Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport , commonly referred to as Sky Harbor Airport or simply Sky Harbor, is a civil–military public airport east of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport, and among the largest commercial airports in the United States; in 2021, PHX was the 8th-busiest airport in the United States and 22nd-busiest in the world. The airport serves as a hub for American Airlines and a base for Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The airport is also home to the 161st Air Refueling Wing (161 ARW), an Air Mobility Command (AMC)–gained unit of the Arizona Air National Guard. The military enclave is known as the Goldwater Air National Guard Base. One of two flying units in the Arizona ANG, the 161 ARW flies the KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft. In addition to its domestic role as a National Guard unit, answering to the Governor of Arizona, the 161 ARW also performs both a stateside and overseas role as a USAF organization, supporting air refueling and air mobility missions worldwide. History Sky Harbor Airport's evocative name was conceived by J. Parker Van Zandt, the owner of Scenic Airways, in 1928. However, the reasoning for the name is apparently unknown. Sky Harbor was built in late 1928 through early 1929 initially with one runway and was the fourth airport built in Phoenix. Scenic Airways, lacking funds after the infamous Stock Market Crash of 1929, sold the airport to Acme Investment Company, which owned the airport until 1935, when the city of Phoenix purchased Sky Harbor airport from Acme for $100,000.