A TWA plane at the Columbus airport in 1941.
This page attempts to list all significant (and maybe not so significant) events related to air and bus transportation history. It will be a constant work in progress as more dates, photos and links are added over time.
The History Links page reviews other types of transit history in the city.
**Last Updated: 7/9/2024- Added Bus events to 1980-1989.
Air Transportation and Events
1890-1899
June, 1891
Columbus residents pay 25 cents to witness the city’s first “airship” at Recreation Park on the South Side. Essentially an early version of a blimp, the craft is filled with gas and rises to a height of just 30 feet before loss of gas causes it to fall back to earth. The crowd becomes angry over the disappointing result and proceeds to destroy the craft by cutting it into pieces.
The airship in June, 1891.
1900-1909
1905
Augustus Roy Knabenshue shows off his personally-built airship at the Ohio State Fair. He calls the craft the Toledo I.
The Toledo I at the Ohio State Fair.
June 30, 1907
For over an hour, 14-year-old aviation prodigy Cromwell Dixon successfully flies his homemade, pedal-powered airship “The Moon” at Driving Park racetrack. Hundreds of people watch the event. He would later go on to be the youngest person in the world to earn a pilot’s license in 1911, and would become the first person to fly across the Continental Divide that same year. Cromwell would be killed in an accident just 3 days after that historic flight, at age 19.
1910-1919
November 7, 1910
A plane piloted by Philip Parmalee becomes the world’s first commercial freight flight when it travels from Dayton to Columbus carrying $1,000 worth of silk for retailer Morehouse Martens. The plane lands at Driving Park on Columbus’ south side after a 66-minute flight that ranged in elevation from 500 to 2,000 feet.
Parmalee with Orville Wright preparing to leave for Columbus.
June, 1914
As part of a publicity stunt for the development of “Highland Gardens” subdivision in Beechwold, aviator “Kloeckler” is hired for a week to give property buyers free rides.
February 17, 1919
Columbus holds a parade and celebration for pilot Edward Rickenbacker and other vets returning home from WWI.
1920-1929
1922
The push begins under Mayor James Thomas to build an aviation port in Columbus.
June 30, 1923
Norton Field, the first airport in Central Ohio, is dedicated near 4383 E. Broad Street. The dedication is attended by WWI pilot Eddie Rickenbacker. The first air mail into Columbus also arrives this day from Detroit.
Norton Field in the 1920s.
1926
Lonnie Carmon, the first Black airman in Columbus, builds his own airplane out of a motorcycle engine.
Carmon and his home-built airplane in 1926.
August 21, 1926
The Aero Club opens its headquarters at Norton Field, which the organization helped bring to Columbus in 1923. It is said to be the first of its kind anywhere in the United States.
The Aero Club at Norton Field in the 1920s.
1928
Famed pilot Charles Lindbergh chooses the Columbus location for a new air terminal that will service the nation’s first transcontinental route for the Transcontinental Air Transport company, of which Lindbergh is Technical Committee Chairman.
Port Columbus airport plans.
A Q&A sheet for the general public in promoting the new Port Columbus airport in 1928.
Also in 1928, the Linden Airways, Inc. company is formed by Jacob Sandusky, with a “Linden Airport” to be created on a 100-acre plot of land about a quarter-mile east of Cleveland Avenue at 1440-1460 Huy Road. Planned for the new airport is a hangar big enough to hold 10 planes, as well as “cinder” runways.
Jacob Sandusky (Left) at Linden Airport in 1929.
November 6, 1928
Columbus citizens pass airport construction bond issues by votes of 87,868 to 20,160. Construction begins soon after.
November, 1928-July, 1929
During construction of Port Columbus, in addition to the airport terminal and other infrastructure, 32 miles of drainage system have to be constructed to ensure the land would remain dry. 90,000 yards of concrete and asphalt are also laid. Total cost of construction is around $2 million.
April 18, 1929
The cornerstone of the first Port Columbus air terminal is laid by then Mayor James Thomas in a groundbreaking ceremony.
Mayor James Thomas places the first brick of the new airport terminal.
June 25, 1929
The first commercial flight lands at Port Columbus, a little over 2 weeks before the airport’s inauguration.
July 8, 1929
Between 3,000-5,000 show up for the dedication of Port Columbus airport and the inauguration of transcontinental rail-air service, of which Columbus is the first stop on the Transcontinental Air Transport route. The event is attended by many dignitaries, including Henry and Edsel Ford and Harvey Firestone. The first flight on a Ford tri-motor, the City of Columbus, carries just 20 passengers, including Amelia Earhart. The entire New York-Los Angeles trip took 48 hours in total, with 2 legs being on trains and 2 on flights. The Columbus flight leg flew to Waynoka, Oklahoma. TAT would eventually become Trans World Airlines.
