Sacramento International Airport

Sacramento International Airport (IATA: SMF, ICAO: KSMF, FAA LID: SMF) is an international airport located in Sacramento, California. It is about 10.5 miles northwest of Downtown Sacramento and covers 6,000 acres. This airport is the main one serving the Sacramento Metropolitan Area and is managed by the Sacramento County Airport System.

Besides being the main airport for the area, there are three others nearby: Sacramento Mather Airport, Sacramento Executive Airport, and Franklin Field. The airport is a good place to start trips to many beautiful spots in Northern and Central California. Some of these places include Heavenly Mountain Resort, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, and the California State Capitol. It is also close to nature areas like the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area and the Cosumnes River Preserve, as well as historic sites such as Old Sacramento State Historic Park and Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.

History

Sacramento International Airport (SMF) opened on October 21, 1967, as Sacramento Metropolitan Airport. It was the first public airport built west of the Mississippi River. Before this, people flew from Sacramento Municipal Airport, now called Sacramento Executive Airport. The airport started with five airlines: Pacific Air Lines, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), United Airlines, Western Airlines and West Coast Airlines.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the airport grew with new facilities and airlines. In 1998, Terminal A opened, and the airport was renamed Sacramento International Airport. The first international flights started in 2002.

Parking garage

After the year 2000, more airlines came and went. In 2006, the airport began offering free wireless Internet. In 2018, a large solar power system started, providing about 30% of the airport’s electricity.

In 2023, plans were announced for a big expansion called SMForward. This includes adding new gates, building walkways, and constructing new parking and transportation centers. The airport also plans to build more gates and maybe a new terminal in the future.

Facilities

Sacramento International Airport covers 6,000 acres and has two parallel runways. The runways are made of concrete and were redesignated in 2020.

The west runway was closed for a short time in 2019 to have its surface replaced with concrete.

Depending on the wind direction, the airport uses different runways. When winds come from the south, planes land and take off on runways 17R and 17L. When winds come from the north, planes use runways 35L and 35R. This helps keep flights safe and away from nearby homes.

Terminals

The airport has two terminals. Terminal A has 13 gates, and Terminal B has 19 gates, making a total of 32 gates. Seven airlines use Terminal B, and four use Terminal A. Free wireless Internet is available in all public areas.

Terminal A opened in 1998 with 12 gates, later expanding to 13. It has a food court with special restaurants. In 2024, new escalators were added to make it easier to get to baggage claim.

Terminal B was rebuilt and opened in 2011 with 19 gates. Airlines such as Aeromexico, Alaska, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, and Volaris operate from Terminal B. The new Terminal B is much larger and has many special artworks, including a large red rabbit sculpture called "the Hare-port."

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Sacramento International Airport has been busy for many years. From 1957 to 2025, over 377 million passengers have traveled through the airport. On average, about 5.5 million passengers use the airport each year.

Southwest Airlines jet outside Gate 18 of Terminal B in 2014. Destination: Las Vegas.

**Busiest domestic routes from SMF (January 2025 – December 2025)**
Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Las Vegas, Nevada	593,320	Frontier, Southwest
2	San Diego, California	541,890	Alaska, Frontier, Southwest
3	Denver, Colorado	510,860	Frontier, Southwest, United
4	Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona	429,590	American, Southwest
5	Los Angeles, California	423,740	American, Delta, Southwest, United
6	Seattle–Tacoma, Washington	423,000	Alaska, Delta, Southwest
7	Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas	282,250	American
8	Burbank, California	234,940	Southwest
9	Portland, Oregon	230,600	Alaska, Southwest
10	Orange County, California	218,140	Southwest

Largest airlines at SMF
(June 2023 – May 2024)
Rank	Airline	Passengers	Share
1	Southwest	7,159,000	57.45%
2	United	1,048,000	8.41%
3	American	1,035,000	8.30%
4	SkyWest	919,000	7.38%
5	Delta	865,000	6.94%
	Others	1,435,000	11.51%

Annual passenger traffic at SMF
(enplaned + deplaned)
1957 through present
Year	Passengers	Year	Passengers	Year	Passengers	Year	Passengers
1957	254,861	1975	1,932,461	1993	5,322,632	2011	8,547,977
1958	269,869	1976	2,173,294	1994	5,927,896	2012	8,909,658
1959	322,508	1977	2,497,751	1995	6,704,470	2013	8,686,530
1960	339,657	1978	2,789,380	1996	6,985,784	2014	8,972,756
1961	341,838	1979	2,901,509	1997	6,967,280	2015	9,612,447
1962	360,312	1980	2,266,612	1998	7,201,378	2016	10,118,794
1963	428,593	1981	2,271,862	1999	7,554,892	2017	10,912,080
1964	494,583	1982	2,449,564	2000	7,935,046	2018	12,050,763
1965	569,291	1983	2,587,376	2001	8,036,942	2019	13,172,840
1966	627,499	1984	2,625,399	2002	8,510,924	2020	5,583,052
1967	993,448	1985	2,892,005	2003	8,778,163	2021	9,702,030
1968	1,109,402	1986	3,468,235	2004	9,580,722	2022	12,313,370
1969	1,233,762	1987	3,826,583	2005	10,203,066	2023	12,061,585
1970	1,330,311	1988	3,761,217	2006	10,362,800	2024	13,635,818
1971	1,451,911	1989	3,733,594	2007	10,767,639	2025	13,912,718
1972	1,641,831	1990	3,631,791	2008	9,844,307	2026
1973	1,794,454	1991	4,351,964	2009	8,780,942	2027
1974	1,903,258	1992	5,124,994	2010	8,667,338	2028

Ground transportation

Road

You can get to the airport using Airport Boulevard from Interstate 5 at exit 528. From there, you can reach Interstate 80, CA-113, U.S. Route 50, and CA-99 within 10 miles. A new road, Elkhorn Boulevard, now connects the airport directly to CA-99 at exit 307. This project started in April 2023 and finished on May 21, 2024.