San Diego International Airport is the primary international airport serving San Diego and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. The airport is located 3 mi northwest of downtown San Diego. It covers 663 acres of land and is the third busiest airport in California in terms of passenger traffic. It is the busiest single-runway airport in the United States. The airport is owned and operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. It operates in controlled airspace served by Southern California TRACON. The airport's landing approach is well known for its close proximity to the skyscrapers of downtown San Diego, and can sometimes prove difficult to pilots due to the relatively short usable landing area, steep descent angle over the crest of Bankers Hill, and shifting wind currents just before landing.

History

Prior to the development of the airport, the area was a delta river outlet for the San Diego River into San Diego Bay, which was then re routed to terminate to the Pacific Ocean parallel to Mission Bay. The airport is near the site of the Ryan Airlines factory, but it is not the same as Dutch Flats Airport, the Ryan airfield where Charles Lindbergh flight-tested the Spirit of St. Louis before his historic 1927 transatlantic flight. The site of Dutch Flats is on the other side of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, in the Midway area, near the intersection of Midway and Barnett Avenues. Inspired by Lindbergh's flight and excited to have made his plane, the city of San Diego passed a bond issue in 1928 for the construction of a two-runway municipal airport. Lindbergh encouraged the building of the airport and agreed to lend his name to it. The new airport, dedicated on August 16, 1928, was San Diego Municipal Airport – Lindbergh Field, with 140 Navy and 82 Army planes involved in a flyover. The airport was the first federally certified airfield to serve all aircraft types, including seaplanes. The original terminal was on the northeast side of the field, on Pacific Highway. The airport was also a testing facility for several early US sailplane designs, notably those by William Hawley Bowlus (superintendent of construction on the Spirit of St. Louis) who also operated the Bowlus Glider School at Lindbergh Field from 1929 to 1930. The airport was also the site of a national and world record for women's altitude established in 1930 by Ruth Alexander. The airport was also the site of the first transcontinental glider tow by Capt. Frank Hawks departing Lindbergh Field on March 30, 1930, and ending in Van Cortland Park in New York City on April 6, 1930. On June 1, 1930, a regular San Diego–Los Angeles airmail route started. The airport gained international airport status in 1934. In April 1937, United States Coast Guard Air Base was commissioned next to the airfield. The Coast Guard's fixed-wing aircraft used Lindbergh Field until the mid-1990s when their fixed-wing aircraft were assigned elsewhere. A major defense contractor and contributor to World War II heavy bomber production, Consolidated Aircraft, later known as Convair, had their headquarters on the border of Lindbergh Field, and built many of their military aircraft there. Convair used the airport for test and delivery flights from 1935 to 1995. The US Army Air Corps took over the field in 1942, improving it to handle the heavy bombers being manufactured in the region. Two camps were established at the airport during World War II and were named Camp Consair and Camp Sahara. This transformation, including an 8750 ft runway, made the airport "jet-ready" long before jet airliners came into service. The May 1952 C&GS chart shows an 8,700-ft runway 9 and a 4,500-ft runway 13. Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) established its headquarters in San Diego and started service at Lindbergh Field in 1949. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 42 departures per day: 14 American, 13 United, 6 Western, 6 Bonanza, and 3 PSA (5 PSA on Friday and Sunday). American had a nonstop flight to Dallas and one to El Paso; aside from that, nonstop flights did not reach beyond California and Arizona. The first scheduled flights using jets at Lindbergh Field were in September 1960: American Airlines Boeing 720s to Phoenix and United Airlines 720s to San Francisco. Nonstop flights to Chicago started in 1962 and to New York in 1967. The airport was built and operated by the City of San Diego through the sale of municipal bonds to be repaid by airport users. In 1962 it was transferred to the San Diego Unified Port District by a state law. The original terminal was on the north side of the airport; the current Terminal 1 opened on the south side of the airport on March 5, 1967. Terminal 2 opened on July 11, 1979. These terminals were designed by Paderewski Dean & Associates. Western Airlines discontinued service to Mexico City in 1981, leaving the airport without any international flights. In June 1988, British Airways inaugurated service to London's Gatwick Airport via Los Angeles aboard Boeing 747s and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s. This was the airport's first transatlantic flight. Inbound travelers had to clear customs in Los Angeles, which made the journey cumbersome. The San Diego airport's customs facility had not been used in seven years, and the US Customs Service said it did not meet the latest security requirements. The Port District performed the necessary upgrades, allowing the facility to reopen in 1989. Nevertheless, British Airways ended the route in November 1990. The airline was struggling from high fuel prices and the seizure of one of its planes in Kuwait amid the Gulf War. In July 1996, British Airways began a flight to London-Gatwick via Phoenix on a DC-10. A third terminal, dubbed the Commuter Terminal, opened later that month. Terminal 2 was expanded by 300000 sqft in 1998, and opened on January 7, 1998. The expanded Terminal 2 and the Commuter Terminal were designed by Gensler and SGPA Architecture and Planning. British Airways started nonstop service to London using a Boeing 777 in March 2001. In 2001 the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority was created, and assumed jurisdiction over the airport in December 2002. The Authority changed the airport's name from Lindbergh Field to San Diego International Airport in 2003, reportedly considering the new name "a better fit for a major commercial airport." British Airways left the city in October 2003. Few people were traveling in business and first class. In addition, the SARS outbreak and the Iraq War had a negative impact on the airline industry.

