Overview
In 2011, airport passenger traffic was up 1.7% over 2010. Total enplaned and deplaned passengers was 8,171,824. International passenger traffic increased greatly 33.1% (182,031 passengers) over 2010. This was due in large part to new service launched by Interjet & VivaAerobus to fill the void left by Mexicana. During 2010, the airport handled 8,034,720 domestic and international passengers.
In 2008, San Antonio International Airport handled 8,358,515 passengers, up 3.5 percent from the 2007 total, making this the airports fourth consecutive year of increasing passenger numbers. SAT averages 280 daily departures and arrivals at its 27 gates, which serve 16 airlines flying to 31 metro areas, including Mexico City. The airport's top-ranked destinations are Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Chicago, Baltimore, New York, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. As of December 2006, Southwest Airlines is the airport's largest passenger air carrier, enplaning 35.24 percent of the airport's total passengers. Delta, American, and United are the next three largest carriers.
From February to September 2006, the airport was a "focus city" for United Airlines (the airline called it a "hublet") with flights to 12 cities in conjunction with their partner Trans States Airlines. Trans States Airlines redeployed their aircraft elsewhere, eliminating service to seven cities. Mexicana celebrated 50 years serving the airport in September 2007, only to suspend service to San Antonio in August 2010 when the airline went bankrupt and suspended operations.
The Airport is undergoing a major, multi-million dollar expansion project which will add new terminals and parking facilities. The master plan for the project will increase gate capacity to 35. In addition, construction projects involving Interstate 410 and U.S. Highway 281 have improved access to the airport. (The airport sits near the northeast corner of the I-410/US 281 intersection.) Future plans also call for Stinson Municipal Airport, currently serving general aviation, to become the city's secondary commercial airport.
Airport officials produce a 30-minute news program about once every quarter. "Airport Airwaves" airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m., Wednesdays at 11 a.m., and Fridays at 1:30 p.m. on the Government-access television (GATV) cable TV channel.
The longest flight (by flight time and distance) from San Antonio International Airport is to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, a distance of 1,776 miles (2,858 km), with an average duration of 4 hours 7 minutes. (Served by Alaska Airlines, Boeing 737)
The shortest flight from San Antonio International Airport is to Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, a distance of 191 miles (307 km), with an average duration of 50 minutes. (Served by United Airlines, Boeing 737, Airbus A320), and United Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines, Embraer RJ145.
Read more about this topic: San Antonio International Airport