Salt Lake City International Airport continues to rank high for on-time departures/arrivals and the fewest flight cancellations among major US airports. The airport ranked first for on-time departures and arrivals and first for the percentage of cancellations as of April 2017.[5] The airport is owned by the City of Salt Lake City and is administered by the municipal Department of Airports.[6]
In 2024, the airport set an all-time record with 28,364,610 passengers served, a 5.2% increase from 2023.[7]
In 1911, a site for an air field was chosen on Basque Flats, named for Spanish-French sheep herders who worked the fields in the then-desolate area of the Salt Lake Valley, where a cinder-covered landing was subsequently created. The Great International Aviation Carnival was held the same year and brought aviation pioneers representingCurtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and a team representing theWright Brothers to Salt Lake City. World-famous aviatorGlenn H. Curtiss brought his newly inventedSeaplane to the carnival, a type of airplane that had never been demonstrated to the public. Curtiss took off from the nearbyGreat Salt Lake, awing the 20,000 spectators and making international headlines.[8]
For several years, the new field was used mainly for training and aerobatic flights. That would change in 1920 when theUnited States Postal Service (USPS) beganair mail service to Salt Lake City. The city bought a 100-acre tract around Basque Flats for $4,000 and built a field, hangar and other facilities. In the same year, the airfield was given the name Woodward Field, named for John P. Woodward, a local aviator. The first transcontinental air mail flight landed at Woodward Field on September 8.[9]
In 1925, the postal service began awarding contracts to private companies.Western Air Express, the first private company to carry U.S. mail, began flying from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles viaLas Vegas. Less than a year later, Western Air Express would begin flying passengers along the same route. Western Air Express later becameWestern Airlines, which had a large hub in Salt Lake City.[9]
Charles Lindbergh visited Woodward Field in 1927, drawing many spectators to seeThe Spirit of St. Louis. During the next few years the airport would gain another runway and would span over 400 acres (1.6 km2). In 1930 the airport was renamed Salt Lake City Municipal Airport.[10]
The first terminal and airport administration building was built in 1933 at a cost of $52,000. By then,United Airlines had begun serving Salt Lake City on flights between New York City and San Francisco.[10][11]
World War II Salt Lake City Army Air Base postcard
As air travel became more popular and theUnited States Army Air Forces established a base at the airport during World War II, a third runway was added (Runway diagram for 1955). The April 1957 Official Airline Guide (nowOAG) shows 42 weekday departures: 18 on Western, 17 United and 7 Frontier. United had flown nonstop to Chicago since 1950, but nonstop service to New York did not start until 1968. The first jets were United 720s in September 1960.
A new terminal was needed and work began on the west side of the airport on Terminal 1, designed by Brazier Montmorency Hayes & Talbot and dedicated in 1960 after seven years of work and a cost of $8 million.[12] In 1968, the airport became Salt Lake City International Airport[13] when a non-stop route toCalgary, Canada was awarded to Western Airlines.
Afterairline deregulation in 1978, hub airports appeared. Western Airlines, with ties to Salt Lake City since its inception, increased service into hub status on May 1, 1982.
Terminal 2 was designed by Montmorency Hayes & Talbot and built solely for Western and had several murals by artistLeConte Stewart.[14]
During the 1980s, the airport saw further expansion to both terminals as well as runway extension. In 1987, Western Airlines merged with Delta Air Lines. Salt Lake City would continue to be a major airline hub for Delta.
In 1991, the airport opened a new short-term parking garage. The airport opened a new runway in 1995 along with the International Terminal and E concourse forSkyWest Airlines, which was designed byGensler.[15] A new 328-foot-tall (100 m)control tower, new approach control facility, and a new fire station were opened in 1999.[10]
In 2001, Concourse E was expanded for additional gates andSkyWest Airlines opened its new maintenance hangar and training facility. In 2002, the airport saw heavy crowds as Salt Lake City welcomed over one million visitors for theWinter Olympics.
