San Diego INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KSAN)
AIRPORT TRAVEL GUIDE
Overview
San Diego International Airport (KSAN), is located in San Deigo, California. It is one of several commercial airports serving Southern California, along with LAX, BUR, SNA, LGB, and ONT. San Diego’s primary catchment area is the Greater San Diego area, but also serves as an alternative airport to get to and from the Los Angeles Basin.
In 2021, San Diego International Airport was ranked as the 24th overall busiest airport in the United States, serving over 15 million passengers.
Airlines
17 airlines currently have service to SAN. San Diego International Airport is served by all three US legacy carriers, American, Delta and United; low cost carriers Alaska Airlines, jetBlue, and Southwest; ultra-low cost carriers Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines; Hawaiian Airlines; and international carriers Air Canada, British Airways, Edelweiss, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, and WestJet.
Southwest is the dominant carrier at SAN with about a 36% market share. Alaska Airlines also operates a focus city out of Terminal 2 at San Diego International Airport.
All three of the world’s major airline alliances – Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and oneworld – serve SAN.
Destinations
San Diego International Airport is connected via nonstop flight to a number of destinations up and down the West Coast in Washington, Oregon, and California, and Hawaii.
Many other cities are served by San Diego International Airport, including major airline hubs like Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Newark, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, etc. Smaller and medium sized cities such as Boise, Spokane, El Paso, Idaho Falls, Medford, Reno, Nashville, etc. are also served with non-stop flights from SAN.
SAN’s international carriers provide a link to British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Mexico as well as world cities such as London, Munich, and Tokyo.
Check with your airline to see specific flights and destinations.
Terminals
San Diego International Airport has two terminals, named Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. The majority of San Diego airport’s airlines, including Alaska, operate out of Terminal 2.
Terminal 1 is mostly home to Southwest Airlines and is currently undergoing a terminal redevelopment project expected to be fully open in 2028. The phased project (with intermediate opening dates in 2025 and 2027, will construct a brand new Terminal 1, consisting of 1.2 million square feet and up to 30 gates, to replace the aging existing Terminal 1.
Landside
San Diego International Airport’s terminals each have their own passenger facilities, with separate sets of ticket counters, baggage claims, and TSA Security Screening Checkpoints.
While the terminals are physically attached to one another, it is important to note, that they are not connected for passenger movements. But with sunny Southern California weather, walking along a sidewalk between the two terminals is no big deal, and may be a welcome change for those seeking fresh air.
Airside
SAN’s airside has a total of 48 gates – Terminal 1 is home to gates 1 thru 18 and Terminal 2 is home to gates 20 thru 51.
One of the challenging things about San Diego International Airport is that there are three separate secure passenger areas that are not connected to one another. This means passengers with connecting flights may need to plan on exiting the airside and going through TSA screening again to catch their next flight. Luckily, its largest terminal, Terminal 2 is contiguous. However, Terminal 1 is split into two distinct gate areas.
Rental Cars
San Diego International Airport is one of several airports across the United States with a Consolidated Rental Car (CONRAC) facility where rental car agency counters and car pickup/drop off areas are located in a single building.
Most rental car agencies at SAN operate out of its CONRAC, however, a couple rental car agencies are located off-site
The CONRAC at SAN is located on the opposite side of the airfield from the airport’s terminal facilities. Therefore, passengers will need to hop on a free shuttle to get between the terminal and the rental car facility. Shuttles run 24/7, though operating hours of each rental car vendor may vary.
14 car rental agencies serve SAN, including major national chains such as Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty. Smaller chains include Fox Rent A Car, Payless, and Sixt Rent A Car. ZipCar, which is owned by Avis, also operates out of San Diego International Airport.
Offsite agencies include Mex/Ace Rent A Car and Nu Car Rentals.
Website
Travelers looking to find additional information can browse the airport’s official website:
San Diego International Airport
Last Updated: November 2022