The dedication of the Port Columbus airport on July 8, 1929. The brand new terminal is the building in the background.
1930-1939
1930
Linden Airways, Inc. is dissolved.
The first full year of operation at Port Columbus sees roughly 2,900 landings.
March 29, 1931
A 26-year-old amateur pilot rents a plane from Port Columbus, and after a reportedly short flight, suffers mechanical issues and crashes into homes at 153-157 E. Maynard Avenue. The pilot dies 2 days later.
October, 1931
Westinghouse lights are turned on at Port Columbus, which becomes the first airport in the US with a runway lighting system.
August, 1938
Around 3,750 landings take place for the month at Port Columbus.
June, 1939
TWA records 646 passengers on flights out of Port Columbus.
July, 1939
It is reported that 10 years after the inauguration of Port Columbus, there are 10 daily flights with TWA, up from 2 with TAT at the time of inauguration- 1 arrival and 1 departure. An additional 4 daily flights occur with American Airlines.
1940-1949
October 19, 1940
Price Field is dedicated at 3680 Refugee Road. It is a small airfield with an hourglass-shaped runway pattern, mostly serving small commercial and passenger aircraft.
1942
Port Columbus is taken over to become the Columbus Naval Air Station, serving efforts for WWII. Two passenger airlines continue to offer service, but private traffic is otherwise halted.
The airport after the Navy took over, around 1945.
May 31, 1942
Ohio State University trustees decide to purchase 387 acres northwest of Columbus to build a new airport after most civilian air traffic is closed at Port Columbus due to the Navy takeover.
November 1, 1943
It is suggested that Ohio State’s new airport be named after Don Scott, a former quarterback for OSU who had recently been killed in an army training flight over England.
1945
Around 44,000 passengers board flights at Port Columbus during the year.
1946
Port Columbus passengers are served by 3 airlines offering 26 daily flights. The airlines are: TWA with 19 flights, American Airlines with 4 and Superior Airlines with 3. In addition, there are 15 daily naval transport flights. Runway length is between 3,500 and 5,000 feet from shortest to longest. 200 civilians and 420 Navy personnel work at the airport.
December, 1948
Port Columbus handles 20,214 landings and takeoffs during the month, the most of any airport in the United States. The airport finishes the year with 262,014 landings and takeoffs, placing it at roughly 5th of all airports overall.
June 25, 1949
It is reported that TWA operates 38 daily flights in and out of Port Columbus, carrying more than 200 passengers.
November 16, 1949
Norton Field’s land starts to be sold off to develop housing subdivisions.
1950-1959
January, 1950
Columbus leadership makes an official bid to land an Air Force Academy by offering up to 9,200 acres of land near Lockbourne Air Force Base. 120 other sites nationwide are being looked at by teams with the Army Corps of Engineers for an institution “on par with Annapolis and West Point”.
1954
The last remaining traces of Linden Airport on Huy Road are destroyed for a housing development. Today’s Gerbert Road north of Carolyn Avenue runs parallel immediately to the west of where the main runway was.
July 8, 1954
The first helicopter lands at a city-designated “heliport” on W. Whittier Street along the Scioto River. It is intended to be used as the Downtown terminal of a helicopter-based shuttle service from Port Columbus.
July 11, 1954
Up to 125,000 people attend the 25-year anniversary of Port Columbus’ dedication.
March 20, 1958
A $750,000 federal allocation is approved to help cover the cost of a $2 million, 6,000-foot-long runway at Port Columbus airport. The new runway is meant to double the plane-handling capacity of the terminal.
September 21, 1958
A new terminal is opened at Port Columbus. The terminal costs $4 million to construct and serves 7 airlines. It is designed to handle 1 million passengers per year. The 1929 terminal ends its service with the new terminal’s opening.
The new Columbus terminal in 1958.
1960-1969
September 1, 1961
Port Columbus receives its first official jet when a TWA Convair 880 arrives from New York’s Idlewild Airport.
1962
Foster Lane of Lane Aviation proposes a helipad at Veterans Memorial to facilitate travelers going from Port Columbus to Downtown.
March 19, 1964
Geraldine Freditz Mock of Newark, Ohio sets out from Port Columbus on her attempt to be the first woman to fly solo around the world. She is flying in a Cessna 180 named the “Spirit of Columbus”.
