A view of the soon-to-be-remodeled West wing at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport
Rick Husband International Airport is a public airport located just east of Amarillo, Texas in the United States. The airport has 2 runways and was named after fallen Columbia astronaut Rick Husband, an Amarillo native.
Harold English opened this airport as English Field in 1929. Also in 1929, Transcontinental & Western Air (the forerunner to TWA) inaugurated the first commercial airline service through Amarillo. (The original name is memorialized in the English Fieldhouse, a local restaurant located adjacent to the general aviation terminal.)
In 1952, the name changed to Amarillo Air Terminal. After the adjacent Amarillo Air Force Base was closed in 1968, a portion of it was converted to civilian use and became part of the airport. The primary instrument runway, while originally constructed as part of the former USAF Strategic Air Command base, remains among the longest commercial runways in the United States, and it is still used by military pilots today. In 1976, the airport changed its name to Amarillo International Airport upon the opening of a U.S. Customs facility. Its current name was adopted following the 2003 loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia, which was commanded by Amarillo native Rick Husband.
The original English Field terminal building was converted in 1997 to a museum maintained by the Texas Aviation Historical Society.Board asks for English Field lease extension retrieved April 28, 2006
