Salt Lake City International Airport

Salt Lake City International Airport (IATA: SLC, ICAO: KSLC, FAA LID: SLC) is a joint civil-military international airport located about 4 mi (6.4 km; 3.5 nmi) west of Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The airport, along with the much smaller Provo Airport (PVU) and Ogden–Hinckley Airport (OGD) are the closest commercial airports for more than 3 million people and is within a 30-minute drive of nearly 1.3 million jobs. The airport serves as a hub for Delta Air Lines and is a major gateway to the Intermountain West and West Coast. The airport sees 343 scheduled nonstop airline departures per day to 93 cities in North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. It is by far the busiest airport in Utah. 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. The airport is owned by the City of Salt Lake City and is administered by the municipal Department of Airports. In 2024, the airport set an all-time record with 28,364,610 passengers served, a 5.2% increase from 2023. History 1900 to 1940 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 representing Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and a team representing the Wright Brothers to Salt Lake City. World-famous aviator Glenn H. Curtiss brought his newly invented Seaplane to the carnival, a type of airplane that had never been demonstrated to the public. Curtiss took off from the nearby Great Salt Lake, awing the 20,000 spectators and making international headlines. For several years, the new field was used mainly for training and aerobatic flights. That would change in 1920 when the United States Postal Service (USPS) began air 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. 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 via Las Vegas. Less than a year later, Western Air Express would begin flying passengers along the same route. Western Air Express later became Western Airlines, which had a large hub in Salt Lake City. Charles Lindbergh visited Woodward Field in 1927, drawing many spectators to see The 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. 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. As air travel became more popular and the United States Army Air Forces established a base at the airport during World War II, a third runway was added . The April 1957 Official Airline Guide 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. 1960 terminal 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. In 1968, the airport became Salt Lake City International Airport when a non-stop route to Calgary, Canada was awarded to Western Airlines. After airline 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 artist LeConte Stewart. 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 for SkyWest Airlines, which was designed by Gensler. A new 328-foot-tall (100 m) control tower, new approach control facility, and a new fire station were opened in 1999. In 2001, Concourse E was expanded for additional gates and SkyWest 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 the Winter 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. 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. Later that year, Delta made it seasonal. The airline stopped flying to Tokyo in October 2011. New terminal and concourses The Airport Redevelopment Program broke ground in 2014, initiating construction of the New SLC terminal complex. 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 to Atlanta, Denver and Washington–Dulles) with 93 gates (later changed to 94 gates), two tunnels, and an elevated roadway. The construction was funded by airport funds, passenger and customer facility charges, bonds, and federal grants. The Airport opened Phase 1 of the new terminal in 2020. 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. With the opening of the new airport, Delta Air Lines opened a brand new Sky Club in concourse A, which at the time was the largest in their network. 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. 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. 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 an allosaurus fossil. 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 Express Centurion Lounge were opened. Phase 4 will include the airport's first non-Delta club, a United Airlines club that will be on the far east end of concourse B. 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. All told, phase 2 through phase 4 are planned to add 48 new gates to the airport for a total of 94 gates. Facilities The airport covers 7,700 acres (3,116 ha) and has three runways. The runways are oriented in a NNW/SSE magnetic direction due to consistent prevailing winds in this direction. Terminal 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. Concourse A has 47 gates. Concourse B has 36 gates, with 11 more opening in Fall 2026. Ground transportation The airport is accessible from I-80 at exit 115 B or from I-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 and Utah State Route 154 (Bangerter Highway), both of which terminate and merge into the airport's Terminal Drive. Rail and bus services that connect the surrounding region to Salt Lake City International Airport include TRAX light rail service from the Airport station, UTA bus service (via TRAX), and FrontRunner commuter rail (via TRAX). There is a pedestrian and bicycle trail on the south side of the runways connecting the airport and urban Salt Lake City, which is open to the public during daylight and early evening hours year round and accessible at other times to persons possessing an airport badge. General aviation Despite being the 28th busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft operations, the airport still maintains a large general aviation presence. In 2008, 19% of aircraft movements at the airport came from general aviation traffic. 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. In 2021, there were 337 general aviation aircraft based at the airport. The airport has three fixed-base operators; Signature Flight Support, Atlantic Aviation, and Menzies Aviation located on the east side of the airport. The airport has facilities for air ambulance, law enforcement, as well as state and federal government aircraft. Additionally, the airport is home to several flight training facilities. Military operations The Utah 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 after Brigadier General Roland R. Wright, USAF (Ret). 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 the 151st Wing (151 WG), an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit operating the KC-135R Stratotanker. Airlines and destinations Passenger Cargo Statistics Annual traffic Top destinations Airline market share Accidents and incidents On October 7, 1935 United Airlines Flight 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 President Herbert Hoover narrowly avoided being on Flight 4. On May 1, 1942, United Airlines Trip 4, a Douglas 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. On January 17, 1963, a West Coast Airlines Fairchild F-27 on a training flight out and back to SLC crashed west of the airport into Great Salt Lake simulating an emergency descent, all three occupants perished. On November 11, 1965, United Airlines Flight 227, operated with a Boeing 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, an Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander operated by American Smelting and Refining Co. lifted off prematurely, stalled and crashed. Both occupants died. On December 18, 1977, United Airlines Flight 2860, a cargo flight operated with a Douglas DC-8 crashed into a mountain near Kaysville 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, a Fairchild Metro, collided with a Mooney 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. On October 14, 1989, Delta Air Lines Flight 1554, operated with a Boeing 727, caught fire during the boarding process for a flight to Edmonton, 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. On March 2, 1997, a Beechcraft 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. On November 16, 2015, three days after the 2015 Paris terror attacks, an Air France Airbus A380 traveling from Los Angeles to Paris was diverted to Salt Lake City International Airport due to a bomb threat on the aircraft. 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. On January 18, 2016, two people died when their Cessna 525 private jet crashed shortly after take-off from Salt Lake City International on their way to Tucson International Airport in Tucson, Arizona. On March 30, 2021, a chartered Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 carrying the NBA's Utah Jazz to Memphis International Airport in Memphis, Tennessee for a game against the Memphis Grizzlies made an emergency landing at SLC after suffering a bird strike shortly after takeoff. The plane suffered damage to an engine but there were no injuries among its occupants. 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 Delta Airbus A220's engine intake. The man was removed from the engine and died on the scene. He apparently had a boarding pass for Denver. See also Ogden-Hinckley Airport Provo Municipal Airport Spanish Fork Municipal Airport Woodhouse Field Heber Valley Airport South Valley Regional Airport St. George Regional Airport Utah World War II Army Airfields List of airports in Utah List of tallest air traffic control towers in the United States References This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency External links Official website FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective July 9, 2026 FAA Terminal Procedures for SLC, effective July 9, 2026 Resources for this airport: AirNav airport information for KSLC ASN accident history for SLC FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days SkyVector aeronautical chart for KSLC FAA current SLC delay information