Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport
IATA: ICT ICAO: KICT FAA LID: ICT
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of Wichita
Operator	Wichita Airport Authority
Serves	Southern Kansas
Location	Wichita, Kansas, United States
Elevation AMSL	1,333 ft / 406.3 m
Coordinates	37°39′0″N 97°25′59″W / 37.65000°N 97.43306°W / 37.65000; -97.43306
Website	flywichita.com
Maps
ICT Location in Kansas Show map of Kansas ICT Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Runway
Runway Length Surface ft m 1L/19R 10,301 3,140 Concrete 1R/19L 7,301 2,225 Concrete 14/32 6,301 1,921 Concrete
Statistics (2020)
Passengers 791,200

Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (IATA: ICT, ICAO: KICT, FAA LID: ICT) is a busy airport located about 7 miles (11 km) west of downtown Wichita, Kansas. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state of Kansas. The airport covers a huge area of 3,248 acres (1,314 hectares).

People often call it Eisenhower National Airport or by its old name, Mid-Continent Airport. The airport's special code, ICT, is also a popular nickname for the city of Wichita itself.

The airport used to be known as Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. Its name officially changed on November 13, 2014, to meet a deadline for new aviation maps. A brand new terminal building opened on June 3, 2015.

Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower Airport offers flights on seven major airlines. It's easy to reach from Highway 54 in Wichita. You can fly to many places like Denver, Los Angeles, Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

The airport is named after Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. His childhood home and museum are in Abilene, Kansas.

This airport is also home to the main office and factory for Cessna, a company that makes airplanes. There's also a service center for Bombardier Aerospace, which works on Learjet and other business jets.

Aviation History in Wichita

Since 1924, Wichita's main airport has changed a lot. It has had three major terminal buildings and even moved its location across the city.

Wichita's First Airport

In October 1924, Wichita hosted a big event called the National Air Congress. More than 100,000 people came! City planners used this event to raise money for a new airport, which they called Wichita Municipal Airport. Construction began on June 28, 1929. This airport was about 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the city.

During World War II, in August 1941, the Kansas National Guard's 127th Observation Squadron became the first military unit stationed at the airport.

By 1950, the United States Air Force wanted to make Wichita Airport a permanent military base. This was because Boeing was building B-47 Stratojet planes nearby. The city of Wichita received $9.4 million to build a new airport for its own use.

On May 31, 1951, the Air Force took over the old airport. Civilian and military planes shared it until the new city airport was ready in October 1954. The old Wichita Municipal Airport was then renamed Wichita Air Force Base, and later became McConnell Air Force Base.

The original terminal building was bought by the City of Wichita in 1980. Volunteers worked hard to clean it up. It was named the Kansas Aviation Museum and opened on April 19, 1991. It now shows off Kansas's amazing aviation history.

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  Kansas Aviation Museum, the old Wichita Municipal Airport terminal (1935-1951)

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  A cool carving of the Spirit of St. Louis plane above the entrance

The Mid-Continent Years

In 1951, the United States Air Force decided to take over the Wichita Municipal Airport. So, Wichita quickly bought 1,923 acres (778 hectares) of land in the southwest part of the city. They started building a new "Wichita Municipal Airport" there.

The new airport opened for general aviation in 1953. Airline flights moved there on April 1, 1954. It was officially dedicated on October 31, 1954, with two runways. In 1973, it became Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. This happened after Kansas City changed its own Mid-Continent Airport name.

The airport's code, ICT, is a short way to say Wichita. Back then, the FCC didn't allow airport codes to start with "K" or "W." So, they used the second letter of the city and added other letters to make it easy to say. Once airport codes are on maps, they are rarely changed.

In April 1957, there were many flights from airlines like Braniff, TWA, and Continental. In 1964, TWA had the first scheduled jet flights from the airport.

Two concourses (parts of the terminal where gates are) with 10 gates were built in 1976. The ticket areas were updated in 1985, and two more gates were added. The terminal got a big $6 million renovation in 1989.

Since 1991, the airport has also hosted the Bombardier Aerospace Flight Test Centre, which used to be a Learjet facility.

On September 13, 2012, they started building a brand new terminal building.

