Gerald R. Ford International Airport

Gerald R. Ford International Airport (IATA: GRR, ICAO: KGRR, FAA LID: GRR) is a commercial airport located a few miles southeast of Grand Rapids, Michigan in Cascade Township. Originally called Kent County Airport and later renamed Kent County International Airport; in December 1999 the airport was renamed for former resident Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States. GRR is the largest regional commercial service airport serving the West Michigan region and offers nonstop service to major connecting airports such as Atlanta, Detroit Metro, Chicago O'Hare, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Memphis, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Las Vegas. It offers no direct service to international destinations other than Toronto Pearson Airport.

Gerald R. Ford International Airport has two parallel east-west runways and one north-south runway. Along with cargo and general aviation facilities, the airport also has one passenger terminal, consisting of a two-level main terminal and two concourses, labeled A (with seven gates) and B (with six gates).

The main terminal contains the ticketing lobbies, three baggage claim carousels, a gift shop, a food court, a KidsPort play room, a game room, five conference rooms, and two public business centers. Short term and long term parking are located in front of the terminal. The main terminal has 12 gates. WiFi service is available at no cost to airport patrons throughout the terminal facility.

When new baggage screening regulations were introduced by the Transportation Security Administration, the airport was one of the first in the nation to conduct trials on the new screening machines.Due to their size, there was no room to locate the machines "behind the scenes." Instead, they were placed in the middle of the lobby.

Grand Rapids' first airport broke ground in November 1919, 4 mi (6.4 km) south of downtown. This was eight-years after the area witnessed its first airplane landing which was a Wright biplane at Comstock Park State Fairgrounds on September 10, 1911. The airport was operated by the Kent County Board of Supervisors.

The first regularly scheduled air service in the United States was between Grand Rapids and Detroit (actually Dearborn's Ford Airport) on a Ford-Stout monoplane named Miss Grand Rapids, which commenced July 26, 1926. The airport expanded across 44th Street in 1948, and for a time, movable gates were used to keep traffic off the runway while it was in use. Another expansion was completed in 1952, however all signs pointed to the need for a completely new facility.

The airport is located at the intersection of 44th Street and Patterson Avenue. It abuts I-96 on the east, M-6 on the south, M-37 on the west, and M-11 on the north.

Metro Cab and Metro Cars provides taxi and luxury sedan service and several car rental agencies operate rental counters in the airport.

The Rapid runs the Grand Rapids Air Porter from the airport to downtown hotels from April through October., Route 17 Woodland/Airport travels between the airport and Woodland Mall seven days a week. Routes 5 (weekdays only) and 6 (7-day service) provide service to Central Station from Woodland. From Woodland, Route 44 provides weekday only service to Rivertown Crossings Mall.