Buffalo 4k | Buffalo Niagara International Airport [BUF] | New York | 4K Walking Tour!

Buffalo Niagara International Airport [BUF] plays an essential role in the development of business and tourism in the Buffalo Niagara region. Buffalo Niagara International Airport has up to 100 nonstop flights per day serving 26 airport destinations and beyond.

What is now Buffalo Niagara International Airport was first created in 1926 when a group of aviation enthusiasts convinced the City of Buffalo officials that an airport was an indispensable element for any city intent on industrial and commercial growth.

Two hundred acres of Cheektowaga farmland was purchased in 1925 to build the Buffalo Municipal Airport, 318 acres in 1926, and an additional 20 acres in 1929, for a total land area of 538 acres. Today's Buffalo Niagara International Airport covers almost 1,000 acres.

Passenger and airmail service between Buffalo and Cleveland commenced in mid-December 1927. Airmail service and eventually passenger travel proved popular and began to increase. One reason was Buffalo's location on the route from New York City to Cleveland, Chicago, and other western cities.

Another reason for Buffalo's growth as an aviation center was the presence of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Curtiss had contracts with the Army and Navy to produce military aircraft in large numbers. With America's entry into World War I in 1917, Curtiss invested $4 million to build the largest airplane factory in the world.

By the mid-1930s, the city was being pressed to build a new airport administration building. Construction of which was finally started on May 11, 1938, and was completed on April 27, 1939. A new apron was completed a few months later.

At the close of World War II, the airport's airfield facilities were badly deteriorated due to heavy wartime use. Numerous airfield and roadway/parking improvements were made in the late 1940s/early 1950s.

The administration building had also reached saturation and a major expansion program for the passenger terminal completed in 1955. This expansion, which included the West Concourse, tripled the square footage of the terminal and gave the airport a total of 11 gates.

In 1956, the Niagara Frontier Port Authority, a public body created by the New York State legislature, acquired the airport from the City of Buffalo. It continued to operate the airport until it was assimilated into the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA), created by the New York State Legislature in 1967. All subsequent work on the airport was carried out by the NFTA. In 1959, the name of the airport was changed to the Greater Buffalo International Airport.

During the 1960s, automobile traffic outgrew the old traffic circle at the front of the building and a new method of handling arriving and departing automobiles was needed. At the same time, the airlines were pressing for still more gates. In 1961, United Airlines was increasing its flights significantly and other airlines needed additional gates as well. The administration building had been extended as far as possible with the addition of piers or wings to the north, east, and west.

In 1968, NFTA initiated the development of a regional airport study to assess long-term airport needs in the region. As a result, the West Terminal was built, opening in 1971, as an interim passenger terminal to alleviate the overcrowding at the East Terminal until a new regional airport could be constructed. Air travel projections for the 1960s pointed toward the construction of a new regional airport, and studies were conducted to find a location for this new facility.

After an intensive analysis of potential terminal configurations, a single stand-alone terminal design was selected which required the demolition of both the East and West Terminals. In September 1996, the NFTA board of commissioners changed the name of the airport to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BNIA) effective with the opening of the new passenger terminal.

The new 15-gate, $ 56 million terminal opened with great celebration and fanfare on November 3, 1997. Since its opening, the number of daily flights has increased from 94 to over 130, and passenger growth in the last two years has exceeded 10% annually. Passengers, vendors, and the airlines indicate an extraordinarily high satisfaction level with the new facility.

Within the main Gateway concourse, a unique 13,000 square foot work of art has been created on the floor with multicolored terrazzo tiles depicting the history of the region from a geological and sociological perspective. Created by Oregon artist and sculptor Robert E. Calvo, the woven pattern in the center of the design serves as a metaphor for the region, which was created out of the influences of many divergent events.

Since its opening, the Buffalo Niagara International Airport terminal has expanded both the east and west concourse facilities. These expansions have increased the total number of gates from 15 to 25. (BUF web)