We have all been to the busy terminals of big international airports, or some of us are frequent visitors to smaller General Aviation airfields. And many may have noticed that some airports are living museums, where you can find numerous artifacts and memorabilia that reflect the place’s rich history. They’re where early aviation pioneers tested new ideas, where airmail routes were born, and where communities first glimpsed the future of mobility. Knowing which US airfields have remained active since the earliest days of flight helps us appreciate how aviation shifted from barnstorming and military training to the global transport system we know today.

Our ranking considers continuously operating US airfields that began service in the pioneer era and are still active today. We have used historical records, official airport histories, city pages, and aviation-history compendia to find the founding dates and notable firsts. Get ready to discover ten of the oldest airports in the USA, including brief histories, notable milestones, and how the field operates today. Please note that our list could have been longer. However, we couldn’t verify the exact dates for some airports to be included, as many small landing strips that were in use since WWI and were eventually converted or established as proper airports much later, or other airports that were disused over time, or their use was interrupted, or the original location was displaced.

10

Albert Whitted Airport

Opened in 1929

Albert Whitted Airport in Florida opened in the summer of 1929, constructed on reclaimed waterfront land and named after local naval aviator Lt. James Albert Whitted. The field grew from St. Petersburg’s early relationship with aviation, thanks to a flying boat base there. In fact, the city was home to the world’s first scheduled airline flight in 1914, and since that event, the area has become a focal point for local aviation activity, as described by the North East Journal.

Over the decades, Albert Whitted hosted blimps, early airline service (National Airlines in the 1930s), and later became a general-aviation center. It weathered controversy, including proposals to close and redevelop the waterfront, which have surfaced repeatedly. But luckily, voters and preservationists have kept it open, and the city invested in terminal and ramp upgrades in the 2000s. Today, it supports flight training, sightseeing flights, charters, and serves as a visible reminder of downtown St. Pete’s aviation pedigree.

Albert Whitted sits in a dense urban waterfront context, so modern debates balance public access, safety, and the value of preserving historic aviation infrastructure. Recent local documentaries and community campaigns highlight the airport’s cultural footprint and its ongoing utility for light aviation.

9

Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport

Opened in 1927

According to the official website, Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport opened as a fully functioning airport in 1927 and was used as an airmail and general-use field. Its designation as an air postal stop helped put the facility on early US mail routes, and Charles Lindbergh stopped by on his nationwide tour during his transatlantic flight — a sign of the airport’s regional importance.

In its early decades, the field served training, private aviation, and occasional early commercial service. The airport later added memorial elements honoring local pilots and veterans, and the site has been used for air shows and community aviation events.

Today, the airport functions as a general aviation facility supporting business aviation, flight instruction, and aeronautical and community events. Its longevity is partly due to supportive local stewardship and its role as a small-city aviation asset.

8

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

Opened in 1925

Cleveland Hopkins opened in 1925, one of the earliest municipally owned airports in the US. Between the 1930s and 1960s, Hopkins pioneered innovations that are now standard at big airports — the nation’s first radio-equipped control tower, early airfield lighting systems for night operations, and one of the first integrated rail-to-terminal connections, as described on its official website.

Hopkins became a major airline gateway through mid-century and was the site of important early commercial services and air-race events held between 1929 and 1949. Its terminal and infrastructure evolved with the jet age, while the airport also played a regional economic role through air freight and passenger connectivity.

Today, Cleveland Hopkins remains a primary commercial airport for the region with ongoing modernization programs focused on terminal improvements, cargo handling, and sustainability goals. Its early-adopter legacy continues to be celebrated in local histories and museum archives.

7

Logan International Airport

Opened in 1923

Boston’s airport opened in 1923 (initially known as Jeffery Field, later renamed) on reclaimed harbor flats. Early use included military training and airmail flights; commercial passenger operations expanded through the 1920s and 1930s. After World War II, Logan grew rapidly into New England’s primary international gateway.

Logan’s history is tied to substantial land-reclamation projects that added thousands of acres to Boston Harbor to expand runways and terminals in the mid-20th century, as well as to early transit links (the Blue Line extension in the 1950s). The airport weathered jet-age expansion, terminal modernization, and evolving security regimes post-2001.

Today, Logan is a high-volume hub with multiple carriers, recent terminal upgrades (including the new Terminal E), and a busy international schedule. It continues to balance growth, environmental constraints (harbor and wetlands), and community impacts such as noise and traffic.

6

Midway International Airport

Opened in 1923

Originally, Chicago Air Park, the field that became Midway opened in 1923 and was designated Chicago Municipal Airport in 1927. By the late 1940s, Midway briefly held the title of the “world’s busiest” airport, and in 1949, it was renamed Midway in honor of the WWII Battle of Midway. Due to its location within the city, this airport has a unique, compact, almost-perfect-square layout.

