| Williams Gateway Airport |
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Williams Gateway Airport is a commercial Airport located in the southeastern area of Mesa, Arizona . HISTORY Williams Gateway Airport was built in 1941 and inaugurated in 1942 by the United States military as Williams Air Base . It served as a flight training field during World War II for military pilots. Military forces established a pilot school there, and many war airplanes that are now considered to be classics were seen there on a daily basis. In 1948 , Williams became the first jet training base, and in 1976 it was the first site of the Undergraduate Pilot Training programhttp://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/mesa/articles/0330evinsider0330Z11.html. The 1991 BRAC Commission recommended closing the base as its operating costs of the air base were too costly for the American government, and the base continued operating until 1993 . In 2002 , it was decided that, with the growing traffic at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix , an alternative airport would be needed in the area. The runway was expanded to accommodate Jet s, and the facility reopened in 2003 , as Williams Gateway Airport. Bids began to be made for some Airlines to begin flights almost immediately. In 2004 , Charter Airline Ryan International Airlines began offering MD-82 jet flights from there to Bullhead City International Airport in Bullhead City, Arizona , which is adjacent to Laughlin, Nevada and many resorts. In recent years, the airport has again become a center of flight training. Several large flight schools now take advantage of the great flying weather in the Phoenix valley. NOTES AIRLINES
Charter
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