Relocation proposals

In 1950 the city acquired what is today Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and much of the land surrounding it through eminent domain to build a new airport, but the Korean War brought with it a massive expansion in jet traffic to nearby Naval Air Station Miramar, which soon rendered a commercial service airport in the area impractical. The CAA refused to fund any major enhancements to SDIA through the 1950s, and at various times the city proposed NAS North Island, Mission Bay, and Brown Field as replacements. Cost, conflicts with the Navy, and potential interference with other air traffic stymied these plans. It was not until 1964 that the FAA would finally agree to an expansion of SDIA, which at this point was over double the capacity of its 1940s era terminals, leading to the construction of today's Terminal 1. Even then, it was only allowed with the assurance of San Diego Mayor Charles Dail that it was only a temporary measure until a replacement could be found. From that time until 2006, various public agencies conducted studies on potential locations for a replacement airport. One revisited a study done in the 1980s by the City in 1994 when Naval Air Station Miramar closed and was then immediately transferred to the US Marine Corps as Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Another was by the City of San Diego in 1984 and another that started in 1996 and sat dormant with SANDAG until the airport authority was formed. California State Assembly Bill 93 created the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (SDCRAA) in 2001. At the time, the SDCRAA projected SAN would be constrained by congestion between 2015 and 2022; the Great Recession, however, extended the forecast capacity limitations into the 2030s. In June 2006, SDCRAA board members selected Marine Corps Air Station Miramar as its preferred site for a replacement airport, despite military objections the compromises this would require would severely interfere with the readiness and training of aviators stationed at the air station. On November 7, 2006, San Diego County residents rejected an advisory relocation ballot that included a joint use proposal measure over these and related concerns over the potential impact reducing the region's military value would have on the defense-focused San Diego economy.

Expansion

San Diego International Airport's expansion and enhancement program for Terminal 2 was dubbed "The Green Build." Additions included 10 gates on the west side of Terminal 2 West, a two-level roadway separating arriving and departing passengers, additional security lanes, and an expanded concession area. It was completed on August 13, 2013, and cost US$900 million. In January 2016, the airport opened a new consolidated rental car facility on the airport's north side. The US$316 million, 2 e6sqft facility houses 14 rental car companies and is served by shuttle buses to and from the terminals. A new three-story parking structure in front of Terminal 2 was launched in July 2016 and completed in May 2018. Due to the sharp rise of international travel at the airport, with traffic at international arrival gates 20, 21 and 22 increasing "from 50,000 passengers a year in 1990 to more than 400,000 a year in 2017," a new immigration and customs facility at Terminal 2 West began construction in 2017. The new facility was partially built into the now-four year old Green Build, adding a new upper level and vertical cores to move passengers from existing Green Build gates (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, and 51) to 55,000 square feet of new international arrivals facilities at the southwest corner of the terminal. The facility was completed in June 2018 and is almost five times the size of its predecessor. In 2021, the airport began construction on a complete replacement of Terminal 1, as per the Airport Development Plan (ADP), a study by the airport that began in 2016. The new Terminal 1's construction is split into two phases, the first of which consists of a new 19-gate standalone terminal built directly east of the existing Terminal 1. This first phase is scheduled to open in 2025 with a budget of US$2.6 billion, and is 60% complete as of April 4, 2024. Upon the opening of the first phase, the existing Terminal 1 is planned to be demolished, and the 11 remaining gates of the new Terminal 1 are planned to be built in its place, to open in 2028. Other aspects of the ADP include a new 7,500-space parking structure to open in 2024, a new dual-level arrivals/departures roadway in front of the new Terminal 1 to match Terminal 2's, a new entry road extended from Harbor Drive, an expanded aircraft taxiway A to pair with existing taxiway B for almost the complete length of the airport's runway, and a new airport operations center to replace the one located within the long-decommissioned Commuter Terminal. Space has also been set aside west of the new parking structure for a to-be-determined rail transit station to connect with downtown San Diego, although neither constructing this station nor constructing tracks leading to it are the responsibility of the airport. The ADP also called for a third phase, a further westward expansion to Terminal 2 West, which would increase the total number of gates at San Diego International Airport to 61. While the airport may decide to move forward with this third phase at some point, it is not expected to be completed before 2035 at the earliest.

