, establishing a sub-unit of Middletown Air Depot. Aircraft were repaired and overhauled before being returned to active service by the 855th Army Air Forces Specialized Depot. Furthermore, personnel was trained in radio repair and operations at the Philco Training School, which was established by the Army Air Forces Training Command on January 1st, 1943. Use of the airport was reduced (and returned to civil control) by the Air Force in September 1945 upon the culmination of the war. The airport was renamed Philadelphia International Airport in 1945, as American Overseas Airlines began direct flights to Europe. In 1953 a new terminal opened, and Terminals B and C were built in the late 50s (the oldest parts of the current Terminal). In the summer of 1959, the first jet flights began, TWA Boing 707s. Terminal B and C Modernization were completed in 1970, while Terminal opened in 1973 and Terminal E in 1977 at the cost of $300 million. Airline deregulation in 1978 allowed for airline hubs. Regional airline Altair Airlines had a small hab until it ceased operations in 1982. In the mid-1980s, Eastern Airlines had a hub in Concourse C, although it declined in the late 80s and sold its aircraft and gate leases to Midway Airlines (which ceased operations in 1991). In the 80s, US Airways (at the time, USAir) built a hub in Philadelphia. It was the dominant airline at PHL in the 80s and 90s, as it shifted most of its hub operations from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in 2003. As of 2013, PHL was US Airways' largest international hub (and second largest overall behind Charlotte). In 2015 US Airways merged with American Airlines, giving it a hub in PHL, which it has continued expanding to this day (at the cost of its JFK hub due to lower operation costs, greater slot availability, and a greater network of connecting flights). In 2002 construction of new entrance ramps from Interstate 95 to the Terminal A-West complex began, consisting of six bridges, more than 4,300 linear feet of retaining walls, and 7.7 lane miles of new pavement. Terminal A-West opened in 2003 with a 1,500-space parking garage (funded by airport revenue bonds sold by the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development). In 1947 and 1950, the airport had runways 4, 9, 12, and 17, all 5,400 feet (1,600 m) or less. In 1956 runway 9 was 7,284 feet; in 1959, it was 9,499 feet, and runway 12 was closed. Only a little changed until the early 1970s when runway 4 was closed, and 9R opened at 10,500 feet (it has since been expanded to 12,000 feet, the longest in the state of Pennsylvania). In May 2009, the Runway 17-35 Extension Project extended runway 17/35 to a length of 6,500 feet, extending it at both ends. Additional taxiways and aprons were also added, and perimeter service roads were relocated. As PHL has become a primary international gateway and hub for American Airlines, along with the growth of low-budget carriers such as Southwest Airlines and others, passenger traffic at PHL increased to record levels in the mid-00s.