Geraldine Mock with her plane in 1964.
April 17, 1964
Geraldine Mock arrives at Port Columbus, successfully completing her journey around the world. The trip takes 29 days in a route that is 22,858 miles in length. Mock would go on to set several aviation records for women over the next several years.
August 29, 1967
A Navy jet flying into Columbus from Florida makes an emergency landing at Port Columbus. The plane strikes the runway, bounces and then skids about 6,000 feet before erupting in flames. The two pilots eject on impact and one of them is seriously injured.
1968
Don Scott Field becomes Ohio’s 4th busiest airport when there are 183,733 flights in and out.
April 6, 1968
A Dayton-bound private plane crashes at Price Field after it doesn’t gain the necessary speed to take off. The crash injures two people.
1970-1979
October 24, 1970
Bolton Field, at 2000 North Road in Southwest Franklin County, opens. It costs $6 million to construct.
1971
In its first full year of operation, Bolton Field handles 61,516 landings and takeoffs.
1972
In its second year of operation, Bolton Field handles 93,744 landings and takeoffs.
1973
The 1958 terminal, built to handle just 1 million passengers, now serves more than 2 million annually.
November 16, 1976
A helicopter crashes at Port Columbus airport after a student pilot loses control after the engine malfunctions at an altitude of about 150 feet.
December, 1979
The last original aviation building at the former Norton Field is demolished.
1980-1989
October 5, 1981
A $72 million expansion and renovation of the airport terminal is dedicated. The changes include covered walkways for boarding and exiting.
1981
The airport handles more than 218,000 arrivals and departures.
1984
Artist Roy Lichtenstein’s “Brushstrokes in Flight” sculpture is installed in front of the main terminal garage entrance.
“Brushstrokes in Flight” in its original location.
August 11, 1988
Ground is broken on a new $12 million terminal expansion to add 7 new gates.
1990-1999
September 4, 1990
A free shuttle bus service begins along a route between German Village and the Ohio Center. The service is a 6-month experiment and will run on a 7 to 8-minute schedule.
1991
The Columbus Airport Authority takes over control of Port Columbus from the city.
1992
America West Airlines begins hub operations at Port Columbus. The airline uses Chautauqua Airlines and Mesa Airlines planes.
January 7, 1994
United Express Flight 6291 crashes on approach to Port Columbus inbound from Washington Dulles. Five people are killed. Pilot error is blamed.
United Flight 6291
November 22, 1994
Columbus Airport Authority board unanimously votes to cut ties with Columbus Police and form its own 18-member police force.
January, 1995
Port Columbus airport opens a $21.5 expansion that expands Concourse C by an additional 4 gates. Additional shops and restaurants are also added.
May, 1998
The “Brushstrokes in Flight” sculpture is moved to the Concourse B entrance as part of an airport remodel.
2000-2009
2003
America West Airlines closes its hub at Port Columbus.
July, 2003
Skybus Airlines is incorporated.
2004
Port Columbus handles up to 160 flights per day to 32 non-stop destinations.
2004
The airport’s current 224-foot control tower begins operations at a cost of $23 million
2007
Port Columbus airport reaches a record 7.7 million passengers for the year.
May 22, 2007
Columbus-based Skybus Airlines begins operations, becoming instantly popular due to offers of $10 one-way tickets.
April 5, 2008
Citing fuel costs and the weak economy, Columbus-based Skybus Airlines ceases operations less than a year after its inauguration.
2010-2019
June 28, 2016
Port Columbus is renamed for Ohio astronaut and politician John Glenn, with the name John Glenn International Airport.
October 14, 2016
Airport officials announce a plan to build a new terminal by 2030 at a preliminary cost of $1.3 billion.
Prospective rendering of a new Columbus airport terminal by 2030.
2019
John Glenn International sees its highest passenger total ever, reaching nearly 8.64 million, an increase of more than 2.3 million in just 5 years.
2020-Present
2020
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, passenger traffic at John Glenn International plummets by more than 62%.
Bus History
1920-1929
December 24, 1926
The first gas-powered buses appear in Columbus, serving a route along 5th Avenue.
January 20, 1927
A crash occurs between a “Big Four” train and a bus at the West Broad crossing, killing 2 and injuring 6.
December 19, 1929
The Union Bus Station terminal opens at 47 E. Town Street. 17 companies operating up to 150 daily buses use it upon opening. It is the first intercity transport system that is not train-based. The first bus is dispatched by Mayor Thomas at 5:25PM. The terminal has a waiting room with 110 chairs, soda fountains, a restaurant, tobacco shop, tailor shop, barber shop, comfort stations and news stands.
