John Wayne Airport
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- Orange County Airport redirects here. For the general aviation airport in New York state, see Orange County Airport (New York).
John Wayne-Orange County Airport (IATA Airport Code SNA) is located in Orange County, California, between the cities of Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Irvine. It serves both general and commercial aviation for the Orange County Area. Originally named simply the Orange County Airport, the Orange County Board of Supervisors renamed it to honor the actor John Wayne in 1979.
In 2004, a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Chris Norby, tried to get the name changed to The O.C. Airport, John Wayne Field, because of the popularity of the TV series The O.C., which helped Orange County earn its nickname. He backed down after receiving some negative publicity and angry responses from Orange County residents.
John Wayne Airport is served by eleven commercial airlines and four commuter airlines. It has one main terminal, the Thomas F. Riley Terminal, named for the County Supervisor who had lobbied for the airport's expansion in the 1980s. The Riley Terminal is divided into two concourses, A and B. A separate terminal serves general aviation.
The first airstrip on the grounds was constructed in 1923, when Eddie Martin founded a flying school on land owned by the Irvine Company. It was purchased through a land swap by the County of Orange in 1939 and remains under the County's ownership and management.
On June 19, 1950, the first commercial drag strip, the Santa Ana Drag, was started on a runway at the airport and ran every Sunday. Due to increased air traffic, the strip was forced to close in 1959.
On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255, which was flying from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport near Detroit, Michigan to John Wayne Airport with an intermediate stop at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, crashed after takeoff in Detroit, killing all of the passengers except for a young girl.
Population and economic growth in the region spurred expansion and remodeling projects in 1974, 1980, 1982, and 1990. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a new airport was proposed on the nearby site of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. After a prolonged battle, however, the proposal was defeated and no new airport was built.
In 2003, SNA served 8,535,130 persons and 15,406 tons of air cargo. Additionally, 2003 saw 249,551 takeoffs and landings by general aviation.
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Commercial airlines serving John Wayne Airport
Terminal A
- Alaska Airlines Gates 10 and 14 (Oakland International Airport, Portland (OR), and Seattle/Tacoma)
- American Airlines Gates 8, 9, 10, and 14 (Chicago/O'Hare, Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Jose, and St. Louis)
- American Eagle Gates 14A and 14B (San Francisco and San Jose)
- ASA dba Delta Connection (Salt Lake City)
- Continental Airlines Gate 11 (Houston/Intercontinental and Newark)
- Delta Air Lines Gates 12 and 13 (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, and Salt Lake City)
- Midwest Airlines (Milwaukee)
- Skywest dba Delta Connection (Salt Lake City)
Terminal B
- Aloha Airlines (Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, and Reno)
- America West Airlines Gates 6 and 7
- Frontier Airlines (Denver)
- Mesa Airlines dba America West Express (Las Vegas, Phoenix)
- Northwest Airlines Gate 3 (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- Southwest Airlines Gates 1 1B, and 2 (Chicago/Midway, Las Vegas, Phoenix)
- United Airlines Gates 4 and 5 (Chicago/O'Hare, Denver, and San Francisco
- Skywest dba United Express Gate 1A (Los Angeles and San Francisco)
External links
- John Wayne Airport Homepage (http://www.ocair.com/)