Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY/KMSY) is the latest addition to our YouTube channel’s live streams, where you can get a 24-hour live view of New Orleans’ main airport, powered by a fully automatic aircraft tracking camera provided by the PlaneTracker App from CamStreamer.

The camera is located a few meters from runway 11, which was the most used runway during the past week according to our database (83%). The remaining 17% used runway 29, and no operations were performed on the secondary runway, with thresholds 02-20, as it is currently closed for construction works; this runway is 900 meters shorter than the main runway. This airport typically handles over 350 operations per day, including 175 landings and takeoffs.

History

The history of the current Louis Armstrong Airport began in the mid-1930s, when it became clear that the New Orleans Municipal Airport—located on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain—could no longer handle all the air traffic in the area. Expansions of the municipal airport were considered too expensive, so an Aviation Division of the Department of Public Property of the City of New Orleans was formed in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA, now the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA) to establish a new airport.

Moisant Field, where the airport is currently situated, was first used by the U.S. government during World War II. After the war ended, the federal government returned the land, along with 295 adjacent acres, to the city of New Orleans.

First flights

In May 1946, commercial flights started at Moisant Field, which was considered one of the largest airports in the country, covering 1,360 acres of land and featuring three runways. It was also the first airport to install an Instrument Landing System, and it was renamed New Orleans International Airport in 1960.

The airport’s first major expansion took place in 1974 with the opening of its main terminal, increasing the number of gates to 42. This terminal remained in use until the inauguration of the current airport terminal, which occurred in 2019. New Orleans International Airport was renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport in August 2001 to mark the 100th birthday of the native-born musician.

The IATA code for Louis Armstrong International Airport is MSY, and its ICAO code is KMSY. The three-letter identifier stands for Moisant Stock Yards.

At present

New Orleans has extensive domestic connectivity, provided by major U.S. airlines such as Alaska Airlines (AS/ASA), American Airlines (AA/AAL), Breeze Airways (MX/MXY), Delta Air Lines (DL/DAL), Frontier (F9/FFT), JetBlue (B6/JBU), Southwest Airlines (WN/SWA), Sun Country Airlines (SY/SCX), and United Airlines (UA/UAL). It also has domestic cargo flights, operated primarily by DHL, FedEx, and UPS.

Similar to St. Louis, as we talked about in this post on British Airways’ launch from London, New Orleans’ international connectivity includes three routes, one of which is operated by the British flag carrier. At the time of publication, New Orleans has 12 weekly international flights, distributed among Cancún, London Heathrow, and Toronto.

Routes

Considering the number of routes it operates, Southwest Airlines is the leading airline in New Orleans, offering 21 routes at present, and serving as the sole operator on some of them. In addition, it is one of the U.S. airlines that operate international routes to/from MSY.

International routes

Air Canada (AC/ACA), Breeze Airways, British Airways (BA/BAW), and Southwest Airlines each operate one international route at Louis Armstrong International Airport. The Canadian airline connects the airport to Toronto, the British carrier to London Heathrow, and the two U.S. airlines to Cancún.

British Airways is the only passenger airline to operate wide-body aircraft in New Orleans, using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Its five weekly flights from/to its main hub in the United Kingdom are primarily operated by the 787-10, the largest version of the 787, although it often uses the 787-8.

Cancún

Breeze

Saturday

• MX 354  New Orleans MSY 13:50 · 15:55 CUN Cancún
• MX 355  Cancún CUN 16:55 · 19:00 MSY New Orleans

Southwest

Saturday

• WN 1026  New Orleans MSY 11:20 · 13:15 CUN Cancún
• WN 1027  Cancún CUN 14:15 · 16:20 MSY New Orleans

London Heathrow

Daily except Monday and Tuesday

• BA 225  London LHR 16:00 · 20:00 MSY New Orleans
• BA 224  New Orleans MSY 21:50 · 12:40+1 LHR London

Toronto

Daily except Tuesday and Saturday

• AC 1711  Toronto YYZ 08:55 · 10:56 MSY New Orleans
• AC 1710  New Orleans MSY 11:50 · 15:42 YYZ Toronto

With regard to cargo flights, FedEx and UPS operate around one daily flight to/from New Orleans mainly using Airbus A300(F) aircraft, connecting to their main hubs in Memphis and Louisville, respectively. DHL also operates cargo flights at Louis Armstrong International Airport, which are conducted by Boeing 737-400 or Boeing 737-800 aircraft from Kalitta Charters.

New Orleans becomes the fourth livestream on our YouTube channel

Las Vegas (LAS/KLAS)

Sint Maarten (SXM/TNCM)

Lanzarote (ACE/GCRR)

For more information about our livestreams, click here.

Cover photo: © Nelson Mejia – JetPhotos (New Orleans, United States)

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