Will Rogers World Airport

World War II postcard from Will Rogers Army Airfield

During World War II Will Rogers Field was a major training facility for the United States Army Air Forces; many fighter and bomber units were activated and received initial training there.

Known USAAF groups stationed at Will Rogers Field were:

• 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) July 1942 - August 28, 1942
• 46th Bombardment Group (Light) November 1942 - October 1943
• 47th Bombardment Group (Light) February 16, 1942 - July 18, 1942
• 48th Bombardment Group (Light) May 22, 1941 - February 7, 1942
• 86th Bombardment Group (Light) February 10, 1942 - June 20, 1942
• 311th Bombardment Group (Light) March 2, 1942 - July 4, 1942
• 312th Bombardment Group (Light) June 1942 - August 1942
• 409th Bombardment Group (Light) June 1, 1943 - October 1943
• 410th Bombardment Group (Light) July 1, 1943 - October 1943
• 411th Bombardment Group (Light) August 1, 1943 - August 15, 1943
• 416th Bombardment Group (Light) February 5, 1943 - June 4, 1943
• 417th Bombardment Group (Light) March 28, 1943 - August 4, 1943
• 9th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) October 1, 1943 - May 6, 1944
• 2d Reconnaissance Group October 7, 1943 - May 1, 1944
• 70th Tactical Reconnaissance Group November 14, 1943 – November 30, 1943

After completion of their initial training, these units were reassigned to other airfields for secondary training before deployment overseas.

The December 1951 C&GS chart shows 5497-ft runway 3, 3801-ft runway 8, 5652-ft runway 12 and 5100-ft runway 17.

The April 1957 OAG showed 21 daily non-stop departures on Braniff International Airways, 15 on American Airlines, 5 on Central Airlines, 4 on Continental Airlines and 3 on TWA. A TWA Constellation aircraft flew non-stop from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles but eastward non-stops didn't reach beyond Wichita, Kansas, Tulsa or Dallas, Texas. Oklahoma City began non-stop flights to Chicago starting in 1966.

Great Plains Airlines, a regional airline based in Tulsa, Oklahoma made Will Rogers World Airport a hub in 2001, with non-stop flights to Tulsa, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Colorado Springs, Colorado and direct or connecting flights to Nashville, Tennessee, St. Louis, Chicago, and Washington. The airline had hoped to reach additional East and West coast markets but declared bankruptcy and ceased operations on January 23, 2004.

On May 31, 2013, an EF-1 tornado hit Will Rogers Airport. The 1.4-mile wide tornado traveled 10.4 miles which includes across the northern side of the airport. The path of the tornado passed over the facilities of MetroTech, FAA, Oklahoma National Guard, AAR, Four Points Hotel, and the passenger terminal and hangars on the North and East side of the airport. Minor damage was reported at AAR and other buildings in this path.[7] The Parking Spot location north of the airport on Meridian Ave was also hit by the tornado. The company decided in August 2013 not to re-open the facility and exit the OKC market.[8]

The airport once partnered with Tinker AFB in presenting Aerospace America airshow.[9]

In 2008, Will Rogers World Airport officials approved a contract with Frankfurt Short Bruza Associates to begin planning for expansion.[12] However, officials agreed to postpone the expansion plan due to the industry-wide decline in passenger traffic.

During 2012 the Phase III expansion plan was updated to include a new Central Concourse reconfiguration plan. In 2014, the Airport Trust selected Option 2a, which includes only the central terminal improvements. The $3.6 million project will create a new central checkpoint in the center of the check-in hall. Two new greeter lobbies will be created where existing check points exist. The expansion will slightly reduce the space utilized by Sonic in the food court. The restrooms in the area will also be relocated to the nearby Osage room. The Southwest ticket counters will be relocated further east.[13]

In 2015 the airport trust agreed to proceed with the full construction of the East Concourse[14] due to increased congestion in the existing West and Central concourses and passenger demand. When completed, the existing terminal building would to the east and include a new passenger concourse initially with four gates, which would increase the number of boarding gates to 21. The new facility will have customs and immigration on the lower level accessed by the two eastern-most gates and would serve international arrivals. The expansion will incorporate a single TSA screening zone in the center of the existing terminal, the food court will be removed and two reconstructed, and arriving passengers would exit at the current TSA zones which will be dramatically downsized into modern "meeter-greeter areas". The East expansion will include onsite USAA military welcoming facilities, expanded concessions and office space, and an updated terminal lobby.

The new Concourse expansion project will also include an innovative view system composed of an elevated platform and lounge that will allow visitors to walk above the newly expanded East Concourse and view down onto the secure gate areas and out to the airside. Visitors would enter the elevated walkway at the terminal lobby non-secured side. This design is intended to provide visitors the experience of airports of old; where one could walk all the way to the gate – albeit today completely separated from the secured concourse space. The expansion broke ground in March 2019.[15]

If necessary, a final expansion of the existing master plan could be accomplished with construction of the Central Concourse, increasing gate capacity by an additional 10 gates. This would give the terminal a final configuration with three concourses, East, West, and Central and would provide the airport with 30+ gates.

The airport opened a new Consolidated Rental Car Facility in early 2016, moving all rental services away from the Terminal to a grand facility nearby. Advantage, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty rental companies[25] offer service at Will Rogers World Airport. Shuttle buses connect passengers from the arrivals plaza just outside the terminal.

