Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (IATA: DTW, ICAO: KDTW), commonly known as Detroit Metro or simply DTW, is the primary international airport serving Detroit and the broader southeastern Michigan region. It is the primary international airport serving Detroit and its surrounding metropolitan area in Michigan, and is located in the City of Romulus. One of the largest and busiest airports in the United States, it covers 4,850 acres and services more than 32 million passengers annually. The airport generates $10.2 billion in annual economic impact, supports more than 86,000 jobs in Michigan, serves as a hub for Delta Air Lines, and bears the IATA code DTW.
Early History and Founding
Wayne County began planning an airport in the western townships of the county as early as 1927. The following year, the county board of commissioners issued a $2 million bond to fund the purchase of one square mile of land at the corner of Middlebelt and Wick roads, the northeastern boundary of today's airport.
The Wayne County Airport, known today as the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, opened on September 4, 1930, at the corner of Middlebelt Road and Wick Road in Romulus, Michigan.[1] Construction was completed in 1929, and the first landing took place on February 22, 1930; Wayne County Airport was formally dedicated on September 4, 1930. That year, Thompson Aeronautical Corporation, a forerunner of American Airlines, began service from the airport.
Wayne County Airport first opened in 1929 as a small airport approximately 20 miles from downtown Detroit. It provided general aviation service and hosted a small Air National Guard base. For many years it was not the primary airport providing commercial air service to the Detroit area — Detroit City Airport held that role, serving as the primary commercial airport through World War II.[2]
During World War II, the U.S. Army took control of the facility and made numerous infrastructure changes, including constructing new hangars and runways. In 1944, as World War II was coming to an end, the U.S. Army announced plans to release control of the airport. Upon Wayne County's renewed control in 1947, the airport was renamed the Detroit-Wayne Major Airport. The county also expanded the airport to four square miles — quadruple its original size — because the changes the Army Corps of Engineers had made were not efficient for passenger flights, as passenger planes were larger than military aircraft and required longer runways.[3]
In 1956, the Detroit-Wayne Major Airport became one of the first airports to receive long-range radar through a $246 million Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) program. The equipment allowed aircraft to be detected from 200 miles away, maximizing safety and minimizing delays. That same year, Pan Am became the first airline to fly internationally from the Detroit-Wayne Major Airport.
Renaming and Terminal Development
When it was founded in 1930, the airport was called Wayne County Airport and was later renamed Detroit-Wayne Major Airport in 1947. In 1958, it was renamed again to its present title, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.[4]
The postwar decades brought substantial terminal expansion. As passenger flights became more common, the airport built new terminals to accommodate demand. Terminal 1 (later renamed the L.C. Smith Terminal) opened in 1958, around the same time the airport received its current name. Terminal 2, also known as the North Terminal, opened in 1966. The following year, Terminal 1 was renamed the L.C. Smith Terminal, after Leroy C. Smith, an airport founder.
The Michael Berry International Terminal was built in 1974. Berry had served as a Wayne County Road Commissioner and played a key role in the airport's expansion.
In 1975, Terminal 2 (North Terminal) was renamed the J.M. Davey Terminal, in honor of former Detroit Metropolitan Airport Manager James M. Davey.
A landmark moment in the airport's governance came in 1978. Deregulation was enacted that year, taking control away from the government and allowing airlines to set their own fares and routes. The effects on Detroit Metro were rapid: in 1986, Northwest Orient and Republic Airlines merged to form Northwest Airlines, creating a major hub at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
In 1992, the FAA took control of a new $15 million Air Traffic Control Tower. At 250 feet, it was the tallest air traffic control tower in the Great Lakes Region.
