Memphis International Airport (MEM)
History, Facts and Overview

(Memphis, Tennessee - TN, USA)

Opened in the early thirties and originally known as the Memphis Municipal Airport, the city's present-day airport was established on a large area of farmland covering around 200 acres / 80 hectares. Conveniently located on the southeasterly outskirts of downtown Memphis, the airport comprised three hangars and a simple runway. Both mail services and passenger flights were in full swing by 1940, when many well-known carriers operated here.

Notable dates include 1963, when the current passenger terminal was inaugurated, and 1969, when the name officially changed to Memphis International Airport (MEM). Also important was the year of 1995, when regular services to the city of Amsterdam began.


Facilities onsite at Memphis International Airport are comprehensive and easily meet the needs and requirements of most passengers. Expect to find airline passenger paging services, vending racks for luggage carts, Hairport hairdressers, shoeshine services, specific smoking areas and Airline Clubs, operated by KLM Airlines.

Also available at Memphis Airport are courtesy telephones for car rental companies, various vending machines, US mail boxes, a business service center, Memphis visitor information kiosks complete with hotline, and branches of the Federal Credit Union bank. If you are looking for somewhere to eat out or shop, there are plenty of airport stores and eateries, such as Arby's, Back Yard, Hudson News, Juice it Up and the Republic of Tea.