San Diego International Airport

Continent: North America

Country: United States

Region: California

San Diego International Airport (Lindbergh Field)
Location	San Diego, California
IATA code	SAN
ICAO code	KSAN
Airport type	Commercial
Website	http://www.san.org
Overview map	Google Maps
Communications
Tower	118.3 338.225
Ground	123.9
Clearance	125.9
Approach	119.6 (West) 124.35 (East)
Departure	119.6 (West) 124.35 (East)
ATIS	134.8 619-298-0997
Departure	122.95

San Diego International Airport is the primary commercial airport for San Diego County. No airline maintains a hub there, and Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier. The vast majority of scheduled flights are to points within North America; currently British Airways and Japan Airlines provide intercontinental service with flights to London-Heathrow and Tokyo-Narita, respectively. Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines also provide transoceanic service with flights to Honolulu. The airport has only a single runway, 9/27, and normal operations call for arrivals and departures on runway 27.

The airport is notable for its approach to runway 27, which due to the airport's close proximity to Downtown San Diego, allows spotters a view of many aircraft flying level to the roofs of the downtown skyscrapers.

Official Spotting Locations

Harbor & Laurel Parking Lot

Northwest A320 on final approach to 27, photographed from the Harbor & Laurel lot at street level

The airport has a small free parking lot at the intersection of Harbor Dr. and Laurel St. for spotting. From here you will see aircraft arriving and departing on runway 27, which is the airport's normal operation. You will need a ladder or tall vehicle to get camera lenses above the fence line for departure and taxi shots, however you can photograph arrivals from street level with a long enough lens if you time it right to avoid poles and trees. Posted signs prohibit unattended vehicles, so you won't want to go far from the lot unless someone is with you to stay with your car. Avoid the adjacent Solar Turbines parking lot, but the sidewalk along Laurel St. should be okay. Lighting is best in the late afternoon, especially during summer. In the winter, light is typically good all day, though you may need to vary the angle of your shot as the sun moves across the sky. If you need a snack or drink, there is a convenience store at the Shell gas station located at the intersection of Laurel and Pacific Hwy.

• Airliners.net sample photo: medium large (final to runway 27, shot over the fence)
• Airliners.net sample photo: medium large (taxi to runway 27 on taxiway B, shot over the fence)

Other Spotting Locations

El Prado, Balboa Park

Exit the 5 and drive down Kettner Blvd, follow Kettner until you come to the Kettner and W Laurel St interesection, take a left on W Laurel and go up the big hill. Follow W Laurel until you get to 6th Ave. You can park on 6th Ave or continue straight and park on Balboa Dr. Walk along El Prado (Laurel turn into El Prado) until you get to the bridge. There is a sidewalk on the North and South side of the bridge. Take the South sidewalk. From the middle of the bridge you have an unobstructed view of the planes on final to runway 27 with the city in the background.

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NTC Park

Southwest 737 climbing out from runway 27, photographed from NTC Park

NTC Park is located within the Liberty Station complex on the site of the former Naval Training Center. This facility is just west of the airport, and during normal operations with arrivals and departures on runway 27, departing aircraft fly overhead. Traditional side shots are tricky because most aircraft will be a bit high by the time they get to this area, but if you desire underside angles of departing aircraft, or just want to watch aircraft takeoff, this isn't a bad spot. It would likely be good during reverse operations with arrivals on runway 9, but as this typically happens during poor weather conditions, it still isn't amenable for photography.

Locations To Avoid

Solar Turbines Parking Lot

This lot is next to the official observation area at Laurel St. and Harbor Dr. It is tempting because it gets you closer to the action than the official area. However, it is private property and Solar Turbines security does patrol the lot and has asked spotters to leave. If you stay on the public sidewalk outside the lot along Laurel Dr., you should be okay.

