Fresno Yosemite International Airport - History

History

The airfield was opened in June 1942. During World War II the airfield was known as Hammer Field and was used by the United States Army Air Forces' Fourth Air Force. Hammer Field was a training base and had three sub-bases and two gunnery ranges.

The airfield was renamed Fresno Air Terminal, and retained a military cantonment area for the an Army Air Forces unit of the National Guard that became a unit of the Air National Guard when the U.S. Air Force was established as a separate service in 1947.

Today the California Air National Guard 144th Fighter Wing (144 FW) occupies two separate parcels of land at the airport—the main base area and the Munitions Storage Area. These areas of the airport are known as the Fresno Air National Guard Base. This military unit currently operates F-16C "Fighting Falcon" fighters and previously operated F-4D "Phantom" interceptor aircraft.

Trans World Airlines (TWA) and United Airlines flights to San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles moved from Chandler Field to Fresno Air Terminal in 1947; TWA ceased serving Fresno in 1963. United commenced nonstop jet service to Denver in 1970, and starting in 1979 United flew nonstop Boeing 727s to Chicago for a year or so. Currently, all "United" service to Fresno is flown by SkyWest Airlines operating as United Express. United no longer serves Fresno with mainline jets but instead relies on SkyWest for feeder services to United's connecting hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver.

In 1988 the FAA designated the airport as an "International Point of Entry" making it eligible for international flights.

In 1995 the airport's name was changed to attract out-of-state and international visitors to Yosemite National Park. Since its opening, the airport has gone through multiple renovations and expansions. In 2002, a new two-level concourse building designed by DMJM Aviation was completed and in 2006 construction of a new Federal Inspection Facility (FIS) was completed. The airport applied for a new FAA identifier code when its name was changed in 1996; however, the FAA will only assign a new airport identifier code when an airport physically moves to another location, such as in 1995 when Denver Airport moved from Stapleton (DEN to DVX).

Fresno has been headquarters location for at least two airlines. In the mid 1990s, Air 21 flew Fokker F28 "Fellowship" jets to destinations as far east as Colorado Springs and as far west as San Francisco. Allegiant Air also called Fresno home but then moved its headquarters to Las Vegas.

With regard to mainline jet service, United Airlines was a major player at the airport for many years, operating Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, Boeing 737-200 and Douglas DC-8 jetliners. The United service even included stretched Douglas Super DC-8 series 61 flights to Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. With over 200 seats these DC-8-61s were the largest airliners ever to provide scheduled passenger service into Fresno.

Other jet airlines that served Fresno in the past included Pacific Air Lines with Boeing 727-100s, Hughes Airwest (previously known as Air West) with Douglas DC-9-10s and DC-9-30s, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) with Boeing 727-100, 727-200, 737-200 and McDonnell Douglas MD 80s, Western Airlines with Boeing 727-200, 737-200 and 737-300 service, Delta Airlines with Boeing 727-200 and 737-300 aircraft, Continental Airlines with Boeing 737-200 and 737-300 flights, Air Cal with Boeing 737-200 service and Pacific Express with British Aircraft Corp. BAC One-Eleven jets. Pacific Air Lines was the first air carrier to operate scheduled passenger flights with jet aircraft from Fresno when it introduced Boeing 727 service nonstop to Los Angeles and San Francisco in the spring of 1968.

In the 1980s Fresno saw a variety of mainline jet service. In the 1990 there was a shift to smaller regional jet and turboprop aircraft. Recently, mainline jets have been returning to Fresno although most flights continue to use smaller regional jet or turboprop aircraft. Mainline jet aircraft that currently serve Fresno include the long standing McDonnell Douglas MD 80 service nonstop to Dallas/Ft. Worth operated by American Airlines. Allegiant Air also operates McDonnell Douglas MD 80 jetliners from Fresno with nonstops to Las Vegas and has now introduced Boeing 757-200 nonstops to Honolulu. Aeromexico operates Boeing 737 jetliners while Volaris flies Airbus A319 aircraft with both airlines offering nonstops to Guadalajara, Mexico. Delta Airlines announced new service to Fresno from Atlanta, but this was later dropped. Frontier Airlines ended service as of June 2007 after two years of operating nonstop to Denver.

Direct international service from Fresno ended when Mexicana ceased operations in August 2010 to Guadalajara International Airport, Mexico. However, international flights returned when Volaris and Aeromexico restored service between Fresno and Guadalajara in April 2011.