The Long Trip for San Diego International Airport

It was known for decades as just Lindbergh Field, with the word “airport” not even in its name.

And now San Diego International Airport is marking another huge step in its evolution into a modern-day airport with the opening of the new "Terminal 1. But there have been lots of struggles along the way.

For decades, there was a constant hope to find an all new location for the airport that has had and still has only one runway and still is surrounded by downtown high rises, dense neighborhoods, military bases and San Diego Bay.,

Every option for a new location, from MCAS Miramar in the city, to the North County at Camp Pendleton to the South County near the border to even the far reaches of the East County into the desert, was rejected. When a ballot measure in 2006 failed, any idea for a new airport location any time in the next couple of decades was grounded.

When the final phase is completed in early 2028, it will still be a one runway airport, but it will have more gates and more taxiway space and already has a lot more parking and now a lot more space in the terminals.

It’s been a very long trip to get here, but our airport has finally reached new heights.

(Photo reporting partner 10News)