Laurel Airport Parking

This is the multi-story parking structure that aircraft fly over just before landing on runway 27. While tempting because of the possibility of down-the-runway views of the airport and belly shots of landing aircraft, there are signs posted that taking photos and videos are prohibited, and that they can have you arrested for trespassing for doing anything other than being actively engaged in the parking of vehicles.

Regular Traffic

Please note that all times listed in this section are approximate. Spotters visiting SAN may wish to consult the Flight Planner accessible at the San Diego International Airport website for exact and up-to-date information. Keep in mind also that many cargo flights do not operate a regular schedule on weekends or holidays.

Passenger

• Air Canada: Air Canada operates a daily Embraer 190 flight to Vancouver, arriving at 11:34am and departing at 12:20pm, and an A319 flight to Toronto, arriving at 12:50pm and departing at 1:35pm.

• Alaska Airlines: Alaska Airlines operates a busy schedule from SAN, using various members of the 737 family. Alaska's special livery planes visit from time to time on an irregular basis. Alaska is quite known for its unusual flights out of SAN. Alaska flies to Kahului and Honolulu with 737-800s, and various Mexico cities with 737-400/800/900 families. Alaska also flies to Portland and Seattle.
  • Horizon Air: Horizon operates flights to Santa Rosa, Monterey, and Fresno on behalf of Alaska using Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

• Allegiant Air: Allegiant offers two to four weekly flights to Bellingham using MD-80 aircraft.

• American Airlines: American operates a mix of MD-80, 737-800, and 757-200 aircraft on flights to the airline's hubs at Dallas/Ft. Worth, Chicago O'Hare, and New York JFK. The New York flight is operated by a 767-300.
  • American Eagle: American Eagle operates flights throughout the day to Los Angeles. The majority are operated by SkyWest Airlines using the CRJ-200, though a few flights are operated by American Eagle Airlines using the CRJ-700.

• British Airways: British Airways operates a nonstop flight to London's Heathrow Airport. The Boeing 777-200ER flight arrives at 7:15pm and departs at 8:45pm.

• Delta Air Lines: Delta operates a varied fleet in San Diego. Spotters may see the 737-800, 757-200, 767-300, A319, A320, and MD-90 here. Delta flies 6x weekly 767-300 which arives around 10:20AM, and departs around 11:35AM.
  • Delta Connection (SkyWest Airlines): SkyWest operates the CRJ-700 on flights to Los Angeles.

• Frontier Airlines: Frontier operates a few daily flights to Denver using the A319.

• Hawaiian Airlines: Hawaiian operates a daily flight to Honolulu using the A330-200, departing at 10:55am and arriving at 9:15pm. Occasionally, the a 767-300 substitutes for the A330..

• Japan Airlines: JAL operates daily nonstop flights to Tokyo's Narita International Airport using the Boeing 787-8. The flight operates on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, arriving at 11:40am and departing at 1:35pm.

• JetBlue Airways: JetBlue operates a handful of A320 flights throughout the day to Boston and New York.

• SeaPort Airlines: SeaPort operates twice-daily flights (once daily on weekends) to Imperial using Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft.

• Southwest Airlines: Southwest has by far the largest passenger operation at SAN, with several arrivals and departures every hour. Most of these flights are operated by the 737-300 and 737-700. The 737-500 is no longer seen very frequently in SAN. Fortunately, because of the large number of Southwest aircraft cycling through San Diego, it is not uncommon to see one of the airline's famous special livery planes.

• Spirit Airlines: Spirit operates up to three daily A319 flights to Las Vegas. Flights arrive at 11:25am (except Tuesday), 6:20pm (except Wednesday), and 10:40pm and depart at 6:30am, 12:05pm (except Tuesday) and 7:00pm (except Wednesday).

• Sun Country Airlines: Sun Country operates a 737-700 flight several times a week to Minneapolis. Some days the flight operates in the morning, arriving around 9:00am and departing around 9:50am. Other days it operates in the early evening, arriving around 4:45pm and departing around 5:30pm, however the schedule fluctuates a bit and doesn't operate every day, so those interested in spotting this flight will want to verify the schedule on the airline's website.

