The twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota are served by Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, which is on the Mississippi River about 10 miles (16 km) from the centers of both cities. The airport was opened in 1921 on the site of a defunct motor speedway and was first called Speedway Field; it was later renamed Wold-Chamberlain Field after two World War I aviators, and became the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airport in 1944 and International Airport in 1948. The first of the two current terminals was built in 1958 and named for aviator Charles Lindbergh; a second terminal was constructed in 2001 and named for former Senator and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. The Lindbergh terminal was used to represent “Lincoln Airport” in the filming of the disaster movie “Airport” in 1969; the airport was chosen in part because of its well-developed snow-clearance system due to many winter snowstorms in the Twin Cities, but no snow fell during the making of the film and artificial snow had to be used.
The airport is accessed by car from Minneapolis or St. Paul on Interstate 494 and Minnesota state route 5. Travel time is around 30 minutes from the downtown areas. Taxi fares average $40 plus tip to Minneapolis and $35 plus tip to St. Paul. Shuttle service to and from Minneapolis is around $18, while limousine and car services advertise rates of $50-75; rates are slightly less to and from St. Paul. METRO Transit, which serves both cities, provides bus service (Route 54) from Terminal 1 (Lindbergh) but not from Terminal 2 (Humphrey); a light rail system, the Tram, connects the two terminals and parking areas. Bus fares are $1.75 (local) or $2.25 (express) at off-peak times and $2.25-3.00 at rush hour. You can also easily book online for Minneapolis airport transfers here. The Blue Line of the METRO Light Rail system stops at both terminals every 10 minutes, and takes about 12 minutes to the Mall of America and 25 minutes to downtown Minneapolis; the Green Line to St. Paul connects with the Blue Line at downtown stations, and the fare is $1.75-2.25.