The shift to the new $11 million terminal allowed expansion of airline facilities between 19, the number of airlines increased from two to seven. The present airport terminal was completed in 1985 after studies showed that an addition to the 1954 structure would be more costly than an entirely new terminal. The airport underwent major remodeling in 19, adding everything from baggage claim to a restaurant and boarding areas. In 1957, the first count of enplaning and deplaning passengers was made, with a total of 59,701 recorded. In 1947, the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Rock Island County was formed after seven townships voted to establish it. In 1929, Phoebe Omlie set an altitude record above the airport in a Velie Monocoupe, the only plane ever manufactured in Moline, which still hangs in the passenger terminal. Louis, on the Gugenheim tour, a cross-country commercial aviation promotion tour. On Augan estimated 10,000 people came to welcome Charles Lindbergh in Moline and his famous plane, the Spirit of St. The airport made headlines right at the start, chosen as a control point for the first coast-to-coast flight in the fall of 1919. History A Velie Monocoupe airplane in the terminalįraning Field, the site of the present Quad Cities International Airport, was picked as an ideal flying field, with 120 acres (49 ha) of level, grassy land free of obstacles. The airport is directly south of the Quad-City Seaplane Base, which is located on the Rock River, Quad Cities International's northern boundary. Customs Office, enabling international cargo shipments and international general aviation passenger flights. The airport does not have any international commercial passenger flights its international designation is due to being an official port of entry and having a Foreign Trade Zone and U.S. It serves the Quad Cities Metropolitan area, including Davenport and Bettendorf in Scott County, Iowa as well as Moline in Rock Island County, Illinois.
In 2012 it was named "Illinois Primary Airport of the Year". Quad Cities International Airport ( IATA: MLI, ICAO: KMLI, FAA LID: MLI) is a public airport in Rock Island County, Illinois, three miles (5 km) south of Moline, partly in Blackhawk Township and partly in Coal Valley Township.