• United Airlines: United operates various narrowbody aircraft throughout the day to SAN, primarily the 737-800, 757-200, A319, and A320.
  • United Express (SkyWest Airlines): The CRJ-200 is the mainstay of United Express service to SAN, with flights throughout the day to Los Angeles, with a sprinkling of EMB-120 and CRJ-700 flights.

• US Airways: US Airways brings the 757-200, A319, A320, and A321 to SAN, with most arrivals throughout the morning and in the evening. The US Airways retro livery A319s make appearances on an irregular basis. Note that while the schedule doesn't change that often, the equipment types used does change pretty frequently, sometimes varying by the day of week.

• Virgin America Airlines: Virgin America operates the A319 and A320 with arrivals at 8:30am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm, 6:05pm, and 10:35pm and departures at 6:30am, 9:15am, 2:15pm, 4:15pm, and 6:50pm.

• Volaris: Volaris operates the A319 on two daily flights to San Diego. The flight from Mexico City arrives at 9:25am and departs at 10:40am. The flight from Guadalajara arrives at 12:40pm and departs at 1:55pm.

Cargo

• Airborne Express/DHL Cargo: The 767-200 belonging to Airborne Express parked on the northside of the field has been nicknamed "the sleeping giant" by SAN spotters because it hardly ever seems to move. Recently, it has become more common to see this aircraft operating in full DHL colors. It typically arrives at approximately 7:00AM and departs to Phoenix, Arizona between 5:50PM and 7:00PM.

• Ameriflight: Ameriflight operates the Beech 1900 and Beech Airliner 99 to SAN in the early evening, with arrivals usually coming between 6:00PM and 7:00PM.

• FedEx Express: FedEx is the largest cargo carrier at SAN, with the A300 and MD-10 making regular appearances. 727s and A310s are seen less frequently. Three flights usually arrive in the very early morning, before 6:00AM, and normally have all departed by 8:00AM. A second set of two flights typically arrives between 4:00PM and 6:30PM. These usually depart again between 7:00PM and 8:30PM. One of the Friday afternoon flights, typically arriving at approximately 5:00PM and departing after dark, and one of the Saturday morning flights, typically arriving at 5:30AM and departing between 7:00AM & 8:00PM, are usually operated by MD-10 equipment. The MD-10 usually flies to Indianapolis/Memphis, and The Airbus A300-600 flies to Memphis/Ontario. MD-11's are rare, usually 2 per year.
  • FedEx Feeder (Westair): A series of Cessna 208B Cargomaster flights arrive between 6:00PM and 7:00PM from El Centro supplying cargo for the larger FedEx aircraft flying out of SAN. They depart usually in the morning around 6:30AM to 9:00AM

• United Parcel Service (UPS): UPS operates two weekday flights on a somewhat variable schedule, generally using 767s. A morning flight usually arrives at approximately 5:00AM and departs around 6:30AM. A 767 arrives from the Hawaiian islands most weekday afternoons between 1:30PM and 3:30PM. Departures occur between 6:30AM and 7:30AM and in the evening between 7:30PM and 8:30PM. UPS does not operate on the weekends.

Facilities and Transportation

There is a "cell phone" parking lot which offers up to one hour free parking for visitors waiting to pick up a passenger from an arriving flight, adjacent to the SAN Park Harbor Drive long term parking lot. Unlike the previous cell phone lot, it does offer views of the airport, however it is still not optimal for spotting as the paid long term parking lot is between this area and the taxiways. The cell phone lot has a couple of portable toilets and vending machines, along with monitors showing arriving flight information.

Public Transportation

San Diego Transit bus Route 992, sometimes known as the Flyer, and Route 923A provide service to the airport terminals. The lines originates in downtown San Diego, with several stops including one near the official observation lot at Laurel and Harbor. Connections to these routes can be made at various locations in downtown San Diego to other bus routes as well as the San Diego Trolley, Coaster, and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains.