Santa Maria Public Airport Capt. G. Allan Hancock Field Santa Maria Army Airfield | |||||||||||||||
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 2006 USGS photo | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Santa Maria Public Airport District | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Santa Maria, California | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 261 ft / 80 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°53′56″N120°27′27″W / 34.89889°N 120.45750°W /34.89889; -120.45750 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | SantaMariaAirport.com | ||||||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||||||
 FAA airport diagram | |||||||||||||||
 Interactive map of Santa Maria Public Airport | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:FAA,[1] airport website[2] | |||||||||||||||
Santa Maria Public Airport (Capt. G. Allan Hancock Field) (IATA:SMX,ICAO:KSMX,FAALID:SMX) is three miles (5 km) south ofSanta Maria, in northernSanta Barbara County,California, United States.[1]
The airport was built by theUnited States Army duringWorld War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field.[3] Its primary mission was to provide training forB-25 bomber pilots, however flight training was abandoned by December 1942. The field fell into a state of disuse until the arrival of theLockheed P-38 twin engine fighter in September 1943.
During its use by the military Santa Maria AAF also controlledEstrella Army Airfield, nearPaso Robles as an auxiliary airfield to support the pilot training activity.
After the warSanta Barbara County and the city ofSanta Maria acquired the land and facilities through two grants in 1948. In 1964 the Army Air Field was renamed Santa Maria Public Airport.
TheSanta Maria Museum of Flight opened at the airport in 1988.[4]
In 2020, the airport was again used for training by a fleet of military jets whileNaval Air Station Point Mugu was performing maintenance on its airfield. The fleet consisted of six 1960Hawker Hunters multi-role fighters and two 1970IAI Kfir interceptors.[5]
ThePlanes of Fame Air Museum announced plans to open a new location at the airport in 2023.[6]
The first airline at Santa Maria was Pacific Seaboard Air Lines. In 1933 Pacific Seaboard scheduled two dailyBellanca CH-300s Los Angeles - Santa Barbara - Santa Maria - San Luis Obispo - Paso Robles - Monterey - Salinas - San Jose - San Francisco.[7] After receiving a mail contract, Pacific Seaboard moved its entire operation to the eastern U.S. in 1934, be renamedChicago and Southern Air Lines, and in 1953 was acquired by and merged intoDelta Air Lines.[8]Southwest AirwaysDouglas DC-3s began service during the 1940s. The June 1, 1947 timetable lists three daily round trips Los Angeles-Oxnard-Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo-Coalinga-Monterey-Santa Cruz/Watsonville-San Jose/Moffett Field-San Francisco.[9] Southwest changed its name toPacific Air Lines and operatedMartin 4-0-4s andFairchild F-27s to Santa Maria in the 1960s. Pacific merged withBonanza Air Lines andWest Coast Airlines to form Air West in 1968, which becameHughes Airwest in 1970. Hughes Airwest then served Santa Maria withMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s andFairchild F-27s.[10] In 1974 and 1975 Hughes Airwest operatedMcDonnell Douglas DC-9 Series 30 jets to Los Angeles and San Francisco.[11] This was the only time Santa Maria had nonstop mainline jets to LAX and SFO at the same time. DC-9 jet flights ended in 1976 and Hughes Airwest F-27 flights to Santa Maria ended in 1979.
A number of commuter airlines served the airport. In 1968 Cable Commuter Airlines was flyingde Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters toLAX.[12] Cable Commuter was later merged intoGolden West Airlines but service to Santa Maria ended in the early 1970s. Golden West briefly returned to the airport in 1982 usingShort 330 aircraft. Santa Barbara-based Apollo Airways (which later changed its name to Pacific Coast Airlines) flyingHandley Page HP.137 Jetstreams served Santa Maria during the latter 1970's.
Swift Aire Lines, based at nearbySan Luis Obispo Airport, served Santa Maria through most of the 1970s decade with flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose, mainly with newFokker F27 Friendships.[13] Swift Aire also previously operatedNord 262s andde Havilland Herons to the airport and then ended service in 1981.
Wings West Airlines began service as an independent commuter air carrier in 1982 and then began operating asAmerican Eagle on behalf ofAmerican Airlines in 1986. The San Luis Obispo-based carrier flew to Los Angeles and San Francisco withBeechcraft C99s,Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners,BAe Jetstream 31s, andSaab 340s operated ascode sharing flights for American. Service was discontinued service in 1996.
West Air began flying asUnited Express on behalf ofUnited Airlines in 1986 to San Francisco and later to Los Angeles. West Air flewBAe Jetstream 31s andEmbraer EMB-110 Bandeirantes.Mesa Airlines bought out West Air in 1992 and continued service asUnited Express until 1997. From 1993 through 1995 Mesa operated asCalPac usingBeechcraft 1900Cs on its United Express service.
