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San Diego International Airport

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San Diego International Airport

Discover San Diego International Airport, its facilities and services it has on offer, the best destinations to fly to from the airport and with which airlines you can do this with.

About San Diego International Airport

san diego airport

San Diego International Airport (IATA: SAN) formerly known as Lindbergh Field, is an international airport that serves 20 million passengers each year. The airport opened in August 1928 and serves cities in the United States, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The airport has an area of 663 acres and owns one runway which is the busiest single airport runway in the United States and third busiest in the world behind Mumbai and London Gatwick Airport.

The five top airline carriers by seat capacity in San Diego during 2015, were Southwest Airlines (42.7%), American Airlines (14.0%), United Airlines (11.2%), Alaska Airlines (10.1%), and Delta Airlines (9.9%). San Diego International Airport is the primary hub for American Airlines and USP Airlines and a focus city for Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

San Diego International Airport Location

The airport is located 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Downtown San Diego, California:

Facilities

San Diego International Airport offers facilities and services to provide comfort and ease for its travellers. In total, the airport has 51 gates and 73 new shops and food and beverage locations have opened throughout the terminals in the airport.

Facilities Include:

A wide variety of shopping and dining shops are available from popular restaurants, cafes and luxury and designer shops.

Free WiFi Accessibility

Luggage storage

Bicycle Lockers

Mobile Charging

Shower Rooms

Spa and Massage

Nursing Rooms

Prayer Rooms

Luggage Carts

ATMs

Currency Exchange

Lounges Include:

Airspace Lounge (Terminal 2): includes beverages, snacks, showers, conference rooms and an amenity kit.

Delta Sky Club (Terminal 2) Available facilities include snacks, beverages, WiFi, TV, telephone, newspapers and magazines.

United Club (Terminal 1): offers air conditioning, beverages, conference rooms, TV, WiFi, disabled access, newspapers and magazines.

USO Lounge / Military Lounge (Terminal 2): passengers can enjoy snacks, beverages, WiFi, TV, game room, showers, telephone, luggage storage air conditioning, children's playrooms, meeting centre as well as an outdoor courtyard with bbq grills all for active military members in the US military and their families.

Runways

San Diego runway

San Diego airport currently has one runway and it's one of the busiest in the world.

Direction Length (ft) Length (m) Surface
9/27 9,400 2,865 Asphalt

Terminals

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Terminal 1

Terminal 1 has two sections, East and West, and has in total 19 gates, numbered 1A and 1–18. Terminal 1 is used by the following airlines Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 is broken in 2 sections: East and West, and has a total of 32 gates, numbered 20–51. The rest of the airlines from the airlines below that serve the airport are based in Terminal 2. All international arrivals at San Diego International Airport are handled in Terminal 2 West at gates 45-51.

Airlines that fly to San Diego International Airport

The following table consists of all the airlines that fly passenger services from San Diego International Airport:

Air Canada Express Air Canada Rouge Alaska Airlines Allegiant Air
American Airlines American Eagle British Airways Delta Air Lines
Delta Connection Edelweiss Air Frontier Airlines Hawaiian Airlines
Japan-Airlines JetBlue Lufthansa Southwest Airlines
Spirit Airlines Sun Country Airlines Swoop United Airlines
United Express WestJet

Top Destinations

The Most Popular Domestic Destinations

Rank Destination Passengers Airlines
1 San Francisco, California 926,000 Alaska, Southwest, United
2 Denver, Colorado 638,000 Frontier, Southwest, Spirit, United
3 Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 632,000 American, Southwest
4 Seattle/Tacoma, Washington 625,000 Alaska, Delta, Southwest
5 Las Vegas, Nevada 572,000 Delta, Southwest, Spirit
6 San Jose, California 570,000 Alaska, Southwest
7 Sacramento, California 551,000 Alaska, Southwest
8 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 500,000 American, Spirit
9 Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois 482,000 American, Spirit, United
10 Oakland, California 431,000 Southwest

The Most Popular International Destinations

Rank Destination Passengers Airlines
1 San José del Cabo, Mexico 260,158 Alaska, Southwest, Sun Country
2 London–Heathrow, United Kingdom 169,354 British Airways
3 Tokyo–Narita, Japan 120,375 Japan Airlines
4 Toronto–Pearson, Canada 117,860 Air Canada
5 Vancouver, Canada 99,765 Air Canada, WestJet
6 Calgary, Canada 63,952 WestJet
7 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 36,426 Alaska
8 Frankfurt, Germany 22,930 Condor
9 Zurich, Switzerland 11,220 Edelweiss

The most popular destinations from April 2018 - March 2019. Statistics from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs and The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)

How to get to San Diego International Airport

By Road

Many companies provide taxicab service at San Diego International Airport. If you need a taxi, simply follow the signs leading to the Transportation Plazas. There are drop-off and pick-up areas at the terminals and short and long-stay multi-storey car parks you can use to park your car at a cost.

By Public Transport

Commuters going to and from the San Diego International Airport can connect with Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner and the COASTER at Amtrak's Santa Fe Depot train station downtown by using Metropolitan Transit System Route 992 which takes 17 minutes between the airport and Downtown San Diego. In addition to this, there are many city buses stopping a terminal 1 and 2 and also 24-hour shuttle services are available on-airport and off-airport.

By Rental Car

You can hire a selection of cars from car hire companies. The facility operates every hour seven days a week. All car rental pick-ups and drop-offs for rental car companies serving San Diego International Airport occur at the Rental Car Center.