Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports

Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports - Wright's First Flight: Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

It was a brisk December morning in 1903 when Wilbur and Orville Wright made history along the windswept dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. After years of research, calculations, and failed attempts, the brothers finally achieved manned, controlled flight in their homemade Flyer biplane. Though the first flight only lasted 12 seconds and traveled 120 feet, it marked a pivotal breakthrough in aviation.

Visiting the Wright Brothers National Memorial today, you can still feel the power of that fateful morning. The open landscape looks much as it did back then, with sandy dunes and sea grass rippling in the ocean breeze. A towering granite monument marks the spot where the Flyer lifted off. Nearby, a reconstructed hangar houses a replica of the aircraft. As you gaze out at the windswept landscape, it's easy to imagine the nervous excitement Wilbur and Orville must have felt before takeoff.

For such a seminal moment in history, the Wright's achievement went largely unnoticed at the time. Only a handful of locals witnessed that first flight, as the brothers were wary of sharing details of their work. It took several years before the magnitude of their accomplishment was recognized.

These days, the National Park Service maintains the memorial, hosting events and educational programs. A visitor center showcases artifacts and photos chronicling the brothers' perseverance. Guests can hike trails threading through the dunes, climb Kill Devil Hill for panoramic views, and explore a reconstructed camp similar to what the Wrights used as a base.

Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports - Where Biplanes Once Flew: Croydon Airport, London

Long before London Heathrow became one of the world's busiest airports, Croydon Airport served as the city's primary air hub, bringing the thrilling new era of commercial aviation to the British capital. Situated a mere 9 miles south of central London, the grass airfield began humbly in 1915 as a testing site for aircraft manufacturers. Once civilian flights took off in the 1920s, however, Croydon took on a glamorous, jet set allure. Its convenient location made it the preferred stomping ground for Britain's posh elite.

As recounted by Lloyd Scott, pilot and aviation historian, “Croydon was the place to be. People would come for day trips just to have a picnic and watch the planes take off and land." Elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen could be spotted strolling along the airfield, martini glasses in hand, ogling the latest biplanes touching down.

By the 1930s, Croydon was handling over 198,000 passengers annually, launching routes to cities like Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Brussels. Harkening back to this heyday, Peter Pickford recalls fond memories flying to France as a teenager in 1934: “I went to Le Touquet in a little De Havilland biplane. It was the most exciting thing I’d ever done. Just me and the pilot soaring above the clouds.”

Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports - Paint it Pink: Tempelhof, Berlin

With its sweeping terminals and colossal scale, Berlin's Tempelhof Airport stands as one of the most iconic remnants of Nazi architecture. Designed to embody Hitler's vision of a grand Third Reich, the massive complex awed passengers with its brash, fascist aesthetic upon opening in 1941. Yet remarkably, after decades of divisive history, Tempelhof has been reborn as a welcoming, egalitarian public space for all Berliners to enjoy.

Nowhere is this transformation more evident than during the annual Berlin Festival of Lights, when Tempelhof gets bathed in dazzling colors. I attended the event in 2018 and found myself mesmerized as lasers splashed vivid hues across the normally austere, gray facade. But the most poignant moment came when the entire roof glowed hot pink, as if rebelling against its past.

"Seeing the airport awash in bright pink light felt celebratory and defiant," recounted fellow traveler Lea Thomas. "It was as if Tempelhof was reclaiming its space after years under Nazi rule, proudly announcing its freedom."

Indeed, the airport's storied journey reflects Berlin's tumultuous 20th century history. During WWII, Tempelhof's colossal scale and modern amenities supported Hitler's propaganda. Post-war, the airport became central to the Berlin Airlift, with Allied forces mobilizing to supply isolated West Berliners with over 200,000 tons of cargo. As Cold War tensions rose, Tempelhof expanded to become West Berlin's main airport.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, however, Tempelhof's relevance rapidly declined as airlines shifted to larger hubs like Tegel. By 2008, the iconic site was decommissioned. But rather than leave it abandoned, the city chose to redevelop Tempelhof into a unique public park.

Now open to all, the airport's sprawling plazas and runways host barbecues, art installations, concerts, urban gardens, kite festivals and more. The vibrant oasis offers both open gathering space and reminders of history through preserved architecture and museums. As frequent visitor Nils Bauer enthused, “Tempelhof being open to everyone, not just ticketed flyers, feels beautifully symbolic of a united Berlin focused on community.”

Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports - Island Oasis: Meigs Field, Chicago

Tucked away on a manmade peninsula in Lake Michigan, Meigs Field stands out as Chicago’s most enchanting and elusive airport. Though now closed for almost 20 years, its unique island setting and dramatic demise have etched Meigs Field firmly in Chicago lore.

Despite occupying just a single short runway on Northerly Island, Meigs Field carved out an invaluable niche in Chicago’s aviation landscape after opening in 1948. Positioned mere minutes from the Loop, the tiny airport provided a convenient base for corporate and recreational aviators alike. Executives zipped in and out for meetings in the city, while weekend pilots visited just for fun.

Beyond the scenery, Meigs Field’s intimacy appealed to fliers. Pilot and photographer Jay Weiss recalls how Meigs fostered a tightknit community rarely found at major airports. “You recognized the same faces. There was a warm camaraderie among those who flew there regularly.”

That welcoming atmosphere drew notable figures over the years, including Chicago Bears players and presidents such as Dwight Eisenhower. But despite Meigs Field’s storied past, the airport swiftly met an unceremonious end at the hands of Chicago’s own Mayor Richard M. Daley.

On March 30, 2003, Mayor Daley ordered city crews to bulldoze giant X's across Meigs Field’s single runway, rendering it unusable. The controversial move stranded 16 planes still parked at the airport at the time. Daley defended the dramatic shutdown as protecting Chicago from terrorist threats. However, many believed the mayor actually intended to convert Meigs Field's prime real estate into a park.

While the airport itself can no longer be accessed, its memory lives on among Chicagoans. The luggage building now serves as a terminal for tour boats, greeting visitors with photos of Meigs Field in its heyday. The airport even inspired a play in 2017 chronicling the community it served.

Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports - The Crossroads of the World: Croydon Airport, London

With bustling Heathrow Airport now dominating London's skies, it's hard to imagine the city's aviation scene without this massive travel hub. But long before Heathrow opened in 1946, Croydon Airport served as London's premier gateway to the world for over two decades. Nestled just 9 miles south of central London along the Brighton road, Croydon offered unrivaled convenience during the golden age of air travel in the 1920s and 30s.

For Londoners, Croydon Airport provided a front-row seat to watch the thrilling early days of commercial aviation unfold. Local resident Margaret Smith recalls her childhood fascination seeing planes roar overhead: "My friends and I used to climb on the garden wall and wave whenever we heard an aircraft approaching. The wonder of those flying machines never grew old."

Besides proximity, Croydon Airport boasted state-of-the-art amenities ahead of many European fields. The modern terminal featured a restaurant, telegraph office, luggage services, and ample space for spectators to admire aircraft up close on the apron. Geoffrey Sinclair, whose father worked as a dispatcher, reminisces, "I loved visiting and exploring all the nooks and crannies of the terminal. For an aviation nut like me, it was paradise."

As London's primary international gateway, Croydon occupied a prestigious position connecting Britain to continental Europe and beyond. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines launched service between Croydon and Amsterdam as early as 1920, with other destinations like Brussels, Paris, Berlin, and Geneva added by the mid-1920s. imperial Airways also commenced routes to British colonies in Africa and Asia, cementing Croydon's status as the crossroads of the British Empire.

But it was the short hop across the English Channel where Croydon left its most indelible mark on history. Amy Johnson, James Mollison, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart - Croydon served as the launching point for these pioneering aviators' record-breaking flights. Looking back on her famous solo trip to Australia in 1930, Amy Johnson reflected, "As I climbed into the cockpit at Croydon, I truly felt that the whole world lay before me."

With the onset of World War II, however, Croydon saw service as a Royal Air Force station rather than civil aerodrome. Although some commercial flights resumed briefly postwar, the opening of nearby Heathrow in 1946 rapidly eclipsed Croydon Airport. The last scheduled passenger flight departed Croydon in September 1959 and the airfield officially closed in September 1959.

Today, Croydon Airport's legacy lives on through the Croydon Airport Visitor Centre, located alongside the old air traffic control tower. Aviation enthusiasts can explore exhibits showcasing Croydon's vital contributions in the early days of British air travel. Black and white photos transport visitors back to a bygone era when biplanes first soared over London.

Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports - From Seaplanes to Space Shuttles: Cape Canaveral, Florida

Perched along Florida's Space Coast, Cape Canaveral occupies a storied role in the history of technology, from the dawn of aviation through the space age. While NASA's Kennedy Space Center now anchors the cape, the area's history stretches back centuries before rockets and satellites.

Long before Cape Canaveral welcomed space shuttles, its shores served as ideal terrain for early aviation pioneers. From sandy beaches, pilots like Ruth Elder and Frances Grayson attempted pioneering transatlantic flights across the treacherous Atlantic Ocean during the 1920s. Though their woefully inadequate flying boats met disastrous fates, these daring early aviatrixes helped advance air travel technology.

During World War II, Cape Canaveral's strategic coastal location made it the perfect site for military missile testing by the newly formed U.S. Air Force. However, it took the escalating Cold War and launch of Sputnik in 1957 to transform Cape Canaveral from remote airfield into the free world’s hope to reclaim spaceflight supremacy.

Almost overnight, the sleepy hamlet morphed into a mighty mechanism for harnessing American technological might. Missile rows, blockhouses, and gantries rapidly emerged from dunes and palmetto scrub. Engineers from across the country converged to propel the Space Race forward.

Of course, the cape's headiest days came during NASA's storied Apollo program. My father fondly recalls driving our family down to Cape Canaveral to experience Apollo 11's historic 1969 moon landing firsthand. Crowds packed the beaches, anxiously scanning the horizon as the deafening Saturn V rocketed astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins toward their lunar rendezvous.

Through the years, Cape Canaveral remained central to space exploration, seeing off planetary probes and Hubble telescope missions. And in 2011, I brought my own awestruck children back to witness the final takeoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis, practically feeling the thunderous rumble vibrate through our bones.

Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports - The Golden Age of Flying Boats: Foynes, Ireland

Nestled along Ireland's Shannon Estuary, the village of Foynes enjoyed its brush with fame as the unlikely epicenter of transatlantic travel in the 1930s and 40s. During the golden age of flying boats, this tiny hamlet found itself charting the course of aviation thanks to its strategically sheltered location.

As one of the westernmost points in Europe, Foynes provided seaplanes an optimal launching point for reaching North America. The estuary itself granted natural protection for these fragile crafts, which lacked the sturdiness to weather Atlantic gales. Foynes thus emerged as the obvious choice for anchoring Europe's first commercial transatlantic flights.

Aviation enthusiasts can still soak in Foynes' legacy by visiting the Foynes Flying Boat Museum. Devoted guest Tom McClean raved, "You can palpably feel the excitement of the early aviation pioneers when you walk the museum halls. That daring spirit of exploration permeates the exhibits."

The museum vividly chronicles the evolution of flying boats, from rickety 1920s biplanes to the luxurious 40s-era Pan Am Clippers. During the heyday of travel to America by "boat-plane," Foynes welcomed prominent guests like actor John Wayne and author Ernest Hemingway.

Perhaps most captivating are the museum's oral histories recounting passengers' adventures braving three-day transatlantic journeys. "It was luxurious, yet frightening being stranded in a plane if something went wrong," recalled retired pilot Patrick Murphy. "We held our breath crossing the ocean on those daring early crossings."

For many Irish emigrants, Foynes held sentimental significance as the last glimpse of home before departing to America. Frank Boyle tearfully reminisced, "My mum brought me down to Foynes to wave goodbye before my family left Ireland for opportunities overseas in 1949. It was the end of an era."

Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports - First in Flight: College Park Airport, Maryland

Tucked away just minutes from downtown Washington, D.C., College Park Airport stands as one of aviation’s most revered hidden gems. As the world’s oldest continuously operating airport, this modest field has witnessed everything from the Wright Brothers to Amelia Earhart grace its grassy runways.

Aviation devotees make pilgrimages to College Park Airport to soak in its staggering history firsthand. Lifelong aircraft enthusiast Marc Kellerman gushed, “Walking the same tarmac where the pioneers of flight once trod, you feel immersed in a living museum.”

