San Francisco International Airport
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Categories: Airports in the San Francisco Bay Area | Transportation in San Mateo County, California | Transportation in San Francisco
 For the television series, see San Francisco International Airport (TV series).
San Francisco International Airport (IATA: SFO, ICAO: KSFO, FAA LID: SFO) is a major international airport located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, adjacent to the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO. The airport has flights to destinations throughout the Americas and is a major gateway to Europe, Asia, and Australasia-Oceania. San Francisco International Airport is the largest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is the second busiest airport in the state of California after Los Angeles International Airport. As of 2006, San Francisco International Airport is the thirteenth largest in the United States[1] and the twenty-third largest airport in the world,[2] in terms of passengers. It is a major hub of United Airlines and is Virgin America's principal base of operations.[3] It is the sole maintenance hub of United Airlines. SFO is also a focus city for Alaska Airlines. The two top airlines, United and American, account for 48.9% and 10.2% of passenger traffic respectively. The airport enjoys a connection to an adjacent freeway, U.S. Route 101, as well as having its own Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station adjoining one of its terminals. Interstate 380 intersects Highway 101 north of the airport, providing further connections to the region. SFO has numerous passenger amenities, including a wide range of food and drink establishments, shopping, baggage storage, public showers, a medical clinic, and assistance for lost or stranded travelers and military personnel. The airport hosts the Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library, and both permanent and temporary art exhibitions in several places in the terminals. Public Wi-Fi is available throughout most of the terminal area, provided by T-Mobile for a fee.[4]
HistoryThe airport was first opened on May 7, 1927 on 150 acres (607,000 m²) of cow pasture. The land was leased from prominent local landowner Ogden L. Mills, (who in turn had leased it from his grandfather Darius O. Mills) and was named Mills Field Municipal Airport. It remained Mills Field until 1931, when it was renamed San Francisco Municipal Airport. "Municipal" was replaced by "International" in 1955. The U.S. Weather Bureau began keeping weather observations at Mills Field in May 1927. The weather records have continued under the National Weather Service, which maintained the Bay Area forecast office in the airport's control tower building until forecasting was moved to Redwood City. Although not the official weather observation site for San Francisco (with the official site existing in Duboce Park), data from SFO's automated weather station often appears as belonging to "San Francisco" in media sources outside of the Bay Area. Starting in 1935, Pan American World Airways used the facility as the terminal for its "China Clipper" flying boat service across the Pacific Ocean. Domestic flights did not begin en masse, however, until World War II, when Oakland International Airport was taken over by the military and its passenger flights were shifted to San Francisco.[5] After the war, United Airlines took up residence at SFO, using the Pan Am terminal for its flights to Hawaii and other U.S. cities. It has grown to become one of five United Airlines hubs and SFO is home of United's largest maintenance facility. In 1954, the airport's Central Passenger Terminal opened for passenger service.[6] Jet service to SFO began in the late 1950s: United built a large maintenance facility at San Francisco for its new Douglas DC-8s. In July 1959 the first jetway bridge was installed in the United States. In 1974, a new terminal was built for domestic flights, and the CPT became an international terminal (known today as Terminal 2). Operations, expansion, retreat and recoveryIn 1989, an airport master plan and associated Environmental Impact Report was prepared to guide expansion and development over the next two decades.[7] During the economic boom of the 1990s and the dot-com boom, SFO became the sixth busiest international airport in the world. However, since 2001, when the economic boom times ended, SFO has fallen back out of the top twenty.[2] SFO has expanded continuously through the decades. Most recently, a new $1 billion international terminal opened in December 2000, replacing Terminal 2 as the international terminal.[6] This new terminal contains a world-class aviation library and museum.[8] SFO’s long-running program of cultural exhibits, now called the San Francisco Airport Museums, won unprecedented accreditation by the American Association of Museums in 1999.[9] A long-planned extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to the airport opened on June 22, 2003, allowing passengers to board trains directly at the airport's international terminal bound for San Francisco or points in the East Bay.[10] BART trains also offer a quick trip to the nearby Millbrae Station, where passengers can board Caltrain commuter rail trains bound for San Jose and the Peninsula and SamTrans bus service bound for the Peninsula; however, BART authorities have announced their intention to close the direct SFO-Millbrae route on January 1, 2008.[11] In 2003, the AirTrain shuttle system opened, conveying passengers between terminals, parking lots, the BART station, and the rental car center on small automatic trains. 
