SFO - Terminals - International Terminal

International Terminal

SFO's international terminal was designed by Craig W. Hartman of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and opened in December 2000 to replace International Departures from Terminal 2. It is the largest international terminal in North America, and is the largest building in the world built on base isolators to protect against earthquakes. Food service focuses on quick service versions of leading Bay Area restaurants, following other SFO terminals. Planners attempted to make the airport a destination in and of itself, not just for travelers that are passing through. The international terminal is a common use facility, with all gates and all ticketing areas shared among the international airlines. All international arrivals and departures are handled here (except flights from cities with customs preclearance). The BART train station is located in this terminal, at the garage leading to Boarding Area G. The SFO Medical Clinic is located next to the security screening area of Boarding Area A. All the gates in this terminal have two jetway bridges with the exception of gates A2 and A10, which have one. Gates A1, A3, and A11 are capable of accommodating two aircraft. Six gates are specifically designed for the Airbus A380, making SFO one of the first airports in the world with such gates when it was constructed in 2000. Gates A9 (9A,9B,9C) and G101 (101A,101B,101C) have three jetways for boarding. Four other gates have two jetways fitted for the A380.

For lack of space, the terminal was constructed on top of the airport's main access road at enormous expense, completing the continuous "ring" of terminals. The terminal required its own elaborate set of ramps to connect it with Highway 101. The design and construction of the international terminal is owed to Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Del Campo & Maru Architects, Michael Willis Associates (main terminal building), Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum (Boarding Area G), and Gerson/Overstreet Architects (Boarding Area A). The contracts were awarded after an architectural design competition. If all gates in an airlines' designated international boarding area are full, passengers will board or deplane from the opposite international boarding area.

All SkyTeam, Oneworld and non-aligned international carriers aside from EVA Air operate from Boarding Area A (gates A1–A10, A11–A11A, A12). TACA Airlines, Asiana, and Air Canada are the only Star Alliance carriers that use Boarding Area A. EVA Air is the non-aligned carrier not using Boarding Area A.

All international Star Alliance members aside from Air Canada (some flights), Asiana, and TACA use Boarding Area G (gates G91, G92–G92A, G93–G98, G99–G99A, G100, G101–G101A, G102), as well as non-aligned EVA Air. In 2010, some United domestic flights now utilize the Area G, as shown in the table below.

Domestic flights from the airlines JetBlue Airways, Sun Country Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines also operate from the International Terminal, using boarding area A.