The History of the John Wayne Airport

On June 24, 2018 the Costa Mesa Historical Society featured speaker Jeffery Roundtree who is the Manager of Airside Operations at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport.

For the past 22 years Mr. Rountree has been responsible for ensuring the safety of day to day airfield and terminal operations at Orange County’s sole air carrier airport which serves approximately 10.4 million passengers annually. He is responsible for ensuring the airfield is operated in compliance with federal regulations that govern airports serving commercial air carriers. He previously worked at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, Oxnard and Camarillo airports and served as a police officer. He earned his pilot's license in 1984.

Beginning as the Eddie Martin’s Airport in 1923, there have be several distinct airfield configurations that have made up the “Orange County Airport” as it was known from 1941 to 1979. During that time, the Airport was transformed into an army airfield providing coastal air defense and military access to the Santa Ana Army Air Base during WWII. It became an airline stop in the 1950s and 1960s and now it is a thriving General Aviation airport. In 1979 John Wayne’s name was added making it the Orange County John Wayne Airport.

For more information on the John Wayne Orange County Airport: www.ocair.com

To learn more about the Costa Mesa Historical Society, future speakers or how to become a member: http://www.costamesahistory.org/