Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (MSCAA) was founded in 1969 when the name of the airport was changed to Memphis Inter ... national Airport (MEM). Earlier incarnations of Memphis-based air service date all the way back to 1929 with the name Memphis Municipal Airport. Memphis International Airport, “America’s Aerotropolis” is a world-class facility serving more than 6 million passengers a year. It is the only airport in North America considered to be an “aerotropolis,” an airport-integrated region extending outward from the airport in strings and clusters of airport-linked businesses and their associate residential complexes. Memphis is unique in that it is a nexus of air, road, train, and river traffic and commerce. The Memphis area features: • North America’s busiest cargo airport for 21 consecutive years (2nd in the world) • Third busiest trucking corridor in the U.S. • Third largest rail center in U.S. (five “Class I” rail systems) • Fourth largest inland port in U.S. (Mississippi River) In 2012, the University of Memphis conducted a study of the Memphis airport, and concluded that MEM has an economic impact of $23.3 billion and affects one in four jobs locally. read more