Oakland County International Airport
airport in Oakland County, Michigan, USA
Oakland County International Airport (IATA: PTK, ICAO: KPTK, FAA LID: PTK) is a county-owned public-use airport located in Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The airport is located approximately one mile from the center of Waterford Township and Oakland County. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a non primary commercial service facility.
It is the sixth-busiest airport in the United States without scheduled passenger service. Charters carrying sports teams competing at the now-defunct Palace of Auburn Hills nearby frequently used the airport. The airport was originally called Pontiac Municipal Airport when it opened in 1928 and became Oakland-Pontiac Airport later before adopting its current name.
The airport holds an open house every year, showing aircraft based at PTK, military aircraft, and vintage aircraft. The Civil Air Patrol acts as security for the open house.
History
The city of Pontiac purchased 160 acres (65 hectares) of land on September 12, 1928, and on November 27 of that year the airport opened. It received its dedication in June 1929 and was named Pontiac Municipal Airport.
“Oakland County International Airport” enters the record as airport in Oakland County, Michigan, USA. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Oakland, County and International can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Oakland County International Airport” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Oakland, County and International provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2900549. Authority coordinates are 42.666, -83.419. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2017, 2021, 1928 and 1929.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Oakland County International Airport”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Oakland County International Airport primary sources, Oakland County International Airport archive and Oakland research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Oakland County International Airport”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Oakland County International Airport” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.