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SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

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San Diego International Airport (IATA: SAN, ICAO: KSAN, FAA LID: SAN), also known as Lindbergh Field, is located in San Diego, California. San Diego International Airport is the second busiest single-runway commercial airport in the world, with approximately 600 departures and arrivals carrying 40,000 passengers each day, and over 17 million passengers a year. The busiest single-runway airport in the world is London Gatwick Airport. However, Gatwick has the advantage of a longer runway, a standby maintenance runway, flat terrain, no curfew, three times the acreage, and plans to double in size beyond 2019 and add another runway.

SAN occupies the smallest land footprint of any large commercial airport in the United States, occupying 661 acres (2.67 km²) of land.

History
Dedicated on August 16, 1928, the new airport was given the prominent name San Diego Municipal Airport - Lindbergh Field. This naming occurred because San Diego holds the honor of being the city from which Charles Lindbergh began the journey that would ultimately become the first solo transatlantic flight. Additionally, the airport holds the distinction of being the first federally certified airfield to serve all aircraft types, including seaplanes. The original terminal was located on the northeastern side of the field, along Pacific Coast Highway. On June 1, 1930, a regular San Diego-Los Angeles airmail route was initiated. The airport gained 'international airport' status in 1934, and a United States Coast Guard Air Base located adjacent to the field was commissioned in April 1937. The Coast Guards' fixed-wing aircraft make use of the runway at Lindbergh Field.

World War II brought significant change to the airfield when the U.S. Army Air Corps took it over in 1942 to support the war effort. The infrastructure of the airport was improved to handle the heavy bombers being manufactured in the region during the war. This transformation, including an 8,750 foot runway, made the airport "jet-ready' long before jet passenger planes came into widespread service. After the war, commercial air service at Lindbergh Field expanded rapidly. Pacific Southwest Airlines established its headquarters in San Diego and inaugurated service at Lindbergh Field in 1949 to points throughout California. In 1960, Lindbergh Field gained its first jet service, with American Airlines and United Airlines operating the Boeing 720 to Phoenix and San Francisco, respectively.

Tragedy struck on September 25, 1978, when a Pacific Southwest Airlines Boeing 727, operating as PSA Flight 182, suffered a mid-air collision with a privately owned Cessna 172 while on final approach to Lindbergh Field. One hundred and twenty-eight passengers and seven crew members on board the Boeing, two on board the Cessna and seven people on the ground were killed. This disaster remains the single worst aircraft accident in California history.

The original terminal was used until the 1960s, but by that time, air traffic in San Diego had increased considerably and new facilities were needed badly. The current Terminal 1 was opened on the southern side of the airport property on March 5, 1967. It was not until July 11, 1979 that Terminal 2 was opened. A third terminal, dubbed the Commuter Terminal, opened on July 23, 1996. Terminal 2 was later expanded by 300,000 square feet in 1998.

Originally operated by the San Diego Unified Port District, the airport is now operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

Flight operations

Air Traffic Control TowerThe vast majority of operations at SAN are to the west.

Landing at the airport from the east (the most common approach) offers dramatic close-up views of skyscrapers, Petco Park (home of the San Diego Padres), and the soaring, curving Coronado Bridge from the left side of the aircraft. On the right, Balboa Park, site of the 1915-1916 Panama-California Exposition, can be seen, along with the world famous San Diego Zoo and several freeways.

The approach from the east is steep, necessitated by terrain which drops from 266 feet to sea level in less than a mile. Aircraft normally descend at 317' per mile, but in San Diego they must descend at 376' per mile. San Diego's only runway is located at the base of a hill lined with obstructions, from the I-5 freeway to Balboa Park. Aircraft arriving from the east do not land at the end of the runway as at most airports, but land at what is called a displaced threshold, located 1810 feet from the runway end, effectively shortening the landing distance to 7591 feet. Aircraft departing to the west use the east end of the runway as their departure point. A photo from the cockpit of an arriving aircraft clearly shows the approach and the displaced threshold.

Under fog or Santa Ana wind conditions, operations are reversed with landings and takeoffs to the east. Because of the terrain, weight limits are imposed on departing aircraft under these conditions.

Terrain east and west of the airport greatly impacts the available runway length. Runway 27 (heading west) has a climb gradient of 317' per nautical mile leaving an equivalent takeoff distance of roughly 8,400' compared to a non-terrain airport. Taking off to the east requires a 600' per mile climb rate, this leaves an equivalent takeoff distance of 6,200', enough to force a weight penalty on the 737-800. It should also be noted that Lindbergh Field does not have standard "Runway Safety Areas" 1,000' in length at each runway end. An Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) has been installed at the west end of the runway to catch any aircraft overruns. The east end of the runway does not have such a system as its use would reduce the runway length by at least 400', further impacting the runway's capability.

SAN is located in a highly populated area. To appease the airport's neighbors' concerns over noise, a curfew was put in place in 1979. Departures are allowed between 6:30 AM and 11:30 PM. Outside those hours, departures are subject to a large fine. Arrivals are permitted 24 hours per day. Several flights are scheduled with departure times before 6:15 AM. These times, however, are pushback times. First takeoff roll is at 6:30 AM.