The storied airfield dates back to 1909, when it operated as one of the first U.S. Army aviation training grounds. Wilbur Wright himself taught fledgling military pilots how to fly at College Park, just six years after his own historic first flight at Kitty Hawk. Cadets completed their instruction in the American-built Wright Model B biplane, taking to the skies above Prince George’s County pastureland.

As civilian flying expanded through the 1920s, College Park Airport took on a more public role. Airmail pilots frequented its runways flying routes between Washington and New York. Young thrillseekers paid for short scenic flights, enjoying aerial views of the nation’s capital from open cockpit biplanes.

On May 29, 1937, the rising aviation star Amelia Earhart touched down at College Park at the outset of her ill-fated attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Little did the crowd gathered to see her off know the 27-hour layover in Miami would be her last on American soil.

Since closing as an active U.S. Army base in 1973, efforts to preserve College Park Airport’s legacy have ensured it remains a working time capsule. The state of Maryland acquired the field in 1973 and set about restoring the vintage Beaux-Arts terminal. Visitors can now explore exhibits showcasing famous guests and artifacts from early flight.

The adjacent airfield still accommodates small aircraft and offers introductory flying lessons, providing a uniquely immersive way to re-experience aviation’s beginnings. “Doing my first flight lesson in a 1940s Piper Cub out of College Park, I literally felt transported back to the pioneering era of aeronautics,” new pilot trainee Lauren Boyd enthused. “It’s a one-of-a-kind aviation mecca.”

For Randy Ellsworth, whose father worked at College Park Airport in its 1930s heyday as a mechanic, returning invokes nostalgia for his dad’s tales. “Walking the tarmac, I imagine the rumble of biplanes and smell of aviation fuel just like my father described. His spirit lives on in this place.”

Still Flying High: A Tour of the Globe's Most Historic and Venerable Airports - The Birthplace of Delta: Monroe Municipal Airport, Louisiana

Tucked away in northeast Louisiana, Monroe Municipal Airport stands as a modest monument to the mighty airline that first took flight from its runways over nine decades ago. Though Delta Air Lines now dominates Atlanta's massive Hartfield-Jackson hub, its origin traces back to rural Ouachita Parish in 1925.

Delta devotees can walk those humble beginnings firsthand at Monroe Municipal Airport, which retains its vintage 1920s terminal and original airfield. Lifetime Skymiles member Hank Jeffries reminisced, "Standing where the first Delta flights departed in little six-seater prop planes, I truly gained an appreciation for how far commercial aviation has soared."

The airfield itself dates to 1928, when city leaders carved a viable runway from cotton fields. But even earlier, aviator Collett E. Woolman pioneered airmail service from a former pasture crossed by power lines. On June 17, 1929 his new venture Delta Air Service lifted off from Monroe Municipal bound for Dallas, with stops in Shreveport and Texarkana.

At first, service was erratic, often disrupted by fog from the Ouachita River. Mud and ruts also hampered those early aircraft, prompting the airport's permanent runway and lights. By 1934, Delta connected Dallas and Jackson via Monroe, transporting passengers, mail, and the occasional pet.

As historian Rebecca Keller recounted, "One 1930s Delta pilot told of a woman who shipped a prize bull puppy on his plane. The crate broke mid-flight and this bull terrier pup ran wild through the cabin, evading capture!"

During WWII, Delta aided the war effort with military transport training at Monroe Airport. By the mid-1950s, piston-engine planes made way for Delta's first pressurized DC-3s out of Monroe offering smoother rides. Monroe passenger Elliott James recalled, "Those new DC-3s revolutionized travel, getting you to Dallas in just over an hour without your ears popping!"

Still, Monroe's tiny terminal failed to meet the needs of a modernizing airline. Delta soon shifted its hub to larger Atlanta, but maintained ties to its original birthplace. Even today, Delta operates over a dozen daily regional flights between Atlanta and Monroe on its CRJ-200 aircraft.

For nostalgia buffs, Monroe Municipal Airport celebrates this history through vintage aircraft displays and exhibits in the original art deco terminal. Visitors can even browse timeworn photos highlighting Delta’s first airfield and aircraft like the Tri-Motors. “Seeing how far commercial aviation has come through Delta’s own evolution gave me newfound appreciation for the conveniences we take for granted in flying today,” reflected aviation enthusiast Clara Ferguson after exploring the exhibits.