It is not uncommon for SFO to experience significant delays in adverse weather, when only one of the airport's four runways can be used a time, due to a lateral separation of only 750 feet between runways. Airport planners have floated proposals to extend the airport's runways further into San Francisco Bay in order to accommodate the next generation of super-jumbo aircraft. In order to expand further into the bay, the airport would be required by law to restore bay land elsewhere in the Bay Area to offset the fill. Such proposals have nevertheless met resistance with environmental groups, fearing damage to the habitat of animals living near the airport and bay water quality. As such, SFO suffers from loss of service as many airlines, especially as low-cost carriers such as ATA Airlines increasingly shift service to the other two major Bay Area airports at Oakland and San Jose, which continue to expand for the time being. However, SFO has superior land connections compared to Oakland and San Jose, being directly connected to U.S. Route 101, Interstate 380, and the BART system. However, recovery at SFO has been evident. Spirit Airlines began daily service to Detroit on May 25, 2006, however, the airline is not returning its seasonal service to Detroit in 2008. In addition, Qantas began service from Sydney in March 2006, and began service to Vancouver on June 14, 2006; however, service to Vancouver was discontinued in 2008 and is now a codeshare with Alaska Airlines. United Airlines reinstated non-stop service to Seoul and Taipei on June 7 2007.[12] In addition, SFO has become the base of operations for start-up airline, Virgin America. At March 2007, Air China increased the frequency of the Beijing - San Francisco service from 5 times weekly to daily. Also Air China is to begin operations from Shanghai Pudong International Airport during March 2009. During the beginning of the summer season in 2006, low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines began operating flights to Los Angeles adding on to its existing service to Denver, service to LAX was then discontinued in July of 2007. On January 9, 2007, JetBlue Airways announced they will begin five non-stop flights to New York's JFK and Boston's Logan airports starting May 3.[13] On February 9, 2007, Southwest Airlines announced their plans to resume serving San Francisco International Airport in the early fall of 2007,[14] after having pulled out of the airport in May 2001 citing high costs and delays. Irish airline Aer Lingus announced commencing service to Dublin, Ireland beginning October 28 2007 following the passage of the open skies treaty. A global warming study unveiled in February 2007 revealed that much of SFO would be under water with only a one-meter rise in sea levels.[15] In April 2007, SFO announced plans to introduce a registered traveler program that would allow travelers to speed through the TSA security checkpoint in about 30 seconds.[16] Baggage and passenger screening is operated by Covenant Aviation Security, a TSA contractor, nicknamed "Team SFO." SFO was the first airport in the United States to integrate in-line baggage screening into its baggage-handling system and has been a model for other airports in the post-9/11 era.[9] On October 4, 2007, an Airbus A380 jumbo jet made its first visit and test flight to the airport.[17][18] Film history
Aircraft noise abatement
SFO was one of the first airports to implement a Fly Quiet Program which grades individual air carriers on their performance on noise abatement procedures while flying in and out of SFO. The Jon C. Long Fly Quiet Program is an initiative implemented by the Aircraft Noise Abatement Office to encourage individual airlines to operate as quietly as possible at SFO. The program promotes a participatory approach in complying with the noise abatement procedures. SFO was also one of the first U.S. airports to conduct a residential sound abatement retrofitting program. Established by the FAA in the early 1980s, this program evaluated the cost effectiveness of reducing interior sound levels for homes in the vicinity of the airport, or more particularly homes within the 65 CNEL noise contour surface. The program made use of a noise computer model to predict improvement in specific residential interiors for a variety of different noise control strategies. This pilot program was conducted for a neighborhood in the city of South San Francisco, and success was achieved in all of the homes analyzed. The construction costs turned out to be modest, and the post-construction interior sound level tests confirmed the model predictions for noise abatement. To date over $137 million has been spent to insulate in excess of 15,000 homes throughout the neighboring cities of Daly City, Pacifica, San Bruno, and South San Francisco.[19] Terminals, airlines and destinationsThe airport is composed of four terminals, in which two (Terminals 1 and 3) are domestic, one is international, and the fourth (Terminal 2) is under renovation. Within the framework of the terminals, the airport is split into seven concourses, in which four (Boarding Areas B, C, E, and F) are domestic, two (Boarding Areas A and G) are international, and one (Boarding Area D) is unused. Originally named the South, Central, and North Terminals, the domestic terminals were renamed Terminals 1, 2, and 3, respectively, after the new international terminal opened. Note: Flights to and from Canada depart from and arrive in the domestic terminals, because they clear U.S. Customs at their Canadian originating airports through a border preclearance arrangement. JetBlue Airways and Virgin America depart from International Terminal Boarding Area A and use Baggage Claim 9 and 12. Terminal 1Image:SFO Terminal 1.png
Terminal 1
