Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport

Introduction

Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (IATA: MSP, ICAO: KMSP, FAA LID: MSP), also less commonly known as Wold–Chamberlain Field, is a joint civil-military public use international airport. It is located in a portion of Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of both downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul. MSP is the largest and busiest airport in the six-state Upper Midwest region of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. A joint civil-military airport, MSP is also home to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Joint Air Reserve Station, supporting both Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard flight operations.

In 2017, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport was the 17th busiest airport in the United States. The airport was named best Airport in North America among air terminals that serve 25 to 40 million passengers annually, the second largest category, in 2016, 2017 and 2018 by The Airports Council International. The airport generates an estimated $15.9 billion a year for the Twin Cities' economy and supports 87,000 workers.

MSP is the third largest hub airport for Delta Air Lines and its Delta Connection partners by passenger traffic. It also serves as the home airport for Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines. Delta Air Lines and its regional affiliates account for about 70% of the airport's passenger traffic. The airport is operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which also handles the operation of six smaller airports in the region.

For more information about other airports throughout the world, also see the list of airports.

Getting there and away

The terminal buildings are directly located off of Minnesota State Highway 5. Several other major highways that border the airport are Minnesota State Highway 62, Minnesota State Highway 77, and Interstate 494.

Metro Transit operates bus route 54 to MSP. The bus stop is located at Terminal 1. Passengers arriving in Terminal 2 must take the light rail to the bus stop location.

The METRO light rail Blue Line has stops at both the Hub Building Terminal 1 (Lindbergh Station) and Terminal 2 Humphrey Terminal (Humphrey Station). It connects the airport with downtown Minneapolis as well as with the Mall of America in nearby Bloomington and operates as a shuttle service between the two airport terminals. Travelers can use the rail line to go between the two sites at all times; it is the only part of the line that operates continuously through the night (the rest shuts down for about four hours early in the morning). Two parallel tunnels for the line run roughly 70 feet (21 meters) below the airport and at 1.7 mi (2.7 km) in length are the longest tunnels on the route. The Lindbergh Terminal 1 station is the only underground station on the line, as the rails return to the surface near Humphrey Terminal 2. Due to current concerns about terrorism, a great deal of effort went into ensuring that the tunnels are highly blast-resistant. The underground portion was the costliest section of the entire rail project.

Getting around

Two trams (people movers) are at the airport. One carries passengers from the main section of Lindbergh Terminal to the Hub Building, and another runs along the long Concourse C in that terminal. The Hiawatha Line (see above) is the free ride between the terminals.

Airlines, Destinations and Terminals

Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport has two terminals with a total of 131 gates, both of which were named for famous Minnesotans: the Lindbergh Terminal 1 (named after the aviator Charles Lindbergh) and the smaller Humphrey Terminal 2 (named for former US Vice President Hubert Humphrey). The terminals are on different sides of the airfield and not interconnected; one who wishes to transfer between terminals must take the free Light Rail.

Terminal 1, the larger of the two terminals, has seven concourses, lettered A–G, although they are all interconnected and can be accessed by either the north or south security checkpoints. Terminal 1 has 117 gates with more gates being constructed in the coming years to accommodate the growing number of passengers. Concourse C has a tram that goes from Gate C1 to gate C27, with a stop in the middle near Gate C11. There is a skyway that connects concourse G with concourse C. All international arrivals at Terminal 1 from airports without border pre-clearance are handled at concourse G. Terminal 1 houses the Delta hub, as well as Air Canada, Air Choice One, Alaska, American, Boutique Air, Frontier, Spirit and United. Delta operates two Sky Clubs within the terminal, while United operates a United Club in Concourse E.

Terminal 2, known as the Humphrey Terminal consists entirely of Concourse H. The old Humphrey Terminal 2, built in 1986, was rebuilt in 2001 to expand capacity and give passengers a more seamless experience. The terminal now has 14 gates and houses the primary hub for Sun Country Airlines, as well as Condor, Icelandair, JetBlue and Southwest.

For more information about airlines, also see the list of airlines and the details about budget airlines.

• Aer Lingus - Dublin
• Air Canada Express - Toronto-Pearson
• Air Choice One - Fort Dodge, Ironwood, Mason City
• Air France - Seasonal: Paris–Charles de Gaulle
• Alaska Airlines - Portland (OR), San Diego (ends January 6, 2020), Seattle/Tacoma
• American Airlines - Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Philadelphia, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
• American Eagle - Chicago–O'Hare, Miami, New York–LaGuardia, Washington–National
• Boutique Air - Thief River Falls
• Condor - Seasonal: Frankfurt
• Delta Air Lines - Amsterdam, Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Billings, Bismarck, Boise, Boston, Bozeman, Buffalo, Calgary, Cancún, Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus–Glenn, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, Fargo, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Hartford, Houston–Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Jacksonville (FL), Kansas City, Las Vegas, London–Heathrow, Los Angeles, Madison, Memphis, Mexico City, Miami, Milwaukee, Missoula, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, New York–JFK, New York–LaGuardia, Omaha, Orange County, Orlando, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Philadelphia, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Raleigh/Durham, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul–Incheon, Sioux Falls, Spokane, St. Louis, Tampa, Tokyo–Haneda, Vancouver, Washington–Dulles, Washington–National, Winnipeg, Seasonal: Albany, Albuquerque, Appleton, Aruba, Cozumel, Fairbanks, Grand Cayman, Hayden/Steamboat Springs, Honolulu, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Jackson Hole, Kalispell, Liberia (CR), Mazatlán, Montego Bay, Nassau, Palm Springs, Puerto Vallarta, Punta Cana, Rapid City, Reno/Tahoe, Reykjavík–Keflavík, Rochester (NY), Saskatoon, San Antonio, San José del Cabo, San Juan, Sarasota (begins January 11, 2020),[34] Syracuse, Toronto–Pearson, Traverse City, Tucson
• Delta Connection - Aberdeen (SD), Appleton, Baltimore, Bemidji, Billings, Bismarck, Bozeman, Brainerd, Buffalo, Calgary, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Charlotte, Chicago–Midway, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus–Glenn, Dayton, Des Moines, Duluth, Edmonton, Fargo, Fayetteville/Bentonville, Fort Wayne, Grand Forks, Grand Rapids, Great Falls, Green Bay, Hartford, Helena, Hibbing/Chisholm, Houston–Intercontinental, Indianapolis, International Falls, Iron Mountain, Kalamazoo, Kalispell, Kansas City, Knoxville, La Crosse, Lansing, Lexington, Lincoln, Louisville, Madison, Marquette, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minot, Missoula, Moline/Quad Cities, Montréal–Trudeau, Mosinee/Wausau, Newark, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Peoria, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Rapid City, Rhinelander, Richmond, Rochester (MN), Rochester (NY), Saginaw, San Antonio, Saskatoon, Sault Ste. Marie (MI), Sioux Falls, South Bend, St. Louis, Syracuse, Toronto–Pearson, Tri-Cities (WA), Tulsa, Washington–Dulles, Wichita, Williston (ND), Winnipeg, Seasonal: Albany, Aspen, Charleston (SC), Harlingen, Idaho Falls, Savannah, Traverse City, Vancouver, Washington–National
• Frontier Airlines - Denver, Seasonal: Austin, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, Trenton
• Icelandair Reykjavík-Keflavik
• JetBlue - Boston
• KLM - Amsterdam
• Southwest Airlines - Baltimore, Chicago–Midway, Dallas–Love, Denver, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, St. Louis, Seasonal: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Oakland, Orlando, Tampa
• Spirit Airlines - Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Orlando, Seasonal: Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Houston–Intercontinental, Myrtle Beach, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Tampa
• Sun Country Airlines All Year - Cancún, Chicago–O'Hare, Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Portland (OR), San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Seasonal: Anchorage, Aruba, Austin, Baltimore (begins May 8, 2020), Belize City, Boston, Bozeman (begins June 20, 2020), Cleveland (begins May 29, 2020), Cozumel, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Gulfport/Biloxi, Harlingen, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Liberia (CR), Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Miami, Montego Bay, Myrtle Beach, Nassau (begins December 20, 2019), New Orleans, Palm Springs, Portland (ME) (begins June 18, 2020), Providence, Puerto Vallarta, Punta Cana, Sacramento, San Antonio, San José del Cabo, San Juan, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Sarasota (begins December 20, 2019), Savannah, St. Louis, St. Thomas, Tampa, Tucson, Washington–Dulles
• United Airlines - Denver, Seasonal: Austin, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, Trenton
• United Express - Chicago–O'Hare, Houston–Intercontinental, Newark, San Francisco, Washington–Dulles

Keeping connected