Des Moines International Airport
Des Moines International Airport
Des Moines International Airport (IATA: DSM, ICAO: KDSM, FAA LID: DSM) is a joint civilian-military commercial service airport 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Des Moines, the capital of Iowa. The airport's 2,600-acre (1,052-hectare) campus includes two runways, 46 buildings, seven parking facilities, and the terminal. Six commercial airlines offer service from DSM (American, Allegiant, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, and United). The airport is managed by the Des Moines Airport Authority. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 called it a primary commercial service airport. In 2016 a record 2.48 million passengers used the airport, up 5 percent from 2015. In 2019, DSM served 2.92 million passengers, a record for the airport. The airport hosts the 132nd Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard.
Location
41.534°N, 93.657°O · 292 m s. n. m. (958 ft)
General data
Runways · 2
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 8 Official publication
Tower
Ground
Clearance delivery
ATIS (automatic information)
Approach
UNICOM
Frequencies from the official publication: FAA NASR, AIRAC 01 OCT 2026, checked on Oct 16, 2026. They change with each amendment: not for navigation without checking the current AIP. See the official publication In MHz.
History
In the 1920s the Des Moines area had several small airports for general aviation and airmail. In 1929, the Iowa General Assembly passed a law allowing cities to sell bonds and levy assessments to build municipal airports. Over 80 sites were considered for the Des Moines Airport until a decision was made to build on 160 acres (0.65 km²) of farmland south of the city. Construction of the airport began in 1932 and was completed in 1933. The airport's first passenger terminal was built shortly after the airport was completed. It was replaced by a new terminal in 1950 that has been expanded and renovated several times. The present concourses were built in 1970, along with the remodeling of the terminal. The airport itself has expanded several times from its original 160-acre (0.65 km2) site and now covers 2,625 acres (10.6 km²).
The airport was originally governed by the City of Des Moines' Parks Department. A separate Aviation Department was established by the city during the 1960s, and in 1982, a separate Aviation Policy Advisory Board was established. The airport was renamed the Des Moines International Airport in 1986 to acknowledge the presence of a United States Customs Service office at the airport.
In 2011, the City of Des Moines transferred control from the city to the Des Moines Airport Authority. The city retains ownership of the land but transfers title to all property and equipment to the public authority. In turn, the authority agreed to a 99-year lease on the land.
In 2016, a record 2.48 million passengers used the airport, up 5 percent from 2015.
Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 919,990 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 853,596 in 2009 and 932,828 in 2011.
In July 2021, the airport announced plans to become a base for Allegiant Air.
What flies here
From our own logbook: 791 aircraft documented between 2006 and 2025.
Types seen here
Bombardier CRJ267
Embraer ERJ 135 / 145169
Embraer E170 / E17569
Airbus A31958
McDonnell Douglas MD-8049
Airbus A32036
Boeing 73733
Boeing 71722
Boeing 737 MAX4
Boeing 7672Airlines with documented aircraft
Busiest routes from here
A count of our own aircraft profiles, year by year, from the public United States flight records: it reflects what we have documented, not the airport’s total traffic.
Airlines operating here · 9
Other airlines with direct routes
Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).
Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.
This page was last updated on October 16, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 16). Des Moines International Airport (DSM). Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/DSM
MLA
“Des Moines International Airport (DSM).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 16 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/DSM. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Des Moines International Airport (DSM).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 16, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/DSM.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Des Moines International Airport (DSM). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/DSM (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_dsm,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Des Moines International Airport (DSM)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-16},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/DSM},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/DSM}},
urldate = {2026-10-17},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/DSM |title=Des Moines International Airport (DSM) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-16 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}