New Orleans Airport renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport
MSY opened after World War II, replacing the older New Orleans Lakefront Airport (which kept the NEW and KNEW airport codes and now serves general aviation) as the city's main airport[citation needed]. MSY was renamed in 2001 after Louis Armstrong, a famous jazz musician from New Orleans.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (IATA: MSY, ICAO: KMSY, FAA LID: MSY) is a public use airport in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is owned by the City of New Orleans and is located 10 nautical miles (19 km) west of its central business district.[1] The airport's address is 900 Airline Drive in Kenner, Louisiana. A small portion of Runway 10/28 is located in unincorporated St. Charles Parish. Armstrong International is the primary commercial airport for the New Orleans metropolitan area and southeast Louisiana. The airport was formerly known as Moisant Field, and it is also known as Louis Armstrong International Airport and New Orleans International Airport.
Sitting at an average of 4.5 feet (1.4 m) above sea level, MSY is the 2nd lowest-lying international airport in the world, behind only Amsterdam's Schiphol International Airport in The Netherlands, which lies eleven feet below sea level (4.5 meters below Normaal Amsterdams Peil)[2][3]. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, MSY served 9.7 million passengers per year, nearly all of them non-connecting. In 2008, it served 7,944,397 passengers, representing an increase of 5.5% over the previous year. MSY has one of the best safety records among U.S. airports.[citation needed]
In February 2008, U.S. News And World Report ranked the travel experience at MSY 4th of the 47 busiest United States airports based upon the relatively small number of flight delays and frequently lower onboard flight loads.[4]
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was once a major gateway for Latin American travel from the United States. That travel mostly goes through other cities which serve as hubs for international legacy airlines.
The airport was renamed in 2001 after Louis Armstrong, a famous jazz musician from New Orleans. The National Weather Service forecast office for the area moved to the suburb of Slidell, and now uses non-airport codes LIX and KLIX.
MSY is owned by the City of New Orleans (Orleans Parish), but is primarily located in the city of Kenner, which is in neighboring Jefferson Parish. A small portion of the longest runway is located in unincorporated Saint Charles Parish.
The airport, which was known as Moisant Field when it opened in 1946 on surplus Army property that the federal government sold to the City of New Orleans, was once one of the largest commercial airports in the nation. It was renamed New Orleans International Airport in 1960 and renamed again, for the jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, in 2001.