Midway was crucial to early airline networks, supporting multiple carriers and pioneering night operations with lit runways. After O’Hare rose to prominence as Chicago’s primary hub, Midway shifted roles but remained an important city airport, hosting scheduled passenger service and later low-cost carrier networks.

Today Midway is a busy commercial airport handling millions of travelers annually, known for short-haul domestic routes and an efficient footprint close to Chicago’s central neighborhoods. Its history is preserved in old terminal buildings and through local archives.

5

Long Beach Airport

Opened in 1923

Long Beach’s aviation story stretches back to 1911, when Calbraith “Cal” Rodgers landed on the beach after the first transcontinental flight; formal municipal establishment of Daugherty Field followed in 1923. The field hosted early flight schools, barnstormers, and later an important aircraft manufacturing industry, with Douglas Aircraft building large airframes nearby, as described on the official Long Beach Airport website.

Throughout the 20th century, Long Beach supported general aviation, regional airline service, and Boeing/Douglas manufacturing. It’s famous for being the site of the first transcontinental flight’s finish and for the architecture of its Streamline Moderne terminal from the Golden Age of flight.

Today, Long Beach remains an active municipal airport with business aviation, some commercial flights, flight training, and proximity to aerospace industry jobs. Preservationists emphasize its early-era heritage while the field serves modern aviation needs.

4

Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport

Built in 1920

What is now MSP began life as Speedway Field on the site of a bankrupt race track; a wooden hangar for airmail was built in 1920, and passenger services followed later in the decade, according to the official website. Over time, Speedway Field was renamed Wold-Chamberlain Field and evolved into the Twin Cities’ principal air gateway.

MSP expanded through the mid-20th century, becoming a major airline hub (historically for Northwest Airlines and now for Delta). It combined civil and military uses, added international capability after WWII, and developed significant cargo and maintenance operations.

Today, MSP is a large, modern international airport with strong transcontinental and transatlantic connectivity, a focus on passenger experience, and ongoing infrastructure investment. Its origin as Speedway Field is a reminder of the improvisational nature of early airfields.

3

Stinson Municipal Airport

Opened in 1915

According to the official San Antonio Airports website, this particular airport was founded in 1915 by Marjorie, Katherine, and Eddie Stinson as the Stinson School of Flying, which quickly became a training and exhibition field. It is regularly cited as the second-oldest continuously operating airport in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi.

The field served municipal needs, military training during wartime, and hosted early barnstorming and exhibition flights. The Stinson family’s role places the airport at the heart of early American aviation entrepreneurship, particularly in Texas and the Southwest.

Today, Stinson is a busy general aviation airport in the San Antonio metro area that is still used extensively by flight schools. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places and remains important for flight training, corporate aviation, and community events. Preservation efforts keep the Stinson story visible while the field supports modern GA operations.

2

Pearson Field

First flights recorded in 1911

Pearson Field’s history begins with a 1905 dirigible landing on the Vancouver Barracks’ polo grounds and continued with the first fixed-wing flights recorded in 1911. That long continuous use earned recognition as one of the nation’s oldest operating airfields and an AIAA historic aerospace site.

Throughout the 20th century, Pearson supported military aviation, early transpolar and visiting international flights, including the notable 1937 arrival of the Soviet aviator Valery Chkalov on his Tupolev ANT-25 plane, and maintained a local general aviation role. Its Pearson Air Museum preserves hangars and artifacts connected to Fort Vancouver history.

Today, Pearson Field remains an active GA airport serving US Vancouver and Portland-area pilots with flight instruction, events, and museum activities that interpret its century-plus legacy.

1

College Park Airport

Established in 1909

College Park Airport is widely recognized as the oldest continuously operating airport not only in the USA but in the world. It was established in 1909 when the US Army Signal Corps brought Wilbur Wright in to train military pilots. Early milestones include the first military flight instruction, early airmail operations, radio navigation tests, and other aviation ‘firsts’.

Over the decades, College Park hosted pioneering experiments (radio navigation and early helicopter trials), civilian flying beginning in 1911, and long-running community engagement culminating in the College Park Aviation Museum (opened in 1981) and National Register listing in 1977. Today, the airport has a single active runway, supports general aviation, and serves as a living museum that still hosts occasional heritage flights and aviation-education programming.

These ten airfields span the arc of US aviation, from simple rural airfields to municipal hubs and modern international gateways. Some are bustling international airports; others are intimate GA fields and museums. Each survived economic cycles, wars, technological upheavals, and urban growth to remain active today.