San Francisco Airport (SFO) Information

Where is San Francisco Airport?  

With a history defined by a Gold Rush (1849), earthquake (1906), and troop embarkations (World War II), San Francisco was birthplace of the hippie (think Summer of Love), and home to the peace, civil-rights and gay rights movements.

Today, much of the hugh tech sector is headquarted in the city, including Craigslist, Mozilla, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber and Yelp. San Francisco is ever popular with tourists, who come to enjoy its steep hills, cable cars, Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, Alcatraz... and fog!

San Francisco International Airport (IATA: SFO, ICAO: KSFO, FAA LID: SFO), also referred to as SFO Airport, or simply San Francisco Airport, is located adjacent to the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno, 21 kilometres (13 miles) south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States. 

In 2013, San Francisco Airport served 44,944,201 passengers. 

San Francisco Airport is the busiest of the three airports serving the San Francisco Bay Area, followed by Oakland International Airport (SFO) (flights bound to SFO are frequently diverted here, due to fog). The 3rd busiest is San Jose International Airport (SJC). 

San Francisco Airport is a hub for Alaska Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin America. Other airlines that fly to the SanFrancisco Airport include Air Canada, Air China, Air France, American Airlines, American Eagle, Asiana Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, JetBlue Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Turkish Airlines, US Airways and WestJet.

Cities with flights to San Francisco Airport include Abu Dhabi, Auckland, Beijing, Cancún, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Istanbul, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Mexico City, New York, Osaka, Paris, San Salvador, Seattle, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, Vancouver, Washington DC and Zürich,

Your best bet for a San Francisco Airport transfer is the BART train. Details on all options are included in this guide.

Or, to truly arrive stress free, treat yourself to a private San Francisco Airport transfer from IHateTaxis.

There are many services and  things to do at SFO Airport, including:

• Hydration stations (water fountains designed for easy refilling of reusable bottles) - past security
• Sustainability podcasts (learn how green SFO is!) 
• Yoga room (free, mats supplied, silent) - Terminal 2, boarding area D, just past security
• 4 spas
• Berman Reflection Room (quiet self-reflection, meditation) - International Terminal, pre-security
• Christian Science Reading Room (quiet place to read, meditate or relax) - Terminal 1, near Gates 40-48, pre-security
• USO Lounge (24 hours) - Terminal 1, Mezzanine Level, pre-security
• Baggage storage - International Terminal
• Public showers (07:00-23:00) - International Terminal, pre-security
• Medical clinic
• Aviation Museum and Aviation Library (an architectural adaptation of SFO's 1937 terminal lobby) - International Terminal, pre-security
• Permanent and temporary art exhibitions (courtesy of SFO Museum and the San Francisco Arts Commission)
• Steinhart Aquarium - Terminal 1, Departures, near Gates 40-48, pre-security
• Animal relief areas
• Business services (including cell phone rentals) - International Terminal
• Rapid charging units

The San Francisco Airport stores and concessions are known to be pricey compared to other airports in the United States.

• Official SFO San Francisco International Airport Website    

• Read SFO San Francisco Airport Tweets