SkyWest Airlines began flights to Santa Maria in 1985 when it acquiredSun Aire Lines which had begun serving the airport in 1982. In 1986 SkyWest began a code sharing agreement withWestern Airlines and began flying as Western Express. One year later Western Airlines merged intoDelta Air Lines and SkyWest's flights then began operating asDelta Connection. The carrier flewFairchild Swearingen Metroliners andEmbraer EMB-120 Brasilias, mainly to Los Angeles.[14] In 1997 SkyWest changed its service from operating as Delta Connection to operate asUnited Express on behalf ofUnited Airlines (replacing Mesa Airlines) still with service nonstop to Los Angeles using Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias. Flights to LAX were discontinued in 2015 in favor of nonstop flights to SFO usingCanadair regional jets; however, SkyWest operating as United Express ceased all operations at Santa Maria on October 5, 2016.[15]
Mokulele AirlinesCessna 208 Caravans replaced the SkyWest/United Express service to Los Angeles (LAX). In 2016, Mokulele moved its flights to the Los Angeles area from LAX to theHollywood Burbank Airport but then dropped Santa Maria on November 30, 2017.[16]
During the peak of its airline service from 1986 through 1996, Santa Maria saw service by American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express simultaneously and all three air carriers were operating a combined total of up to 22 flights per day to Los Angeles plus several flights to San Francisco with turboprop commuter aircraft. From 1997 until 2006 United Express was the only carrier at Santa Maria. Since United Express left Santa Maria in 2016, the city has had no service by anIATA carrier.[17]
Allegiant Air began serving Santa Maria in 2006. The carrier currently fliesAirbus A319 andAirbus A320 mainline jets nonstop to Las Vegas twice a week each way. Allegiant Air previously operated nonstop service to Phoenix via thePhoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and Portland, OR. On November 17, 2012, Allegiant Air briefly operatedBoeing 757-200 mainline jets from Santa Maria nonstop to Honolulu once a week until August 14, 2013.[18] Allegiant also previously operatedMcDonnell Douglas MD-80 mainline jets on its nonstop flights to Las Vegas andPhoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
United Express operated bySkyWest Airlines was planning to resume service on September 30, 2021, with a single daily flight to Denver as well as a single daily flight to San Francisco. Both flights were planned to be operated withBombardier CRJ100/200 regional jets. The service was scheduled to begin on June 4, 2020, but has been postponed several times.
American Eagle began serving Santa Maria in October 2025 with daily flights toPhoenix–Sky Harbor.
The airport covers 2,516acres (1,018 ha) and has twoasphalt runways: 12/30, 8,004 x 150 ft (2,439 x 46 m) and 2/20, 5,189 x 75 ft (1,582 x 23 m).[1]
In 2007 the airport had 62,480 aircraft operations, average 171 per day: 79%general aviation, 19%air taxi, 2% military and <1% airline. 243 aircraft are based at the airport: 83% single-engine, 7% multi-engine, 6%helicopter, 3% jet, <1% glider and <1%ultralight.
A new baggage claim facility opened in 2007. It was one of the first airports on the Central Coast to use a state of the artbaggage carousel, on a small scale.
A new terminal holding room opened in February 2008. The old area had room for 30 passengers. Designed for the Allegiant Air flights, the new holding room accommodates 200 passengers and has room for a cafe.
A runway extension was completed on May 3, 2012, from 6,304 ft. to 8,004 ft.[19] The extended runway at Santa Maria[19] gives the airport the longest civil runway between Los Angeles and San Jose[20] on the central coast (Bakersfield's primary runway at Meadows Field in the Central Valley (10855 x 150 ft.) and Vandenberg AFB's runway (15000 x 200 ft.) are longer).
RLC - "Above And Beyond" uses a fleet ofSikorsky S-76 helicopters to transport oil rig workers to Platform Irene, Platform Hidalgo, Platform Harvest and Platform Hermosa from its operating base next to Central Coast Jet Center in Santa Maria.
The Santa Maria Airport serves as anaerial firefighting air tanker base for theU.S. Forest Service as well as for state and local firefighting agencies in California.[21] Aerial firefighting air tanker aircraft operating from the airport have included theMcDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 wide body jet flown by10 Tanker Air Carrier, theMcDonnell Douglas MD-87 jet flown by Erickson Aero Tanker, theLockheed C-130 Hercules turboprop and theBoeing 737-300 flown by Coulson Flying Tankers, and theGrumman S-2 Tracker (S-2T version) turboprop operated by theCalifornia Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).[22][23][24][25]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Allegiant Air | Las Vegas[26] |
| American Eagle | Phoenix–Sky Harbor[27] |
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(June 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Ameriflight | Burbank |
| FedEx Feeder | Ontario |
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 12,860 | Allegiant |
| Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 78,000 | 2019 | 48,000 | 2022 | 31,000 |
| 2017 | 47,000 | 2020 | 31,000 | 2023 | 27,000 |
| 2018 | 45,000 | 2021 | 53,000 | 2024 | 26,000 |
The airport is located south of Santa Maria along Skyway Drive at Terminal Drive. BothUS 101 andState Route 135 (Broadway) can be reached from the airport by heading north on Skyway Drive and then turning east onto Betteravia Road. Short and long-term parking is available, but passenger vehicles left more than 14 days must obtain prior approval by the Airport Administration.[30]
The airport is served bySanta Maria Area Transit routes 4 and the Breeze, the Santa Maria Cab Company,Lyft,Uber, and other local services.[31]
The original Allan Hancock Field was established in 1927 at another location, between Jones Street to the north, Stowell Road to the south, Bradley Road to the east and Miller Street to the west. The airport housed the Allan Hancock College of Aeronautics operated by the Hancock Foundation of Aeronautics. BeforeWorld War II, it was one of eight civil training military aviation cadets.[32] After the war the field was used by theUniversity of Southern California for their four-year Aeronautics Degree program. In 1958 a bond was passed allowing Santa Maria Junior College to purchase the land, much of which would become the campus of what is now known asAllan Hancock College.[33] The name of the original Santa Maria Airport and Hancock's name then transferred to the other, now public airport in town.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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