The McNamara Terminal and Modern Expansion
In 1996, Wayne County and Northwest Airlines announced plans to build a new Midfield Terminal. The project represented one of the most ambitious infrastructure investments in the airport's history. In 2002, Detroit Metropolitan Airport's Midfield Terminal opened and was named after Wayne County Executive Edward H. McNamara. Senate Bill 690, adopted by the Michigan Legislature as Act 90, established the Wayne County Airport Authority to manage Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Willow Run Airport, Crosswinds Marsh, and The Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport hotel.[5]
In 2005, the J.M. Davey Terminal was demolished to make room for a new North Terminal. The new North Terminal opened at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in 2008, at which point the Smith and Berry terminals were retired as passenger facilities. The retirement of the Smith and Berry Terminals left the McNamara and North Terminal as the only two operating terminals at the airport.
DTW is home to two primary terminals — McNamara and North Terminal — each designed to provide a smooth and efficient travel experience. The McNamara Terminal, in particular, is renowned for its modern amenities and the ExpressTram, an internal tram system that quickly transports passengers between concourses.
Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines officially merged in 2008, making Delta the hub airline at DTW by 2009. This consolidation significantly shaped the character of the airport, giving Delta an outsized footprint at DTW and making the facility one of Delta's most important domestic hubs.
Notable Incidents
The airport has been the site of two significant aviation disasters, both occurring in 1987.
On March 4, 1987, Northwest Airlink Flight 2268, operated by Fischer Brothers Aviation — a CASA 212 on a scheduled flight from Mansfield to Detroit with an intermediate stop in Cleveland — crashed while landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The plane yawed violently to the left about 70 feet above the runway, skidded to the right, hit three ground support vehicles in front of Concourse F, and caught fire. Of the 19 occupants onboard (16 passengers and three crew), nine were killed. The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error.
On August 16, 1987, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 operating as Northwest Airlines Flight 255, bound for Phoenix, Arizona, crashed on takeoff from Metro's 8,500-foot-long Runway 3 Center (now Runway 3L). All but one passenger on the aircraft as well as two people on the ground were killed; the lone survivor was a young girl, Cecelia Cichan, who lost both of her parents and her brother. The Flight 255 disaster remains one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Michigan history and led to sweeping reviews of preflight checklists and crew procedures across the U.S. airline industry.
Operations and Economic Impact
Operated by the Wayne County Airport Authority, the airport has six runways, two terminals, and 129 in-service gates.[6] Metro Airport serves the metropolitan Detroit area; the Toledo, Ohio, area about 40 miles south; the Ann Arbor area to the west; Windsor, Ontario; and Southwestern Ontario in Canada.
Michigan's largest airport offers approximately 800 flights per day to more than 120 nonstop destinations on three continents. With two award-winning passenger terminals, six runways, and an onsite AAA Four-Diamond Westin Hotel, DTW is among the most efficient and operationally capable airports in North America.[7]
A 2014 study by the University of Michigan-Dearborn determined that Detroit Metropolitan Airport generates $10.2 billion in annual economic impact and supports more than 86,000 jobs across Michigan.[8]
The airport has received repeated national recognition for customer satisfaction. DTW was ranked number one in customer satisfaction for mega airports according to the J.D. Power 2023 North America Airport Satisfaction Study. DTW had also earned the J.D. Power Award in 2019 and 2010.[9]
In 2023, DTW also earned the 2022 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award for "Best Airport of 25 to 40 million passengers in North America," and Sun Country Airlines, WestJet, and Icelandair all began new scheduled service within the space of one month, bringing the total to 16 passenger airlines at DTW.
Ground transportation options connecting the airport to greater Detroit are varied. Metro Airport is accessible by public transit, served by the RTA's Detroit Air Xpress (DAX), an express bus to downtown Detroit, and SMART's FAST Michigan, a limited-stop bus route connecting the airport to Detroit and Dearborn, with connections to the region's wider transit network. Two local SMART bus routes also serve the airport: Route 125, to communities in the Downriver region of southern Wayne County, and Route 280, to downtown Romulus and other suburbs in western Wayne County.[10]
The international airport in Romulus, 20 miles west of Detroit, has undergone multiple name and terminal changes in its more than 93-year history. More recently, it launched a $38 million renovation project that brings new restrooms and terminal upgrades, and is introducing small business storefronts in the terminal that visitors can reach without a ticket.[11]