Northwest Airlines inaugurated service to Fargo on February 3, 1931 from Minneapolis with six-passenger Hamilton Metalplane. The aircraft continued on to Grand Forks and Winnipeg before returning over the same route.

Today, Northwest Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam, and approximately 1,200 daily departures. Northwest is a member of SkyTeam, an airline alliance that offers customers one of the world's most extensive global networks. Northwest and its travel partners serve more than 900 cities in excess of 160 countries on six continents.