Facilities

Terminals

San Diego International Airport has two terminals and 51 gates:

Runway

The airport has one runway, designated 09/27 for its magnetic headings of 095 degrees (106 True) and 275 degrees (286 True). The runway, built of asphalt and concrete, measures 9401 x. Each end has a displaced threshold: on Runway 27, the first 1810 ft are displaced, while the first 1000 ft are displaced on Runway 9. Westerly winds predominate, so most takeoffs and landings use Runway 27. The approach to Runway 27 is unusually steep due to utility poles and buildings over 200 ft tall that are located within 2 miles of the east end of the runway. Nearby skyscrapers are no factor. The final approach to Runway 27 has also gained notoriety among passengers for the unusual experience of flying relatively low and close to San Diego's densely populated downtown, and has drawn comparisons to Kansas City's Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport and Hong Kong's former Kai Tak Airport. From the left side of the aircraft, the approach offers closeup views of skyscrapers, Petco Park (home of the San Diego Padres), San Diego Bay, and the San Diego–Coronado Bridge, while Balboa Park, site of the 1915–1916 Panama–California Exposition, can be seen on the right. Contrary to local lore, the parking garage located 800 ft from the east of the end of the runway was built in the 1980s – long after previous obstructions also on the east side of I-5 were built – and does not affect the approach. To appease the concerns of the airport's neighbors regarding noise and to head off any ensuing lawsuits, a curfew was implemented in 1979 whereby takeoffs are only allowed between 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Outside these hours, they are subject to a large fine. However, law enforcement, emergency, fire or rescue aircraft, and medical flights can operate normally. Arrivals are permitted 24 hours per day. While several flights have scheduled departure times before 6:30 a.m., these are pushback times, and the first takeoff roll does not occur until 6:30 a.m.

Ground transportation

The airport is on North Harbor Drive, which is accessible from Interstate 5 northbound via the Hawthorn Street exit and southbound via the Sassafras Street exit. Short-term parking is located in front of both terminals: Terminal 2 has covered parking plaza and an outdoor lot, while Terminal 1 only has an outdoor lot. Long term parking is on North Harbor Drive to the east of the terminals and is served by shuttle buses. Both terminals have designated areas for taxis and ride-share pickups.

Public transportation

There are four public transportation options: Extension of the San Diego Trolley to directly serve the airport terminals, has been proposed several times but has not yet come to fruition. A 2021 study has found that such an extension to the airport is feasible and could be completed within ten years.

Military

Coast Guard Air Station San Diego is near the southeast corner of the airport. The installation originally supported seaplane operations during the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, when the station had HU-25 Guardian jets assigned.

Airline Support Building

The 93000 sqft Airline Support Building, which houses cargo operations and storage areas for aircraft provisions, and serves as a pick up and drop off point for live animals and large cargo, opened on July 20, 2021. Located on the south side of the airfield along North Harbor Drive, the building counts among its cargo tenants Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, Hawaiian, Lufthansa, Southwest, Sun Country, and United. The design-build project to construct the facility was awarded to SUNDT construction in 2018 for approximately $130 million.

Other facilities

Signature Aviation is the fixed-base operator (FBO) at San Diego International Airport. The FBO ramp is at the northeast end of the airfield. Stormwater is captured on Terminal 2 Parking Plaza and used in the cooling towers that heat, ventilate and air condition the terminals and jet bridges. A portion of the southeast infield at San Diego International Airport is set aside as a nesting site for the endangered California least tern. April through September is the least tern nesting season at SAN. Since 1970, this endangered migratory sea bird has found a suitable nesting site each year in the sand and gravel located in four oval areas between the runway and airplane taxiway. Approximately 135 nests were established there in 2007.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Destinations map

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

Airline market share

Airport traffic

Annual traffic

Note: Obtained passenger data for 2011–present from air traffic reports; data does not match up with the Historical Passenger table from 2011-2018.

Accidents and incidents