Palm Springs International Airport

Palm Springs International Airport
Palm Springs Army Airfield
Palm Springs International Airport; Palm Springs Army Airfield
	US Geological Survey orthophoto
IATA: PSP – ICAO: KPSP – FAA LID: PSP
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	City of Palm Springs
Serves	Palm Springs / Inland Empire
Location	Palm Springs, California
Elevation AMSL	477 ft / 145.4 m
Coordinates	33°49′47″N 116°30′24″W / 33.82972°N 116.50667°W
Website	Palm Springs International Airport
Map
	KPSP Location of Palm Springs International Airport
Runways

Palm Springs International Airport (IATA: PSP, ICAO: KPSP, FAA LID: PSP) is a public airport two miles (3 km) east of Palm Springs, California. The airport covers 940 acres (380 ha) and has two runways. The airport is highly seasonal, with most flights during the winter.

Airlines and destinations [edit]

Airlines	Destinations
Alaska Airlines	San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma Seasonal: Portland (OR)
Alaska Airlines operated by Horizon Air	Sacramento, San Jose (CA)
Allegiant Air	Eugene Seasonal: Bellingham, Oakland
American Airlines	Dallas/Fort Worth Seasonal: Chicago-O’Hare
Delta Air Lines	Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines	Salt Lake City
Frontier Airlines	Seasonal: Denver
Sun Country Airlines	Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
United Airlines	Seasonal: Chicago-O’Hare, Denver
United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines	Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco Seasonal: Houston-Intercontinental
US Airways	Phoenix
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines	Phoenix
US Airways Express operated by SkyWest Airlines	Phoenix
Virgin America	Seasonal: New York-JFK, San Francisco
WestJet	Calgary Seasonal: Edmonton, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver, Winnipeg

Top Destinations [edit]

**Top ten busiest domestic routes out of PSP**
(November 2011 - October 2012) ^[1]
Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	San Francisco, CA	131,000	Alaska, United, Virgin America
2	Dallas, TX	100,000	American
3	Seattle, WA	98,000	Alaska
4	Phoenix, AZ	94,000	US Airways
5	Denver, CO	64,000	United, Frontier
6	Los Angeles, CA	50,000	United
7	Chicago O’Hare, IL	37,000	American, United
8	Salt Lake City, UT	35,000	Delta
9	Bellingham, WA	32,000	Allegiant
10	Portland, OR	28,000	Alaska

History [edit]

PSP was built as a United States Army Air Corps emergency landing field in 1939 on land owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians due to its clear weather and its proximity to March Field and the Los Angeles area.

In March 1941 the War Department certified improvements to the existing airport in Palm Springs as essential to National Defense. The airport was approved to serve as a staging field by the Air Corps Ferrying Command 21st Ferrying Group in November 1941. Land was acquired to build a major airfield one half miles from the old airfield site. The new airfield, Palm Springs Army Airfield^[2] was completed in early 1942, and the old air field was then used only as a backup. (Aerial pic of the old airfield at 33°49′37″N 116°31′59″W / 33.827°N 116.533°W / 33.827; -116.533, looking ENE)

Many of the field's Air Transport Command 560th Army Air Forces Base Unit personnel stayed at the comfortable Lapaz Guest Ranch nearby. Training conducted at the airfield was by the 72d and 73d Ferrying Squadrons in long-distance over-water flying and navigation. Later, training was also provided to pursuit pilot training by IV Fighter Command 459th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron. Training was in P-51 Mustangs, P-40 Warhawks and P-38 Lightnings.

On June 1, 1944 training moved to Brownsville Army Airfield, Texas and the airfield was used for Army and Navy transport flights until the end of April 1945. The auxiliary field or backup field was declared surplus on May 12, 1945, and the main airfield was declared excess and transferred to the War Assets Administration for disposal in 1946 and it was sold to private buyers. The City of Palm Springs purchased the land in 1961 and converted it to Palm Springs Municipal Airport.

Western Airlines flights began in 1945-46 and Bonanza Airlines in 1957-58; American appeared in winter 1967-68 and TWA in 1978-79. Scheduled nonstops didn't reach beyond southern California, Las Vegas and Phoenix until winter 1969-70 when American started a Chicago nonstop. In the 1970s American started Douglas DC-10 wide body flights, the largest airliner ever scheduled to PSP.

On December 30, 2006 a U.S. Air Force Presidential Boeing VC-25 (the USAF military version of the Boeing 747), departed Palm Springs International Airport with the body of the 38th President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford and delivered to Washington, D.C. for memorial services.