Formerly known as the South Terminal, Terminal 1 consists of Boarding Area B and Boarding Area C. Terminal 1 used to have three boarding areas; one area (Rotunda A) was demolished, as it obstructed three gates in Boarding Area A of the International Terminal. Boarding Area B (Gates 20-36)Note: All Alaska Airlines domestic and Canadian flights depart and arrive at Terminal 1 Boarding Area B and all Alaska Airlines Mexican flights depart and arrive at International Terminal Boarding Area A. Boarding Area B has 18 gates: 20-31, 32-32B, 33-36
Boarding Area C (Gates 40-48)Image:Sfo-areac.jpg
Interior of Boarding Area C
Note: All Northwest Airlines domestic flights depart from Terminal 1 Boarding Area C and all Northwest international flights depart and arrive at International Terminal Boarding Area A. Boarding Area C has nine gates: 40-48
Terminal 2Formerly known as the Central Terminal, in 1974 it became known as the International Terminal. Terminal 2 consists of Boarding Area D, which formerly included gates 50-59. However, when the current international terminal opened in 2000, Terminal 2 was closed; it is currently undergoing indefinite renovation and serves as a walkway between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. The terminal will replace Rotunda A once renovation is complete. The SFO Medical Clinic is located on the Arrivals/Baggage Claim level (lower level). Boarding Area DClosed pending renovation or reconstruction - circular lounges are in the process of being demolished in late 2007 and early 2008. When renovations are complete, Virgin America may likely move to Boarding Area D.[20] SFO spokesperson Mike McCarron said that it will release bid-ready guidelines to contractors in about 90 days; the remodel will take approximately 30 months to complete.[21] Simultaneously, Southwest Airlines CEO, Gary Kelly announced that it may want up to 100 aircraft movements per day at SFO within five years. The terminal can accommodate up to 14 gates.[22] Terminal 3Image:SFO Airport Terminal 3.png
Terminal 3
Formerly known as the North Terminal, Terminal 3 is made up of Boarding Area E and Boarding Area F. This terminal is utilized by United Airlines, Air Canada, Midwest Airlines and American Airlines, chiefly by United. Boarding Area E (Gates 60-67)Boarding Area E has 13 gates: 60-60A, 61, 62A-B, 63, 64-64A, 65-65A, 66-66A, 67
Boarding Area F (Gates 68-90) - United AirlinesNote: All United Airlines domestic and Canadian flights depart from Terminal 3 Boarding Area F and all United international flights depart and arrive at International Terminal Boarding Area G. Boarding Area F has 25 gates, 68-72, 73-73A, 74-76, 77-77A, 78-86, 87-87A, 88-90.
International TerminalImage:SFO Airport International Terminal.png
International Terminal
Image:San Francisco International Airport International Terminal.jpg
Exterior view of the International Terminal
Image:SFO international int.jpg
Interior view of the International Terminal
SFO's international terminal, designed by Craig W. Hartman and opened in December 2000, is the largest international terminal in North America, and is the largest building in the world built on base isolators to protect against earthquakes.[23] It replaced Terminal 2, which served as SFO's international terminal until 2000. The boarding areas have two levels, with shops and restaurants on the upper level and departure lounges on the lower level. Instead of the customary fast-food chains found at many other airports across the country, all restaurants in the International Terminal are leading restaurants in the Bay Area that have opened up fast-food versions of their establishments. SFO planners attempted to make the airport a destination in and of itself, not just for travelers that are passing through.[24] The international terminal is a common use facility, with all gates and all ticketing areas shared among the international airliners. All international arrivals and departures are handled here (except flights from cities with customs preclearance). The airport BART station is also located in this terminal, at the garage leading to Boarding Area G. The International Terminal currently has 28 gates, with a few added recently after Rotunda A in Terminal 1 was demolished. All the gates in this terminal have two jetway bridges with the exception of gate A2, which only has one jetway, and gate A11 is capable of accommodating two aircraft. The two jetway bridges accommodate mostly Boeing 747 aircraft and other large aircraft. Six of these gates are specifically designed for the Airbus A380, making SFO one of the first airports in the world with such gates when it was constructed in 2000.[25] For lack of space, the terminal was constructed on top of the airport's main access road at enormous expense; the advantage of this location was that it completed a continuous "ring" of terminals around the airport's main loading/unloading loop. The disadvantage was that the terminal required its own elaborate set of ramps to connect it with Highway 101. The design and construction of the international terminal is owed to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Del Campo & Maru Architects, Michael Willis Associates (main terminal building), Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum (Boarding Area G) & Gerson/Overstreet Architects (Boarding Area A).[23] The contracts were awarded after an architectural design competition. If all gates in an airlines' designated international boarding area are full, passengers will board or deplane from the opposite international boarding area. Despite the terminal's name, JetBlue Airways and Virgin America serve domestic destinations using this terminal from Boarding Area A. Passengers arriving on domestic and pre-cleared Canadian flights into the International Terminal claim their baggage in a separate area outside of customs and immigrations. Boarding Area A (Gates A1-A12)Boarding Area A is located on the south side of the terminal, next to Boarding Area B. All SkyTeam, Oneworld, and non-aligned international flights with the exception of those operated by Asiana, Air Canada, and EVA Air operate from Boarding Area A. Boarding Area A has 13 gates: A1-A10, A11-A11A, A12
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