Aviation has almost 103 years of commercial flights. Officially, on 1 January 1914 was operated the first commercial flight, on the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, Florida.
The distance of 34 kilometers was traveled in 23 minutes, and at the sleeve of the Benoist seaplane was the pilot Tony Jannus. The first passenger in the history of civil aviation was Abram C. Pheil, former mayor of St. Petersburg, and the fee paid for this privilege was 400 dollars, a nice sum for those times.
”Aurel Vlaicu” Băneasa Airport
But the aerodromes appeared much earlier. Conformable airport-technology.com, the first operational commercial airport was certified in 1909. It's about College Park Airport (KCGS) from Maryland, United States.
The second oldest commercial airport in the world is Hamburg, Germany. It was inaugurated in 1911. It is currently at 8.5 kilometers from the center of Hamburg. Every year, over 13 millions of passengers cross the threshold.
The podium of the oldest airports in the world is completed by Baneasa - Aurel Vlaicu International Airport (BBU) from Bucharest. Although the first flights were operated from 1909, the airport was certified in 1912 with the establishment of the aviation school.
Starting with 2012, Băneasa International Airport was transformed into a city airport. Currently, only charter and VIP flights are operated. For several years, Băneasa International Airport has also hosted the largest aviation show in Romania - Bucharest International Air Show (BIAS).
The list of the 10 oldest airports in the world is completed by: Bremen airport, Germany (from 1913); Ciampino Airport from Rome, Italy (from 1916); Schiphol Airport from Amsterdam (from 1916), the Netherlands; Paris-Le Bourget Airport, France (from 1919); Sydney Airport (Kingsford Smith), Australia (from 1920); Minneapolis-St. Paul, United States (from 1920); Albany International Airport, United States (from 1928).