As of June 2007, San Diego International Airport will be served by 29 airlines and will fly to 55 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The last intercontinental service was a San Diego-London Gatwick Route served by British Airways. The route was cancelled in 2003. Although the amount of passengers passing through SAN has increased dramatically since then, no airlines have decided to file for intercontinental service due to the weight penalties imposed by the rising terrain both east and west of the airport. The weight limitations would damage the economic viability of long haul international service.

Relocation proposals
California Assembly Bill AB 93 created the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority in 2001. The SDCRAA believes that Lindbergh Field will reach capacity between 2015 and 2022. In June 2006, SDCRAA board members selected Marine Corps Air Station Miramar as its preferred site for a replacement airport, despite military objections. On November 7, 2006, San Diego County residents defeated an advisory relocation which included a joint use proposal measure.[2] This presents an interesting twist on San Diego's aviation future. Industry experts agree that Lindbergh Field will in fact run out of capacity, although when can be debated. The airport is operating with 70% of its total gate capacity of 64 gates and will soon add 10 more gates taking the airport to 86% of it's total gate capacity. There has also been some thought given to the creation of a supplemental airport (possibly a smaller Miramar - or Camp Pendleton - airport at some point in the future in the vein of SEATAC with close parallel runways) because of the level of investment that will now be required to maximize Lindbergh Field's efficiency going forward until it is effectively "out of capacity" driving demand for a new airport. Lindbergh might be used in the same way Midway, Hobby and Love Field are with the new airport being used by the major carriers and cargo carriers.

The current site of the airport is bounded by San Diego Bay, military facilities, and residential areas. Extension into the bay is an undesirable option because the required landfill would interfere with nearby U.S. naval operations and shipping lanes. Furthermore, such an addition would not properly address projected capacity demands. The adjacent military land remains in active use and is not currently available, over 60% of the land has structures of historical significance that will preclude demolition. Using residential land, although possible through eminent domain, is publicly and politically unpopular.

There have been 22 studies on where to put an airport dating back to 1923. The first was the selection of Lindbergh. Eighteen were by private groups, most in the early days by those who were opposed to Lindbergh being built instead of on land set aside at what is now Montgomery Field. One was a revisit of a study done in the 80's by the City in a "pre-BRAC" push in 1994 when Miramar closed and was then transferred to a Marine Base. 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 in 2001. This study is the first study ever done to look for a new site by an agency that actually had jurisdiction over the issue, and the first non-site specific comprehensive study of the entire region.

One possibility for a location site that has been considered and which has maintained public interest is a cement and steel-constructed floating airport (or FloatPort as it is called) out at sea off of the San Diego coast. Proponents claim that a floating airport would help reduce noise pollution and would avoid many of the environmental and real estate "crunch" issues of a major land-based project.

Terminals, airlines and destinations
Complete information on flights to and from SAN is available at the Flight Planner section of the airport's web site.

Terminal 1
Terminal 1 has 19 Gates: 1 - 19

Note: International Arrivals are handled in Terminal 2.

Air Canada (Toronto-Pearson)
Air Canada Jazz (Vancouver)
AirTran Airways (Atlanta [seasonal; begins May 24, 2007], Orlando [begins June 29, 2007])
Alaska Airlines (Los Cabos, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Vancouver [seasonal])
Horizon Air (Portland (OR))
Southwest Airlines (Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago-Midway, Denver [seasonal], El Paso, Houston-Hobby [begins June 4, 2007], Kansas City, Las Vegas, Nashville, Oakland, Phoenix, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Jose (CA), Tucson)
United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Honolulu, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles)

Terminal 2
Terminal 2 has 22 Gates: 20 - 41

Note: Terminal 2 handles all international arrivals at Lindbergh (excluding airports with border preclearance), as well as the following departing flights:

Aeroméxico (Mexico City, Los Cabos)
Alaska Airlines (See Terminal 1)
Aloha Airlines (Kahului)
American Airlines (Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York-JFK, St. Louis)
Continental Airlines (Cleveland [seasonal], Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City)
Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Salt Lake City)
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest (Salt Lake City)
Frontier Airlines (Cancún [seasonal], Denver)
Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu, Kahului [suspended until March 15, 2007])
JetBlue Airways (New York-JFK, Washington-Dulles)
Midwest Airlines (Kansas City)
Northwest Airlines (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul)
Sun Country Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
US Airways (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh [seasonal])
US Airways operated by America West Airlines (Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Phoenix)
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Los Cabos, Phoenix, Puerto Vallarta)
Western
Western operated by Xtra Airways (Bellingham) [suspended until further notice]

Commuter Terminal
The Commuter Terminal has 4 Gates: 1 - 4

American Airlines
American Eagle (Los Angeles, San Jose (CA))
ExpressJet Airlines (Bakersfield [begins May 14], Boise [begins May 14], Colorado Springs [begins May 7], Fresno [begins May 14], Monterey [begins May 14], Oklahoma City [begins May 7], Omaha [begins May 21], Spokane [begins June 4], Tulsa [begins May 21])
United Airlines
United Express operated by SkyWest (Los Angeles)
Cargo airlines
Capital Cargo International Airlines
DHL Operated by ABX Air (Wilmington (OH))
FedEx Express (Memphis, Indianapolis, Oakland)
Kitty Hawk Aircargo (Fort Wayne)
United Parcel Service (Ontario (CA), Louisville)

Charter airlines
Allegiant Air (Laughlin, Reno) [Occasional Service]