NONSTOP FOR 100 YEARS
What can we say, time flies. For a century, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport has been serving Milwaukee with nonstop flights, nonstop innovation, nonstop employment, and nonstop adventures. Through the decades, our commitment to our travelers and our team has helped us go further than anyone would have imagined when we began in 1926. With our official anniversary on October 5, 2026, we invite you to celebrate 100 years of service with us all year long.
Hamilton Field
100 YEARS OF “WELCOME HOME”
For 100 years, we’ve been more than an Airport. We’ve been the place that takes you on once-in-a-lifetime vacations. The place that brings families back together. The place that takes you where you need to go. And the place that welcomes you home.
Brigadier General William “Billy” Mitchell, the Milwaukee Airport’s namesake
SEE HOW FAR WE’VE COME
From our first takeoff to today and every milestone in between, see the moments that helped shape our history.
1920s
Oct. 5, 1926: Milwaukee County purchases Hamilton Airport, a private airfield owned by local entrepreneur and aviator Thomas F. Hamilton and renames it Milwaukee County Airport.
Aug. 20, 1927: Charles Lindbergh visits the airport during his travels celebrating his completion of the first transatlantic flight.
Jan. 5, 1928: Northwest Airways begins service from Milwaukee to Chicago and then the Twin Cities later that year.
1930s
1929-1938: Despite the Great Depression, commercial aviation grows quickly. To accommodate the growing demand, a new hangar that served as an operating base for Northwest Airlines is built in 1931. In 1937, Pennsylvania Central Airlines (later Capital Airlines) begins offering flights from Milwaukee to Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
1940s
July 1, 1940: A new two-story passenger terminal building opens on Layton Avenue.
March 17, 1941: The Airport is renamed General Mitchell Field after Brig. Gen. William “Billy” Mitchell (1879-1936), an Army officer with Milwaukee roots who led air divisions in World War I and had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force.
Jan. 4, 1954: The U.S. War Department leases part of the airport to hold over 3,000 German prisoners of war monitored by 250 enlisted personnel at what was called Camp Billy Mitchell. The camp remains until the last 12 prisoners are transferred on April 1, 1946.
Aug. 2, 1964: The 128th Air Refueling Wing is allocated to the Wisconsin Air National Guard, establishing a base at the Airport, where the unit remains today.
1950s
July 22, 1955: The passenger terminal moves to Howell Avenue with the completion of a three-concourse, two-level structure with 23 gates. The $3.2 million project forms the core of the Airport’s present terminal complex.
1959: A Mitchell B-25 bomber is restored and donated by the Wisconsin Air National Guard and the Mitchell Field Rotary Club. The plane, named after Gen. Mitchell, is still on display at the Airport.
1960s
July 1961: Milwaukee enters the jet age with Northwest’s Boeing 720B aircraft.
Sept. 4, 1964: The Beatles touch down at Mitchell for their only Wisconsin appearance. Hundreds of fans arrive to catch a glimpse of them, but the police aren’t in the mood to deal with Beatle-mania, so they arrange to have the plane land away from the disappointed crowd and shuttle the Fab Four out a back exit. Paul McCartney calls it “a dirty trick” at a press conference.
1966: Mitchell accommodates nearly 1.1 million travelers, the first time it serves over a million passengers in a single year.
1970s
1970s: A forerunner to the Milwaukee Air & Water Show, the Berndt Buick Milwaukee Air Show, organized by car dealership owner Lee Berndt, takes place at Mitchell for several years. Berndt also founded the International Council of Air Shows.
1973-1979: Milwaukee sees a steady growth of passenger traffic during this period, exceeding two million total passengers for the first time in 1973, and surpassing three million passengers for the first time in 1979.
1976: The Airport’s International Arrivals Building (IAB) is completed offering the Airport’s first permanent facility for international operations. The new building has the capability of processing up to 300 passengers per hour.
1980s
Sept. 7, 1985: An expanded and renovated main terminal opens, and the Airport is renamed General Mitchell International Airport.
1986: A new FAA Air Traffic Control tower opens at Mitchell.
1988: The Mitchell Gallery of Flight opens.
June-July 1988: Cleveland-set baseball comedy Major League is filmed in Milwaukee, including a scene at the Airport, when the players arrive for spring training.
1990s
Dec. 12, 1990: The “hammerhead” section of Concourse D with 16 additional gates is added, along with a 2,250-space parking structure addition.
1998: Midwest Express Airlines, for which Milwaukee served as its hub airport, is recognized as the #1 U.S. Airline by Condé Nast Traveler Magazine.
July 30, 1999: The U.S. Post Office commemorates Gen. Mitchell with a postage stamp.
2000s
Jan. 18, 2005: The Airport’s Amtrak passenger rail station opens, making MKE one of just four airports in the country to have Amtrak service
July 2007: Concourse C is expanded with an addition of eight new gates.
2010s
June 2015: A complete renovation of MKE’s Baggage Claim facility is completed.
Feb. 2019: The Airport is renamed Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
2020s
2021-2022: The Airport is twice recognized as one of the best airports in the world by Airports Council International.
Feb. 27, 2025: Ground is broken on a new 337,000-square-foot air cargo facility.
Sept. 16, 2025: MKE kicks off redevelopment of Concourse E, which will include two flexible-use gates capable of handling both domestic and international arrivals and departures.
Oct. 5, 2026: MKE Airport celebrates 100 years of connecting Milwaukee to the world.
PUTTING MILWAUKEE ON THE MAP
See how MKE has changed over the years, growing into the hometown airport you know and love today.
MEDIA KITS
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