The Old Terminal Building

The old terminal had an East and West Concourse, each with six gates. These old buildings closed on June 2, 2015, and have since been taken down.

• East Concourse Gates: 1 - 6
• Airlines that used them: Allegiant Air, American Airlines/American Eagle, Delta Air Lines/Delta Connection.
• West Concourse Gates: 7 - 12
• Airlines that used them: Southwest Airlines, United Airlines/United Express.

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  An ExpressJet plane at the old Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (2009)

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  The tarmac with baggage equipment and an America West jet (1989)

Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport Today

On March 4, 2014, the Wichita City Council voted to change the airport's name. They renamed it Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport to honor former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was from Kansas.

The New Terminal Building

Construction for the new terminal began on October 9, 2012. It officially opened on June 3, 2015. The old terminal was then taken down, as the new one was fully ready.

The new terminal is located just west of where the old one stood. It's a two-story building, about 272,000 square feet (25,270 square meters) in size. It has a modern design that shows off Wichita's important role in aviation. The design includes exhibits about aviation history.

Here are some cool features of the new terminal:

• A new road for cars with covered areas for picking up and dropping off.
• A large ticketing and baggage claim area on the main floor.
• An upper level with waiting areas, food places, and expanded security screening.
• 12 boarding gates, all with jet bridges (the covered walkways to the plane). It can fit up to 16 jet bridges.
• Airlines like American, Delta, Southwest, United, and Allegiant Air have gates here.
• Modern baggage handling systems with security screening.
• More food and shops both before and after security.
• A place to pick up and return rental cars, with close-by parking.
• Covered parking garage for short and long-term parking right across from the terminal.
• Free Wi-Fi for everyone!

The new terminal and concourse opened on June 3, 2015. The airport now has one terminal and one concourse with 12 gates. All gates have glass jetways that can connect to most airplanes.

• Concourse Gates: 1–11
• Airlines that use them: Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, and United.

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  Checking in at the new terminal (2015)

Airlines and Where They Fly

Passenger Flights

Cargo Flights

Airport Statistics

Snow removal equipment (2011)

This section shows how busy the airport has been over the years.

Annual Airport Activity

Annual Traffic

Year	Passengers	Change from last year	Total Plane Operations	Cargo Weight (Tons)
2000	1,227,083	01.70%	218,225	25,456
2001	1,129,381	07.96%	216,652	24,919
2002	1,337,270	018.41%	204,007	34,743
2003	1,431,610	07.05%	184,015	33,662
2004	1,498,749	04.69%	176,089	37,328
2005	1,486,590	00.81%	176,554	38,749
2006	1,460,341	01.77%	178,925	39,058
2007	1,596,229	09.31%	157,654	35,627
2008	1,619,075	01.43%	167,419	33,170
2009	1,505,607	07.01%	145,691	25,992
2010	1,549,395	02.91%	146,417	25,842
2011	1,536,354	00.84%	153,320	24,134
2012	1,509,206	01.77%	165,035	23,258
2013	1,505,514	00.24%	149,377	24,263
2014	1,533,669	01.87%	133,198	25,606
2015	1,571,348	02.46%	117,867	25,772
2016	1,602,311	01.97%	115,402	25,134
2017	1,620,240	01.12%	111,581	25,356
2018	1,665,116	02.77%	96,655	27,135
2019	1,749,906	05.09%	105,465	28,758
2020	791,200	054.79%	82,924	28,292
Source: Wichita Airport Authority Aviation Activity Report

Top Flight Destinations

Busiest Domestic Routes from ICT
(December 2019 – November 2020)

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Airlines
1	Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas	97,730	American
2	Denver, Colorado	60,470	Frontier, United
3	Chicago, Illinois	51,720	American, United
4	Atlanta, Georgia	49,640	Delta
5	Houston, Texas	34,660	United
6	St. Louis, Missouri	33,050	Southwest
7	Las Vegas, Nevada	22,810	Allegiant, Southwest
8	Phoenix, Arizona	19,630	Southwest
9	Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota	16,720	Delta
10	Seattle, Washington	14,330	Alaska

Airline Market Share

This table shows which airlines carry the most passengers at ICT.

Other Airports Nearby

Images for kids