In the year ending September 14, 2016 the airport had 19,287 aircraft operations, average 53 per day: 87% general aviation, 11% air taxi, and 1% military.

The airfield does have a ASOS Weather System installed on site (Located in the center of the field), which can be reached 24/7 on frequency 128.075 or by calling 319-339-9491.

Iowa City’s Municipal Airport – which opened in 1918 – is the oldest airstrip west of the Mississippi River that's still in its original location – with many of the early pioneers of flight landing here – including Wiley Post, Jack Knight, Charles Lindbergh, and Will Rogers.

Benjamin's land was popular for local pilots, because – unlike much of Iowa City – it was flat as a pancake, and clear of trees and obstructions.

December 30, 1919, the U.S. Post Office Department in Washington, D.C. telegraphed Iowa City Postmaster Max Mayer to ask for information about this new airfield that had opened here in 1918.

On the return trip, the pilot, Walter J. Smith, had the privilege of flying a live 10-pound piglet – an Iowa hog – to be served at a banquet at the Congress Hotel in Chicago!

The first full-transcontinental air mail flights began on September 8, 1920 – with Iowa City being the one stop for fuel between Chicago and Omaha.

Five months later, on February 22 & 23, 1921, Smith Field – the Iowa City airport – was designated as a fuel stop on the first transcontinental day/night air mail attempt.

Landing at Omaha by the light of burning gasoline drums placed along the runway, Knight found that his relief pilot had not arrived.

As he got closer to Iowa City, the Smith Field watchman set out railroad flares to help him land.

When Knight landed at Chicago's Checkerboard Field he was greeted by a throng of people who had gathered to see if the daring young pilot would finish his remarkable flight.

Although he downplayed his role, he did concede once... "If you ever want to worry your head – just try to find Iowa City on a dark night with a good snow and fog hanging around."

The event was covered “from inside the plane” by Jane Eads – a 20-year old reporter, and the sole passenger, from The Cook County (Chicago) Herald newspaper.

In 1939, Shaw began the CAA Civilian Pilot Training Program and the first class includes State University of Iowa coed Sally Johnson.

Between 1939 and 1944, long-time aviator Shaw and his team helped train 2,500 pilots in the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at the Iowa City airport.

Beginning in 1946, United Air Lines committed to making Iowa City one of its primary Midwestern stops with daily flights to and from Chicago and Omaha.

Wanting something sleek and modern, the Airport Commission approved Fisk's design, so in April 1952, McCreedy Construction began its work.

Located at the center of the airport – 1801 Riverside Drive – the Airport Terminal & Administration Building was more than adequate in the early days of the Jet Age, and with only Ozark Airlines flying in and out of Iowa City until 1972, the terminal was plenty sufficient once all air passenger service headed north to Cedar Rapids.

Though the interior received a major renovation (2007), the Airport Commission and project architects largely preserved the historic spatial arrangement of rooms and hallways, as well as the sunlit staircase to the second floor.

Without a doubt, Henry L. Fisk created a unique design that, today, makes it a worthy candidate for the National Register of Historic Places.

The terminal's design is a rare surviving example of mid-20th Century American aviation architecture – similar to terminals at Cincinnati's Lunken Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport, both built in the late 1930s – yet also embracing a post WWII modern design that became highly popular with the advent of the Jet Age (1950's).

Five years later (2023), a U of I graduate from the School of Art – Jenna Brownlee – completed a massive mural that commemorates and celebrates the rich 100-year history of aviation in Iowa City.