In June 2008, Delta Air Lines began service to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on a Boeing 767. This was the airport's first transatlantic route.[16] Delta also added the first flight from Salt Lake City to Asia, a link to Tokyo's Narita Airport, the following June. The service aboard Airbus A330s resulted from Delta's merger with Northwest Airlines, which had a hub at Narita.[17][18] Later that year, Delta made it seasonal.[19] The airline stopped flying to Tokyo in October 2011.[20][21]
The Airport Redevelopment Program broke ground in 2014, initiating construction of the New SLC terminal complex.[22][23] This began the process of replacing the existing, aging facilities with all new facilities, including a rental car center, a parking garage, a terminal with two linear concourses (similar toAtlanta,Denver andWashington–Dulles) with 93 gates, two tunnels, and an elevated roadway. The construction was funded by airport funds, passenger and customer facility charges, bonds, and federal grants.[24]
The Airport opened Phase 1 of the new terminal in 2020.[25] This first phase consisted of the western portion of concourse A with 25 gates, and the western portion of Concourse B with 21 gates. The concourses were connected by a mid-field underground tunnel. After Concourse B opened, the old terminals and concourses were demolished, and then construction on concourses A and B east began.[26] With the opening of the new airport, Delta Air Lines opened a brand newSky Club in concourse A, which at the time was the largest in their network.[25]
Phase 2 of the project included the eastern portion of concourse A with 22 gates and additional concession options. It opened in increments throughout 2023, with the final 13 gates opening on October 31, 2023.[27][28]
Phase 3 opened on October 22, 2024 including five additional gates in the eastern portion of concourse B, the Concourse B Plaza, additional concession options and the much anticipated central River Tunnel. The central tunnel, which allows passengers to directly access concourse B from just outside the security checkpoint, will reduce walk times to concourse B by as much as half.[29] The Concourse B Plaza includes the reinstalled floor world map that was featured in the former terminal, as well as a 30-foot-long replica of anallosaurus fossil.[30]
The remaining 5 gates of Phase 3 and first 5 gates of Phase 4 opened in the eastern portion of concourse B in October 2025. Along with the new gates and concessions, a second Delta Sky Club and the airport's only non-airline specific club, an American ExpressCenturion Lounge were opened.[31]
Phase 4 will include the airport's first non-Delta club, aUnited Airlines club that will be on the far east end of concourse B.[32][33] The easternmost 11 gates of concourse B, to be completed in 2026, are also part of Phase 4. Future plans call for adding a tram to the central tunnel when a future concourse C is eventually built.[34][35] All told, phase 2 through phase 4 are planned to add 48 new gates to the airport for a total of 94 gates.[35]
The airport covers 7,700 acres (3,116 ha) and has four runways.[36][37] The runways are generally oriented in a NNW/SSE magnetic direction due to consistentprevailing winds in this direction.
SLC has a single terminal with two concourses connected by two underground tunnels for a total of 83 gates. There is a single security check point with 16 lanes and 11 baggage carousels, with additional checkpoint and carousel facilities for international arrivals.[38]
The airport is accessible fromI-80 at exit 115 B or fromI-215 at exits 22 and 22 B, with the GA terminal accessible from I-215 exit 23. The airport can also be accessed from North Temple Street andUtah State Route 154 (Bangerter Highway), both of which terminate and merge into the airport's Terminal Drive.
TheAirport TRAX station, prior to being moved to the new terminal
Rail and bus services that connect the surrounding region to Salt Lake City International Airport includeTRAX light rail service from theAirport station,UTA bus service (via TRAX), andFrontRunner commuter rail (via TRAX).
Ground transportation is available from the airport to ski resorts and locations throughout Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Utah, and Summit counties. Many Salt Lake taxis, limousines, and shuttles accommodate ski equipment.
Despite being the 28th busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft operations,[40] the airport still maintains a largegeneral aviation presence. In 2008, 19% of aircraft movements at the airport came from general aviation traffic.[41] This is in contrast to most large airports, which encourage general aviation aircraft to use smaller or less busy airports in order to prevent delays to commercial traffic. The airport is able to effectively handle both commercial and general aviation traffic largely in part to the airport's layout and airspace structure. Nearly all general aviation operations are conducted on the east side of the airport, away from commercial traffic. Additionally, smaller and relatively slower general aviation aircraft arrive and depart the airport in ways that generally do not hinder the normal flow of arriving or departing commercial aircraft.
2021 data shows that there were 337 general aviation aircraft based at the airport.[36] The airport has threefixed-base operators; Signature Flight Support, Atlantic Aviation, and Menzies Aviation located on the east side of the airport. The airport has facilities forair ambulance,law enforcement, as well as state and federal government aircraft. Additionally, the airport is home to several flight training facilities.
