Key West International Airport - History

History

Key West's aviation history begins with a 1913 flight to Cuba by Augustin Parla. In 1928, Pan American Airlines began scheduled flights from Key West. Meacham Field was the primary runway for Key West. It was initially pressed into Army use after the Pearl Harbor bombing, and then later during World War II by the Navy as an adjunct runway to the Trumbo Point Seaplane Base and the main Naval Air Station for fixed-wing and lighter-than-air (i.e., blimp) aircraft on Boca Chica Key. After the war, control of the runway was returned to the city and the civilian facility was eventually called the Key West Municipal Airport. In January 1953, the city gave Monroe County clear title to Meacham Field, allowing the county to apply for CAA grants. It was at this time that the name changed to the Key West International Airport.

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