Salt Lake City International Airport

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 (Runway diagram for 1955). The April 1957 Official Airline Guide (now OAG) 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

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, 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 are 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. The original plan called for phase 2 to be completed by December 2024. The east portion of concourse A is still considered phase 2, and opened in increments through 2023, with the final 13 gates opening on October 31, 2023. The completion of the central tunnel was moved to phase 3 of the rebuild and is scheduled to open in October 2024. Phase 3 will also include an additional Delta Sky Club, as well as the reinstallation of the floor world map that was featured in the former terminal.

The easternmost gates of concourse B are now part of a fourth phase to be completed in 2027, and the plans now 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.

The airport covers 7,700 acres (3,116 ha) and has four runways. The runways are generally 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 an underground tunnel for a total of 68 gates. There is a single security check point with 16 lanes and eight baggage carousels.

• Concourse A has 47 gates, completed October 2023.
• Concourse B has 21 gates, with 26 more opening in phases beginning in 2024.

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).

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.

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.

2019 data shows that there are 331 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, including one operated by Westminster College.

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.

Passenger

Cargo

Passenger numbers

Top destinations

Airline market share

Accident history for SLC at Aviation Safety Network

• 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 Airlines 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.

In the 1974 film Airport 1975, Captain Alan Murdock (played by Charlton Heston) lands a crippled Boeing 747 at SLC which was involved in a midair collision with a Beechcraft 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:

• Dumb and Dumber (1994)
• Unaccompanied Minors (2006)
• Darling Companion (2012)

• 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 tallest air traffic control towers in the United States

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Official website
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective May 16, 2024
• FAA Terminal Procedures for SLC, effective May 16, 2024
• 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