What you're seeing over Minneapolis
The jets over Minneapolis are mostly Delta flights going to or from Minneapolis–St. Paul International, a major Delta hub tucked between the two downtowns. Sun Country, based at MSP, adds a big share too. Because MSP is only about seven miles south of downtown Minneapolis and surrounded by neighborhoods, the airport's main runways send arrivals and departures over south Minneapolis on one side and Eagan and Mendota Heights on the other.
MSP's parallel runways run northwest-southeast. When the airport lands toward the southeast, arrivals pass low over south Minneapolis near Lake Nokomis and Minnehaha Parkway. When it lands toward the northwest, those same neighborhoods instead see departures climbing out over them. The north-south runway, opened in the 2000s, sends traffic over Bloomington and the Minnesota River valley. Military C-130s based at MSP and business jets from Flying Cloud and St. Paul round out the picture. Our noise and flight path guide explains why the airport changes direction and why a street can go from quiet to busy in a single afternoon.
Airports near Minneapolis
- major hubMSPMinneapolis–St. Paul International Airport
KMSP · 7 miles south of downtown
A Delta hub and home base of Sun Country Airlines, with an Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard installation on the field. Live traffic at MSP ↗ - relieverSTPSt. Paul Downtown Airport (Holman Field)
KSTP · 10 miles east of downtown
A business-aviation airport on the Mississippi across from downtown St. Paul. Live traffic at STP ↗ - relieverFCMFlying Cloud Airport
KFCM · 14 miles southwest of downtown
A busy general aviation and flight-training airport in Eden Prairie. Live traffic at FCM ↗ - general aviationKANEAnoka County–Blaine Airport
KANE · 12 miles north of downtown
A general aviation airport north of the city, home to a vintage aircraft museum. Live traffic at KANE ↗
Common traffic over Minneapolis
Delta flies a broad mix through MSP: A321s, A320s, 737-900ERs, A220s and A330s and A350s to Europe and Asia, plus a big fleet of regional jets. Sun Country flies 737-800s, many to winter-sun destinations, and also operates freighters for Amazon. Southwest, United, American and others fill in.
How the flows work, in plain English:
- Southeast landings: arrivals descend over south Minneapolis, Richfield and the Lake Nokomis area, and departures climb out over Eagan and Mendota Heights.
- Northwest landings: arrivals come in over Eagan and Mendota Heights, and departures climb over south Minneapolis.
- North-south runway: used heavily for departures toward the south over Bloomington and the river valley, and sometimes for arrivals from the south.
Cargo includes FedEx, UPS, and Sun Country's Amazon flights. Overflights between Chicago and the West, and polar routes from Asia to the Midwest, cross at cruise altitude.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station at MSP hosts the Air Force Reserve's 934th Airlift Wing, and the Minnesota Air National Guard's 133rd Airlift Wing flies C-130s there too. Helicopters include North Memorial and other medevac flights, police and news. Winter snow means deicing and plowing operations can slow things down. On snowy winter mornings, the deicing pads can hold a long line of jets waiting their turn before departure.
Aircraft you'll often see here
Airbus A321
narrowbody airliner
Airbus A320
narrowbody airliner
Boeing 737-900 / 737-900ER
narrowbody airliner
Boeing 737-800
narrowbody airliner
Bombardier CRJ900
regional jet
Embraer E175
regional jet
Airbus A220-100
small narrowbody airliner
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
military tactical airlifter
Plane-spotting tips for Minneapolis
The parks along the Minnesota River and around Fort Snelling, east of the airport, give good views of traffic on several runways. The neighborhoods around Lake Nokomis are under the approach to MSP's southeast-landing runways, so the lake's shoreline is a popular, if noisy, place to watch arrivals pass low overhead. In Eagan and Mendota Heights, the parks near the airport offer views of the opposite flow. From downtown, look south. Winter brings crisp, clear days, but bundle up; summer thunderstorms can bring sudden holding patterns. Bloomington's parks along the Minnesota River, south of the airport, sit near the paths used by the north-south runway.
Minneapolis sky questions
Why do planes fly so low over south Minneapolis?
MSP is only a few miles from south Minneapolis, and its parallel runways point directly at the neighborhoods around Lake Nokomis. Depending on the wind, they see either low arrivals or climbing departures.
What are the military planes at MSP?
They are usually C-130s from the Air Force Reserve's 934th Airlift Wing or the Minnesota Air National Guard's 133rd Airlift Wing, both based on the airport.
Which way is MSP landing today?
Watch the arrivals on the live map. If they are descending over south Minneapolis and Richfield, MSP is landing to the southeast; if they are coming in over Eagan, it is landing to the northwest.
Nearby cities
Planes over Milwaukee (298 mi) · Planes over Chicago (355 mi) · Planes over Kansas City (412 mi) · Planes over St. Louis (466 mi)