Construction Alert! Please plan accordingly when traveling to and from the airport! Construction is happening on Interstate 474 – Airport Exits. Construction Maps & Updates
About the Airport
Peoria’s ties to aviation began before we had an official airport. In the summer of 1910, the Wright Brothers sent one of their instructors to Peoria for an exhibition flight. A year later, Peoria was one of the stops for Cal Rogers, the first to successfully complete a transcontinental flight across the U.S.
Charles Lindberg left his mark on the Peoria area as he made numerous stops as he flew the St. Louis to Chicago air mail route. At this time, there was no formal airport, just a small building and grass strip in the area where the Shoppes at Grand Prairie is located today.
On May 19, 1932, Peorians officially voted to create an airport that would be situated on 195 acres, which was purchased by 261 Peoria businessmen, – Peoria Airport, Inc. This early airport had only four shale runways.
In 1937, the airport was turned over to the Peoria Park District until 1950 when the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria was formed and assumed responsibility. MAAP still owns and operates both this airport and Mt. Hawley Airport today. The airport property has transformed over the years. On October 10, 2008, the Greater Peoria Regional Airport was dedicated as the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport. Ross Perot, Gen. Downing’s friend, attended and helped unveil the statue memorializing the General’s service to our Nation with while honoring his hometown.
2016, PIA dedicated a new 2-story addition in honor of former Transportation Secretary and Congressman Ray LaHood. The upper level of the building houses airline gates, while the lower level is occupied by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
In addition to buildings and grounds changing over the years, so have our passenger counts. In the late 1950s, Peoria welcomed 50,000 (enplaned and deplaned) passengers a year. In 2019, PIA set an all-time record high of 689,416.
Today, we have 12 nonstop destinations on three airlines and provide the longest runway in Illinois outside of Chicago. PIA is also houses the only 24-hour FAA control tower outside of Chicago.
PIA began with less than 200 acres and now owns and maintains more than 3,500 acres, yet only employs 26 full-time staff.
Our grounds serve many tenants, private hangars, Fixed Based Operation, cargo facilities, as well as provide access to Army and Air National Guards.
SUMMER PARKING ALERT! As we experience large numbers of passengers throughout the Summer, our lots are filling or full. We continue to monitor our parking lots daily and will advise you where our largest capacity is – please check the construction sign at the entrance to see where we are directing you. If our lots are FULL, we will create supplemental parking and advise accordingly.
Safe Travels and Thank You for flying PIA!
Beginning April 14, 2025, construction traffic will begin on Phase 1 of the new Air Traffic Control Tower.
Construction will take place for 1 year, immediately followed by Phase 2, which will take an additional year.
For the duration of the project, the main terminal drive will be reduced to one lane between the Old Tower and the merge to Dirksen Parkway. In this section of roadway, outbound traffic will use the left lane, and construction traffic will use the right lane. This is to allow consturction traffic access to the work site (as shown in the map below).
Safe Travels and Thank You for flying PIA!