Palm Springs International Airport

Palm Springs International Airport
Palm Springs International Airport
	US Geological Survey orthophoto
IATA: PSP – ICAO: KPSP – FAA LID: PSP PSP Location of the Airport in California
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′46.8″N 116°30′24.1″W / 33.829667°N 116.506694°W
Website	Palm Springs International Airport
Runways

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Palm Springs International Airport (IATA: PSP, ICAO: KPSP, FAA LID: PSP) is a public airport located two miles (3 km) east of the central business district (CBD) of Palm Springs, California, serving the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California. The airport covers 940 acres (380 ha) and utilizes two runways. It is highly seasonal, in that many flights do not operate during the summer.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Alaska Airlines	San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma Seasonal: Portland (OR)
Alaska Airlines operated by Horizon Air	Sacramento Seasonal: San Jose (CA)^[1]
Allegiant Air	Stockton Seasonal: Bellingham
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: San Francisco
WestJet	Calgary Seasonal: Edmonton, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver, Winnipeg

[edit] Top Destinations

**Top ten busiest domestic routes out of PSP**
(July 2010 - June 2011) ^[2]
Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	106,000	American
2	San Francisco, CA	96,000	Alaska, United, Virgin
3	Seattle, WA	91,000	Alaska
4	Phoenix, AZ	87,000	US Airways
5	Denver, CO	57,000	United
6	Los Angeles, CA	52,000	United
7	Chicago O’Hare, IL	40,000	American, United
8	Salt Lake City, UT	35,000	Delta
9	Portland, OR	26,000	Alaska
10	Bellingham, WA	22,000	Allegiant

[edit] History

PSP was originally constructed as a United States Army Corps as an 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, designated Palm Springs Army Airfield^[3] was completed in early 1942, and thereafter the old air field was used only as a backup landing site.

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 conducted with P-51 Mustang; P-40 Warhawk and P-38 Lightning aircraft.

On 1 June 1944 training operations moved to Brownsville Army Airfield, Texas and the airfield was used for military (Army and Navy) air transport flights until the end of April 1945. The auxiliary field or backup field was declared surplus on 12 May 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 for commercial use, which began in 1964 as the Palm Springs Municipal Airport.

On December 30, 2006, a U.S. Air Force Presidential Boeing VC-25 left 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 official federal services.