San Francisco International Airport Departure & Arrivals

Before you start out to explore San Francisco, the adventure of a visit to San Francisco International Airport awaits you. Located about 13 miles south of San Francisco, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is one of the busiest airports in the United States. The airport serves the cosmopolitan city of San Francisco, San Jose and the wider Bay Area and is the largest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As a major getaway to Europe, Asia and Australasia, the SFO offers nonstop service to 32 international points served by 27 international carriers and to more than 65 U.S. cities served by 22 domestic airlines. All arrivals and departures are handled at four terminals of the airport, including:

1) Terminal 1

Terminal 1 is formerly referred to as the South Terminal, composed of Boarding Area B (with gates 20 - 31, 32 - 32B and 33 - 36) and Boarding Area C (with gates 40 - 48). This terminal is severed by 9 airlines, consisting:

- AirTran Airways

- Alaska Airlines

- Continental

- Delta (domestic)

- Frontier

- Hawaiian Airlines

- Horizon

- Southwest

- US Airways

2) Terminal 2

Formerly known as the Central Terminal, Terminal 2 takes up about 640,000 square feet for 5.5 million enplaned passengers per year. There are 14 gates expected to serve principally narrow-body aircraft. This terminal is home to American Airlines and Virgin America.

3) Terminal 3

Used by Air Canada and United Airlines, Terminal 3 is also called the North Terminal. It consists of Boarding Area E (with gates 60 - 60A, 61, 62A - B, 63, 64 - 64A, 65 - 65A, 66 - 66A and 67) and Boarding Area F (with gates 68 - 72, 73 - 73A, 74 -75, 76A - 76B, 77A - 77B, 79 - 86, 87 - 87A and 88 - 90).

4) International Terminal

Opened in December 2000, International Terminal serves as home to all international arrivals and departures (except flights from cities with custom preclearance) and some domestic flights. Check-in desks are situated on the Departures Level of the Main Hall. With Boarding Areas A and G, this terminal houses the airport BART station and a variety of airlines, including:

- AeroMexico, Air Berlin, Air China, Air France, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines (Mexico arrivals only), ANA (all Nippon Airways), Asiana

- British Airways

- Cathay Pacific, China Airlines

- Delta (international)

- Emirates, EVA Air

- Japan Airlines, JetBlue

- KLM, Korean Air

- LACSA, LAN, Lufthansa

- Philippine Airlines

- Qantas

- Singapore Airlines, Sun Country, Swiss International Air Lines

- TACA

- United (international)

- Virgin America (Mexico arrivals only), Virgin Atlantic

- WestJet

Passengers can transfer terminals by walking or taking AirTrain (offering easy access to SFO's terminals) and SFO's automated people mover system. For instance, passengers can get to the International Terminal Boarding Area G from Terminal 3 via a connector walkway connecting the two terminals. For more info about AirTrain, visit this page:

AirTrain at San Francisco International Airport

http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/atsfo/airtrain/index.html

You can find exact airline flight schedules to and from the San Francisco International Airport on this page:

Flight Schedules to and from San Francisco International Airport

http://timetables.oag.com/sfo2/

Note: For passengers who need to transfer an onward international flight from an international flight at SFO, it is necessary to complete U.S Customs and Border Protection entry procedures at the International Terminal Arrivals Hall. These passengers ought to exit the Arrivals Hall through the doors marked Connecting Flights.

Directly outside of the exit is a Connecting Baggage Desk, specializing in rechecking baggage tagged to its final destination. If an agent is not available or baggage is not tagged to its final destination, you should visit their airline's ticket counter.

Please note that no secure transit area is available for passengers transferring from an international to a domestic one. Passengers should get out of the Arrivals Hall to the airport's public area and go through the security checkpoint at the boarding area for their next flight. Check the following page for security checkpoint process:

Process for Security Checkpoint

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/acceptable_documents.shtm

If you end your journey at the airport, you should go out of the Arrivals Hall through the doors indicated San Francisco for the International Arrivals Meeting Area and ground transportation. For the sake of safety and security, arriving passengers may not be met at the gate. In addition, vehicles are not allowed to wait at the curb. To explore more info on how to meet arriving passengers, click here:

Meeting Arriving Passengers at San Francisco International Airport

http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/orphan/meet/index.html