The 17 bus lines to use the terminal are: Red Star Way, Sheridan Stages, Tri-State Transit, Greyhound Lines, Columbus-Zanesville Transportation, White Start Lines, Motor Transit, Buckeye Stages, Parkersburg Bus Co., Columbus-New Albany-Johnstown Bus Co., River Road Bus, Columbus-Grove City Bus, C.C. Shafer Co., Zanesville-Columbus Bus Co., Red Star, White Star Bus Co., and D.C. Lines.
1930-1939
April 23, 1932
Greyhound opens its first terminal at 45 W. State Street with loading space for 6 buses at a time.
December 3, 1933
The first trolley bus line opens on a 5.5 mile route on Cleveland Avenue. The existing streetcar rail tracks were in need of replacement, so the city decides to convert the route instead of replacing the rail.
May 5, 1935
The city’s second trolley bus line replaces the Sullivant Avenue streetcar line. The Cleveland Avenue line is rerouted to intersect this second line, providing a more than 10-mile route combined.
1937
The Columbus Railway, Power & Light Company (CRP&L) becomes the Columbus & Southern Ohio Electric Company (C&SOEC). After this change, the new company decides to convert the rest of the streetcar system to trolley buses.
October 16, 1938
The first streetcar-to-trolley bus conversion under C&SOEC opens on the Oak Street line.
November 13, 1938
The Summit-Indianola streetcar line reopens as a new trolley bus line.
1940-1949
February 24, 1940
The second Greyhound Bus Depot opens at 81 E. Town Street Downtown.
The first Greyhound depot in 1945.
April 14, 1940
The Broad-Mt Vernon streetcar line reopens as a trolley bus line. The trolley bus routes total 26.25 miles.
August 17, 1947
The Long-Livingston streetcar line reopens as a trolley bus line.
September 7, 1947
The High-Whittier and North & South High streetcar lines reopen as trolley bus lines.
1948
The city’s bus system gives more than 80 million passenger trips.
September 5, 1948
The final streetcar lines, Main-Neil and Parsons Avenue, reopens as trolley bus lines. The trolley bus routes total 62.38 miles with 226 buses.
1949
The trolley bus system is sold to the Columbus Transit Company (CTC).
1950-1959
1960-1969
The Greyhound bus station on East Town Street in 1960.
1964
A citizens committee of the Development Committee for Greater Columbus recommends public ownership of the Columbus Transit Company, along with management of the system through a city transit commission.
The trolley bus system begins conversion to regular buses.
1965
Passenger rides on Columbus Transit Company buses give more than 25 million rides and travel more than 7.5 million miles.
May 30, 1965
The last trolley bus runs for the last time.
A photo of the last trolley bus running on High Street on May 30, 1965.
January 1, 1967
The Columbus Transit Company raises fairs to 35 cents.
1968
Battelle Memorial Institute, along with the Regional Transportation Council, concludes that a crisis was pending with mass transit situation in Columbus, as the CTC bus system was failing.
August 1, 1969
A new Greyhound Bus Terminal opens at 111 E. Town Street. The project requires the demolition of the pre-Civil War era Central Market building, as well as the city’s old central interurban station.
The second Greyhound terminal in 1969.
1970-1979
1970
Passenger rides on CTC buses drop to 21 million. Revenue for the year is $7.2 million.
An Advisory Committee on Transportation is established, which lobbies the state General Assembly to allow regional transit authorities.
January 1, 1970
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio awards emergency temporary authority to the Lincoln Village Transit Company to operate buses between Grove City and Columbus beginning January 2nd. The move comes after the existing bus operator for the route- Columbus & Suburban Coach Lines- announces it will suspend service.
1971
CTC passenger rides drop to 17 million. Fares are raised to 45 cents. Total revenue is about $7.7 million.
COTA- the Central Ohio Transit Authority- is formed as an alternative to CTC after the General Assembly approved legislation to allow regional transit authorities.
January 1, 1971
The Central Ohio Transit Authority, or COTA, is founded.
1972
CTC passenger rides drop to 15 million. Fares are raised to 50 cents. Total revenue is about $7.4 million.
May 2, 1972
Columbus voters reject a 1-mill, 10-year levy to fund COTA’s purchase of the CTC, as well as to operate and expand the CTC system under the COTA umbrella.
November 1972
Voters approve a 0.8-mill, 3-year levy to finance COTA taking over CTC.
