Piedmont Triad International Airport - History

History

An antecedent of PTI Airport, one of the first commercial airports in the South, Maynard Field was dedicated on December 6, 1919, just west of Greensboro near Oak Ridge. With its two intersecting runways measuring 1,890 feet (580 m) and 1,249 feet (381 m), hangar space, and even an early day equivalent of a Fixed Base Operator that made sure the torches were lit at dusk, Maynard Field was named to honor a young North Carolinian pilot named Lt. Belvin Maynard. By 1922 it had competition to the west with Miller Field in Winston-Salem, and Charles Field, a single airstrip that was used mainly for barnstorming, and to drill take-offs and landings for the Charles family.

Piedmont Triad International Airport had its start in 1927 when the Tri-City Airport Commission selected 112 acres (45 ha) near the community of Friendship for an airport, and petitioned to become a stop along the congressionally authorized airmail route from New York to New Orleans. Racing pilot Captain Roscoe Turner referred to the current location of Piedmont Triad International Airport as "the best landing field in the south." Friendship, near Greensboro, was selected over neighboring Winston-Salem, which subsequently denied contributing funds for airport construction and nullified the Tri-City Airport Authority collaborative effort.

Greensboro and Guilford County jointly purchased the Friendship property from Paul C. and Helen G. Lindley, and christened it Lindley Field in May 1927 with 12,000 people in attendance. The field then had no runways, no lights, no hangar, and no passenger station. Charles Lindbergh stopped at Lindley Field with the "Spirit of St. Louis" on his cross-country tour celebrating the advances of aviation on October 14, 1927. Regular mail service started in 1928.

Pitcairn Aviation, Incorporated was given the contract to fly the airmail route, the second official airmail route in the United States, and Pitcairn Aviation made the first delivery of airmail in North Carolina on May 1, 1928. Sid Malloy, the pilot of the aircraft, landed with two bags of mail and took three bags of mail to be sent to Atlanta. After a brief closure during the Great Depression the airport reopened on May 17, 1937 with two all-weather runways. In time, Pitcairn Aviation built a hangar; Greensboro built a passenger station; the United States government established a weather bureau; and the Department of Commerce set up a radio tower. Passenger service was inaugurated by Dixie Flying Service on November 6, 1930, with a route to Washington, D.C.. Pitcairn Aviation took over the route under its new name Eastern Air Transport, which later became Eastern Air Lines.

In July 1942 responsibility for the airport was given to the Greensboro-High Point Airport Authority, with representatives from Greensboro, High Point, and the Sedgefield community. Shortly thereafter the Army Air Corps requisitioned the airport and its facilities for war use and airmail and passenger service was discontinued. The Corps lengthened the runways and built a new passenger terminal. Civilian service resumed after the war, though growth was moderate due to the success of nearby Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem.

The new passenger terminal opened in 1958, replacing the temporary facility that had served since World War II. The new terminal was a modern glass paneled structure with a single pier. GSO was then served by Eastern, Piedmont, and Capital (which merged with United in 1961); the April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 17 Eastern departures each weekday, nine Piedmont and seven Capital.

By 1975 airport officials began to plan for a new terminal. Piedmont Airlines, which for years had served GSO and Smith Reynolds Airport in nearby Winston-Salem, announced its intention to consolidate its operations at Greensboro, so a larger facility would be needed. In the months that followed, Piedmont Airlines instead opened a hub in Charlotte.

The airport was renamed Greensboro-High Point Airport and later Greensboro - High Point - Winston-Salem Regional Airport.

Work on the new (and current) facility began in 1978. The new terminal complex was completed in 1982, designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills and AHM Architects. The facility was renamed Piedmont Triad International in 1987.

In the mid-1990s Continental Airlines developed a hub at the airport (its fifth largest), largely to support its new Continental Lite low-fare product. By 1995 new CEO Gordon Bethune cancelled the Continental Lite program and closed the airline's Greensboro hub.

Also in the mid-1990s, start-up carrier Eastwind Airlines began serving PTI. The airline served a number of cities, including Trenton (NJ) and Orlando. Eastwind's headquarters was moved to Greensboro shortly before that company's collapse in 1999.

Delta Connection carrier Comair built a maintenance hangar at PTI to perform work on their CRJ's in 2005, bringing nearly 60 mechanics to Greensboro.

Independence Air began service into Greensboro when the airline started up with service to Washington Dulles International Airport. It operated out of the North Concourse before folding in 2006. Allegiant Air began service to Orlando Sanford International Airport, Saint Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport in late May 2007.

Skybus Airlines began service to Port Columbus International Airport as well in May 2007. Skybus announced that Greensboro would become its second base. Service launched in January 2008, but ended on April 4, 2008, following the shut-down of Skybus.