San Diego Intl (Private Terminal)

A Legacy of Private Aviation

The airport area was originally a delta river outlet for the San Diego River into San Diego Bay. As the city of San Diego had built Charles Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic plane, there was excitement around aviation, and the city took out a bond in 1928 to construct a two-runway airport. Lindbergh approved of the idea and agreed to have it named after him: San Diego Municipal Airport–Lindbergh Field. It was the first federally certified airport to serve all aircraft types (this included seaplanes). The airport also served as a location to test early seaplane designs. These included those built by Willaim Hawley Bowlus, who also operated the Bowlus Glider School at the airport (and was famous for being the superintendent of construction of the Spirit of St. Louis, the famous Lindbergh aircraft) from 1929 to 1930. Furthermore, the airport was the site of a women’s national and world record by Ruth Alexander in 1930, and it was also the site of the first transcontinental glider tow. There was a single terminal (on the north side of the field). In 1030, an airmail route was started to Los Angeles. In 1937, a US Coast Guard Air Base was commissioned next to the airfield. They used the airfield until the mid-1990s. During WWII, Consolidated Air (later Convair) had its headquarters on the border of Lindbergh Field (where they remained until 1995), and many of the military aircraft were built there. In 1942 the US Army Corps took over the airfield, making improvements so that it could handle the heavy bombers built in the area. This included building an 8,750-foot runway, which deemed the airport “jet ready” before there were jets. In May 1952, there were two runways listed: 9, which was 8,700 feet, and 13, which was 4,500 feet. Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) established headquarters at the airfield and began service in 1949. By 1957 the airfield was serviced by American, United, Western, Bonanza, and PSA. The first jets at Lindbergh were Boing 720s by American Airlines and United (flying to Phoenix and San Francisco, respectively). On March 5th, 1967, Terminal 1 (still in use) opened on the south side of the field, while Terminal 2 opened on July 11th, 1979. The “Commuter Terminal” opened on July 23rd, 1996. In 1998, Terminal 2 expanded by 30,000 square feet. It was further expanded in 2013. Additions included ten additional gates, additional security lanes, a two-level roadway separating arriving and departing passengers, and an expanded concession area (at the cost of $900 million). A new 2-million-square-foot consolidated rental car building opened in January 2016 with 14 car rental companies. Furthermore, a new three-story parking garage opened in front of Terminal 2 in 2018. Originally the airport had been built by the City of San Diego, paid for by the sale of municipal bonds (which were to be repaid by airport users). A state law transferred the ownership and operation of the airport to the San Diego Unified Port District in 1962. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority was created in 2001 and assumed jurisdiction in 2002. In 2003 the airport was renamed the San Diego International Airport. Over the years, several proposals have been proposed to relocate the airport due to its proximity to heavily urbanized areas and terrain, but all failed for various reasons.