January 1, 1973
CTC cuts Sunday, weekend and holiday bus services due to rising expenses and falling ridership.
March 11, 1973
Columbus restores CTC Sunday bus service after allocating funds to subsidize the operations, which costs the city $2000 a day.
July 1, 1973
COTA is officially given permission from the federal Urban Mass Transit Administration to begin taking over Columbus’ bus system operations from the old Columbus Transit Company.
November, 1973
COTA formally completes the purchase of CTC for $4.8 million.
January 1, 1974
The first COTA bus begins service at 4AM.
Existing bus routes (dark solid lines) and planned line extensions (dotted lines) in 1974.
July 22, 1974
COTA expands bus service to Grove City. This effectively ends service from the struggling, 26-bus Lincoln Village Transit Company, which operates in parts of the West Side.
1974
The first year of COTA operation sees 13.8 million passengers with $6.4 million in revenue. There are 2,700 bus stops within the system.
1975
Voters renew the 0.8-mill, 3-year levy. COTA begins offering discounted rides to those with disabilities.
October 27, 1976
The COTA board of trustees approves a contract with Service Products Buildings Inc. to build 50 new bus shelters along several bus routes. The contract is for $131,035.
1978
COTA bus passenger trips reach 17,970,409.
The zoo bus is launched, making trips from Downtown to the Columbus Zoo three days per week.
1979
COTA bus passenger trips reach 19,681,204, a 9.5% increase over 1978.
The first express bus is launched along High Street.
1980-1989
1980
COTA launches service for Red, White & Boom.
Also for 1980, COTA reports ridership of about 20 million.
September 30, 1982
COTA announces a proposal to build two express bus terminals Downtown at a cost of $240,000. The northern site is at N. Wall and Spring, with the southern site being at Cherry and Cherry east of High Street.
The 1982 Downtown bus terminal rendering.
January, 1983
The new bus terminal at Wall and Spring opens.
1985
COTA reports ridership of 26.7 million for the year.
1986
COTA reports ridership of about 24 million for the year.
1987
COTA has ridership of 17.4 million for the year.
February 1, 1989
Due to increasing costs, COTA raises fares across many services and proposed route and schedule changes beginning in February and continuing through May.
1989 Service and Fare Changes
November, 1989
Voters pass a 0.25%, 10-year sales tax levy to support and expand COTA service. Some service and routes that were cut over the previous year are restored.
1990-1999
1999
County voters approve a permanent 0.25% sales tax to finance COTA operations.
2000-2009
2002
GPS is added to COTA buses.
2006
Voters approve a 0.25%, 10-year sales tax increase to fund future expansion of COTA routes.
2010-2019
2011
COTA becomes the nation’s fastest-growing bus system for ridership.
May 5, 2014
CBUS, a free bus circulator, begins service along a route between German Village and the Short North focused along Hight Street.
May, 2017
Columbus’ bus system is redesigned to abandon the long-standing spoke system out of Downtown.
2018
The COTA bus system has 43 routes, 3,030 stops and 322 buses.
January 1, 2018
CMAX, the city’s first bus-rapid transit (BRT) route is launched along a 15.6-mile route along Cleveland Avenue.
June 1, 2018
COTA begins CPASS, a program for Downtown workers to get free bus ride passes.
2019
The COTA system has 42 routes across 562 square miles.
April 30, 2019
Insight2050, a public-private partnership, releases its Corridor Concepts report focusing on 5 city corridors for adding high-capacity transit service. The corridors are East Main between Downtown and Reynoldsburg, Cleveland Avenue from Downtown to Polaris Parkway, Downtown to Routes 33/16 at Post Road, Downtown to Rickenbacker along Parsons and Alum Creek Drive, and West Broad from Downtown to Norton Road.
2020-2029
March, 2020
CBUS service ends as the Covid-19 pandemic forces the shutdown of most forms of work and travel.
April 15, 2020
COTA begins requiring all passengers wear face masks due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
2020
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, COTA passenger trips plummet from a record of more than 19.4 million to just 10.4 million, the lowest in COTA’s history.
July 28, 2021
COTA’s board agrees to buy the Downtown Greyhound Bus station for $9.5 million, with plans to build a transit center and mixed-use development on the site.
At the same meeting, the board approves $416.8 million towards building a dedicated-lane, bus-rapid-transit line on West Broad Street between Downtown and Lincoln Village. The proposed project is planned to be finished and opened by 2028.
April 19, 2022
COTA stops requiring passengers to wear masks due to Covid-19 after a federal judge overrules CDC requirements nationwide.
