Image from Minnesota Historical Society, via Wikipedia
Your Guide to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
Welcome to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the Midwest United State’s second largest airport, after Chicago’s O’Hare. This gateway serves about 45 million passengers (pre-COVID, 2019) annually, connecting people to over 160 destinations in more than 20 countries globally. MSP is very important for passengers connecting from smaller cities in the Midwest (like those in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and even Nebraska), and regional jets are often seen jetting around the MIdwest to and from MSP.
The airport is Delta’s 2nd largest hub, after Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International, and home to Sun Country Airlines as well as Bemidji Airlines.
Opened in July of 1920 as Speedway Field, on an abandoned racetrack, the airport was just a dusty runway and a couple of wood hangars, visited every few days by airmail pilots. When Northwest Airlines was founded in the 1920s, the airport was fueled by the growth of the airline, and by the 1940s was one of the biggest in the country.
In 1945, Northwest Orient launched flights from Minneapolis to Beijing and Tokyo, via Anchorage, a first for any airline. The airport continued to grow as flying became more and more commonplace.
When Northwest collapsed in 2008, Delta bought out most of its modern Airbus fleet, many of which still bless the runways of MSP to this day.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has 2 terminals, which I will detail below.
Terminal 1- Lindbergh: MSP’s T1, named for aviation and MInnesota native Charles LIndbergh, is the larger of the two. Side note; the name is likely to be changed in the coming years, as Charles Lindbergh promoted antisemitic ideology which MSP says is “not acceptable under any circumstances.” The Terminal serves most of the airlines (see: Airlines & Destinations), and has 147 jetways, including 17 compatible with wide bodies and 3 that can handle the 747-8i or A380-800.
Terminal 2- Humphrey: MSP’s T2 is named for Hubert Humphrey, the well loved former Minnesota governor and vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson. This terminal has a mere 17 gates and serves mostly low cost carriers (see Airlines & Destinations). It has a double jetway able to support a 767, which Condor *and occasionally Icelandair) operates here. Gate 6 will be modified to support the A330neo, which Condor will replace the 767 with.
Each airline and its respective destinations, as well as the terminal it utilizes is listed below each drop-down.
Air Canada
Terminal 1
- Montreal (seasonally)
- Toronto
Air France
Terminal 1
- Paris- Charles de Gaulle
Alaska Airlines
Terminal 1
- Seattle/Tacoma International Airport
- Portland (OR)
- Anchorage (seasonally)
Allegiant
Terminal 2
- Asheville
- Vestin/Fort Waldin Beach (FL)
- Knoxville
- Phoenix/Mesa
- Punta Gorda (FL)
- Sarasota
- West Palm Beach (seasonally)
American/American Eagle
Terminal 1
- Charlotte
- Chicago/O’Hare
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Miami
- Philadelphia
- Washington/National
- Phoenix/ Sky Harbor
- New York/ LaGuardia
Breeze
- Hartford (seasonally)
Condor
Terminal 2
- Frankfurt (seasonally)
Delta Mainline
Terminal 1
- Amsterdam
- Anchorage
- Atlanta
- Aberdeen (ND)
- Albuquerque
- Asheville
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Bismarck (ND)
- Billings
- Boise
- Buffalo (NY)
- Burlington (VT)
- Boston
- Belize City (seasonally)
- Calgary
- Casper (WY)
- Cancun
- Cozumel
- Cleveland
- Columbus/Glenn
- Charlotte
- Charleston (SC)
- Chicago/ Midway
- Chicago/O’Hare
- Cincinnati
- Colorado Springs
- Dallas/ Fort Worth
- Dallas/ Love Field
- Denver
- Destin/Fort Walvin Beach
- Duluth (MN)
- Detroit
- Eagle (CO)
- Fargo
- Fairbanks
- Fort Lauderdale
- Fort Myers
- Key West (NEW seasonally)
- Kalispell
- Grand Forks
- Grand Rapids
- Madison
- Milwaukee
- Montego Bay
- Myrtle Beach
- Missoula
- Nashville
- Harlingen (TX)
- Hayden/Steamboat Springs (CO)
- Long Beach (CA)
- Newark
- New Orleans
- Nashville
- New York/ JFK
- New York/ LaGuardia
- Orange County
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Paris/ Charles de Gaulle
- Palm Springs
- Providence (RI)
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
- Phoenix/Sky Harbor
- Punta Cana
- Puerto Vallarta
- Portland (OR)