TheUtah Air National Guard operates what was previously named the Salt Lake City Air National Guard Base on the east side of the airport. In November 2014, the installation was renamed the Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base afterBrigadier GeneralRoland R. Wright, USAF (Ret).[42]
The base occupies approximately 140 acres as a U.S. Government cantonment area leased from the airport. In addition to flight line, the installation comprises 65 buildings: 3 services, 13 administrative, and 47 industrial. There are 255 full-time Air Reserve Technician and Active Guard and Reserve personnel assigned, augmented by 1,343 part-time traditional air national guardsmen. The host wing for the installation is the151st Wing (151 WG), anAir Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit operating theKC-135R Stratotanker.
On October 7, 1935United AirlinesFlight 4, a Boeing 247D, crashed after departing Salt Lake City en route to Cheyenne, Wyoming. All 12 on board were killed, including a fugitive traveling under the assumed name of a man killed in a separate plane crash a few days before. Former PresidentHerbert Hoover narrowly avoided being on Flight 4.
On May 1, 1942,United Airlines Trip 4, aDouglas DC-3 impacted the side of a hill after deviating off course 3.8 miles (6.1 km) NE of Salt Lake Municipal Airport, all 17 on board were killed.[99]
On January 17, 1963, aWest Coast AirlinesFairchild F-27 on a training flight out and back to SLC crashed west of the airport intoGreat Salt Lake simulating an emergency descent, all three occupants perished.[100]
On November 11, 1965,United Airlines Flight 227, operated with aBoeing 727, crashed just short of the runway at Salt Lake City International Airport (then named Salt Lake City Municipal Airport), killing 43 of the 91 people on board.
On December 16, 1969, anAero Commander 1121 Jet Commander operated by American Smelting and Refining Co. lifted off prematurely, stalled and crashed. Both occupants died.[101]
On December 18, 1977,United Airlines Flight 2860, a cargo flight operated with aDouglas DC-8 crashed into a mountain nearKaysville while in a holding pattern prior to landing at Salt Lake City International Airport. The crew was trying to figure out an electrical problem and did not realize they were adjacent to a mountain. All three people on board were killed in the accident.
On January 15, 1987,Skywest Airlines Flight 1834, aFairchild Metro, collided with aMooney M20 at 7000 feet while the Metro was on a runway 34 approach. Both aircraft fell and crashed to the ground. All eight on the Metro and two on the Mooney were killed.[102]
On October 14, 1989, Delta Air Lines Flight 1554, operated with a Boeing 727, caught fire during the boarding process for a flight toEdmonton, Alberta, Canada while the aircraft was parked at a gate. Of the 22 people who were on the aircraft at the time, five sustained minor injuries. While all passengers and crew evacuated, the aircraft was destroyed. An investigation determined the fire started due to a malfunction with the passenger oxygen system.[103]
On March 2, 1997, aBeechcraft Super King Air operated by Coast Hotels and Casinos impacted terrain 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of SLC. One passenger out of the four on board died.[104]
On November 16, 2015, three days after the2015 Paris terror attacks, anAir FranceAirbus A380 traveling from Los Angeles to Paris was diverted to Salt Lake City International Airport due to a bomb threat on the aircraft.[105] The aircraft was the largest plane to ever land at the airport. The airport workers had only 15 minutes to get ready for the emergency landing.[106]
On January 1, 2024, a 30-year-old man exited the terminal via an emergency exit following a reported "disturbance" and ran to a deicing area, where he proceeded to crawl into a DeltaAirbus A220's engine intake. The man was removed from the engine and died on the scene. He apparently had a boarding pass for Denver.[109][110]
In the 1974 filmAirport 1975, Captain Alan Murdock (played byCharlton Heston) lands a crippledBoeing 747 at SLC which was involved in a midair collision with aBeechcraft Baron which crashed into the cockpit of the 747, killing most of the flight crew. After landing, the aircraft exited the runway but eventually came to a stop. The movie ends with an emergency evacuation of all passengers and crew at the airport. A good portion of the movie was filmed on location at SLC.
Other notable films with scenes shot on location at SLC:
^abc"Airport History". Salt Lake City Department of Airports.Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. RetrievedApril 16, 2013.
^Berryman, Marvin E."A History of United Airlines". The United Airlines Historical Foundation.Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. RetrievedApril 16, 2013.
Denver, Colorado
Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona
Los Angeles, California
Las Vegas, Nevada
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Seattle/Tacoma, Washington
Atlanta, Georgia
Chicago-O'Hare, Illinois
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Paris–Charles de Gaulle, France
Cancún, Mexico
London–Heathrow, United Kingdom
Calgary, Canada
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