The airport began a $3.8 million maintenance project in September 2011 to rehabilitate and repair two of its three parking garages. The project will make improvements to garages A and B, two of the six parking options at the airport. Garage A is the two-story garage that provides hourly parking for the airport's short-term visitors on the upper level, and "ready-return" spaces for the rental car agencies on the lower level. Parking Garage B, adjacent to A, is the older of the two five-level parking structures that provide covered parking for air travelers. Garage C, the new parking garage which opened in 2009, will not be impacted. Nearing middle age, (Garage A is 44 years old and Garage B is 31 years old) the structures will undergo several different types of refurbishments that will extend the long-term use of the facilities. The work will include:

• Repair of concrete walls and pillars, specifically where there are cracks or spalling (chips of concrete that have broken off) and other deterioration
• Replacement or repair of exterior stairs
• Replacement and upgrade of all lighting circuits
• Replacement and upgrade of all lighting fixtures
• The top levels of each garage will receive new expansion joints, membrane coating, waterproofing and protectant to prevent leaking

The project will be divided into 12 sequences allowing the airport to keep as much of the garage open as possible. Most of the sequences will only require closing about 300 spaces at a time, leaving approximately 2,500 of the 2,800 total spaces in the two garages available for parking. The project work will start in the five-level Garage B on levels one and two. The entire project is anticipated to take 18 months. The most challenging portion of the project will be when the work commences on the two-story parking garage. During this sequencing, hourly parking and rental car companies will be moved to temporary locations in Garage B and C.[26]

The airport operates three surface parking lots on the grounds of WRWA.[27]

• Lot No. 1 is a long-term remote shuttle lot located on Amelia Earhart Drive.
• Lot No. 2 is a long-term shuttle lot located directly adjacent to the parking garages on the north side.
• Lot No. 3 is a long-term canopy shuttle lot that provides shelter from sun and hail with protective canopies. It is located to the west of the parking garages on 67th Street near the control tower.

The airport provides a short-term parking area in the second (top) level of Garage A. The parking is free for the first hour and then $1 per hour after that. There are also two cell phone waiting areas just across the street from the shuttle parking lot No. 2, near Lot No. 3, and by the flag plaza north of the long-term shuttle Lot No. 2.

Will Rogers World Airport is used by military flights of the Oklahoma Air National Guard at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base.

The Federal Aviation Administration Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center is located on the west side of the airport. The Center headquarter's the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, FAA Academy and Logistics Center.

The U.S. Department of Justice has major Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS) facilities at Will Rogers World Airport. The Federal Transfer Center and its principal air hub is built on the west side of the airport grounds, off of Taxiway G.

The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol operate their national training facility on airport grounds. They operate a hangar on the north side of the airport, off of Taxiway N, north of the JPATS Hangar.

The Oklahoma City Composite Squadron of Civil Air Patrol meets on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm on the grounds of the Oklahoma Air National Guard base on the West side of the field.

The City of Oklahoma City Department of Airports manages Will Rogers World Airport and the other city-owned airports: Wiley Post Airport and Clarence E. Page Municipal Airport.[28] The Airport Trust is led by Director Mark Kranenburg.[28]

Will Rogers World Airport has a separate terminal facility used by air taxi and corporate service, although most of these flights use the Wiley Post Airport, Oklahoma City's FAA-designated reliever facility.

AAR Oklahoma has a major maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility and regional headquarters at Will Rogers World Airport, in addition to other aircraft maintenance and aircraft on ground organizations.

ARINC has major facilities on the airport premises, including plans to double the size of their current facility.[29]

Atlantic Aviation has a fixed-base operation located on the east side of the airport, off of Taxiway H. This is Atlantic's first Greenfield project.

Southwest Airlines has one of its largest customer service and support centers on the northern grounds of Will Rogers World Airport.

Will Rogers World Airport is home to Metro Technology Center's Aviation Career Campus.[30] The aviation center offers training to prepare aircraft maintenance technicians with classrooms, practical labs, and separate airframe and powerplant hangars are available for academic and hands-on training. The Aviation Maintenance Technician program is an 18-month course that is certified and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The facility is on the west side of the airport, north of the FAA center. One notable sight on the MetroTech campus includes a donated AirTran Airways DC-9-30 in the post AirTran Airways / ValuJet merger colors.

Will Rogers World Airport permanently hosts the Ninety Nines Museum of Women Pilots.[31] The facility is located on more than 5,000 square feet (460 m²), occupying the entire second floor of the International Headquarters building. It features a repository for a unique collection of the papers, personal items and other historic artifacts of some of the most significant achievements and adventures of the international community of women pilots. Its library and exhibit areas will provide new insights into the role women pilots played in the development of aviation.

Lariat Landing is a new development on the East side of the airport grounds that encompasses 1,000 acres (400 ha).[32] The development is meant to generate increased non-airline revenue for the airport while still growing air service. The development will be mixed use with nearly half of it, west of Portland Avenue, designated to direct aviation support (with runway access) with an additional portion dedicated to aviation support companies. The remaining portion east of Portland Avenue will be zoned for retail, industrial, and commercial office space.[32]

The direct aviation parcels of Lariat Landing will be marketed towards aircraft maintenance, aircraft manufacturing, commercial air cargo, and corporate aviation companies. Atlantic Aviation and ARINC are two tenants already located in the new development area. The aviation support district will be targeting companies that provides aviation related goods and services. The target companies include freight forwarders, logistics, cargo, warehousing, distribution operations, and manufacturing companies.

Located between Interstate 44 and Portland Avenue, the office park will have a retail village as the gateway to its campus. It will target offices, hotels/motels, retail, warehouse, distribution, and logistic companies.[32]

Property will only be leased due to FAA requirements and will have a maximum term of 40 years. The realignment of Portland Avenue is currently in process while the new 48-inch (1.2 m) waterline installation has already been completed.