- Portland (ME)
- Raleigh/Durham
- Reno/Tahoe
- Reykjavik/Keflavik
- Rochester (MN)
- Rochester (NY)
- Rapid City
- Roanoke (VA)
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- Savannah (GA)
- San Fransisco
- San Diego
- San Jose (CA)
- San Jose del Cabo
- San Juan (Puerto Rico)
- Santa Ana (CA)
- Sarasota (FL)
- Seattle/Tacoma
- Seoul
- Sioux Falls
- Spokane (WA)
- St. Louis
- Tampa
- Tri Cities (WA)
- Tucson
- Tokyo-Handea
- Vancouver
- Washington/National
- Washington/Dulles
- Winnipeg
- Jackson Hole (WY)
- Liberia (CR)
Delta Connection
Terminal 1
- Appleton (WI)
- Bemidji (MN)
- Bismarck (ND)
- Brainerd (MN)
- Cedar Rapids/Iowa City (IO)
- Chicago/Midway
- Chicago/O’Hare
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus- Glenn
- Des Moines (IO)
- Duluth (MN)
- Escanaba (MI)
- Eau Claire (WI)
- Fargo (ND)
- Fayetteville/Bentonville (AR)
- Fort Wayne (IN)
- Grand Forks (ND)
- Grand Rapids (MI)
- Great Falls (MT)
- Green Bay (WI)
- Hibbing (MN)
- Indianapolis (IN)
- International Falls (MN)
- Iron Mountain (MI)
- Kansas City
- Louisville
- Madison (WI)
- Memphis (TN)
- Milwaukee (WI)
- Minot (ND)
- Missoula (MT)
- Montreal
- Moisnee/Wausau (WI)
- Newark
- Oklahoma City (OK)
- Rapid City (SD)
- Rhinelander (WI)
- Richmond (VA)
- Rochester (MN)
- Sault Ste. Marie (MI)
- Sioux Falls (SD)
- South Bend (IN)
- St. Louis
- Toronto
- Tri-Cities (WA)
- Traverse City (MI)
- Thief River Falls (MN)
- Washington/Dulles
- Wichita (KS)
- Williston (ND)
Denver Air Connecition
Terminal 1
- Ironwood (MI)
- Thief River Falls (MN)
Frontier Airlines
Terminal 2
- Atlanta
- Cancun
- Denver
- Las Vegas
- Austin (seasonally)
- Fort Myers (seasonally)
- Tampa (seasonally)
- Orlando (seasonally)
Icelandair
Terminal 2
- Reykjavik/ Keflavik (seasonally)
JetBlue
Terminal 2
- Boston
- New York/ JFK
KLM
Terminal 1
- Amsterdam
Red Way
UNKNOWN
- Lincoln (NE- starting June 16, 2023)
Southwest Airlines
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Chicago/Midway
- Denver
- Dallas/ Love Field
- Kansas City
- Las Vegas
- Nashville
- Fort Lauderdale
- Fort Myers
- Phoenix/ Sky Harbor
- Saint Louis
- Sarasota
- Tampa
Spirit Airlines
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Detroit
- Dallas/ Love Field
- Fort Lauderdale
- Fort Myers
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Myrtle Beach
- New Orleans
- Orlando
- Phoenix/ Sky Harbor
- Tampa
Sun Country Airlines
Terminal 2
- Asheville
- Branson
- Cancun
- Dallas/ Fort Worth
- Denver
- Eau Claire
- Fort Myers
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Nashville
- Newark
- Orlando
- Portland (OR)
- San Fransisco
- San Diego
- San Juan (Puerto Rico)
- Anchorage
- Aruba
- Baltimore
- Belize City
- Boston
- Bozeman
- Buffalo
- Burlington (VT)
- Charleston (SC)
- Charlotte
- Chicago–O’Hare
- Cincinnati
- Colorado Springs
- Columbus–Glenn
- Cozumel
- Destin/Fort Walton Beach
- Detroit
- Fort Lauderdale
- Glacier Park/Kalispell
- Grand Cayman
- Gulfport/Biloxi
- Harlingen
- Hartford
- Houston–Intercontinental
- Indianapolis
- Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
- Jackson Hole
- Jacksonville (FL)
- Kansas City
- Liberia (CR)
- Louisville
- Mazatlán
- Melbourne/Orlando
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Montego Bay
- Myrtle Beach
- New Orleans
- New York–JFK
- Obama
- Palm Springs
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix/Mesa
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Providence
- Providenciales
- Puerto Vallarta
- Punta Cana
- Punta Gorda
- Raleigh/ Durham
- Reno/Tahoe
- Richmond
- Roatán
- San Antonio
- San José del Cabo
- Sarasota
- Savannah
- St. Louis
- St. Maarten
- St. Petersburg/Clearwater
- St. Thomas
- Spokane
- Traverse City
- Tucson
- Vancouver
- West Palm Beach
- Wilmington
United/United Express
Terminal 1
- Houston
- Denver
- Chicago/O’Hare
- Newark
- Washington/Dulles
- San Fransisco
WestJet
Terminal 2
- Saskatoon
- Edmonton
KMSP features 4 runways, detailed below.
04/22
Length/Width: 11,006 x 150 ft
Material: Concrete
Parallel/Intersecting?: Intersects all
17/35
Length/Width: 8,000 x 150 ft
Material: Concrete
Parallel/Intersecting?: Intersects 04/22
12R/30L
Length/Width: 10,000 x 150 ft
** Material:** Concrete
** Parallel/Intersecting?:** parallel to 12L/30R, intersects 04/22
12L/30R
Length/Width: 10,000 x 150 ft
** Material:** Concrete
** Parallel/Intersecting?:** parallel to 12R/30L, intersects 04/22