Santa Maria Public Airport

For other airports named Santa Maria, see Santa Maria Airport (disambiguation).

Santa Maria Public Airport Capt. G. Allan Hancock Field
2006 USGS Photo
IATA: SMX – ICAO: KSMX – FAA LID: SMX
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Santa Maria Public Airport District
Serves		Santa Maria, California
Elevation AMSL		261 ft / 80 m
Website		SantaMariaAirport.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
12/30	6,304 extended to 8,000	1,921 extended to 2,439	Asphalt
2/20	5,130	1,564	Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations			62,480
Based aircraft			243
Source: FAA, airport website

Santa Maria Public Airport

Location of Santa Maria Public Airport, California

FAA airport diagram

Santa Maria Public Airport (IATA: SMX, ICAO: KSMX, FAA LID: SMX), also known as the Capt. G. Allan Hancock Field, is an airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Santa Maria, a city in northern Santa Barbara County, California, United States.

History

The airport was built by the United States Army during World War II, known as Santa Maria Army Air Field. Its primary mission was to provide training for B-25 pilots, however flight training was abandoned by December 1942. The field fell into a state of disuse until the arrival of the P-38 in September 1943.

After the war, Santa Barbara County and the city of Santa Maria acquired the land and facilities through a series of two grants in 1948. In 1964 the Army Air Field was renamed Santa Maria Public Airport.

Facilities and aircraft

Santa Maria Public Airport covers an area of 2,516 acres (1,018 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways: 12/30 measuring 6,304 x 150 ft (1,921 x 46 m) and 2/20 measuring 5,130 x 75 ft (1,564 x 23 m).

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2007, the airport had 62,480 aircraft operations, an average of 171 per day: 79% general aviation, 19% air taxi, 2% military and <1% scheduled commercial. There are 243 aircraft based at this airport: 83% single-engine, 7% multi-engine, 6% helicopter, 3% jet, <1% glider and <1% ultralight.

Expansion

The airport hopes to expand one of its runways in the hope to attract new airlines. Allegiant Air has also expanded air service from Las Vegas to Santa Maria, adding a Monday flight to its schedule. Airport officials have recently opened the new, approximately 4,000-square-foot (370 m²) baggage claim facility, and have repaired the cracks in the floor. It is one of the first airports on the Central Coast to use a state of the art baggage carousel (in a smaller scale) to deliver luggage to passengers.

A new passenger terminal holding room was recently opened. The old area was able to accommodate only 30 passengers. To handle the larger crowds of passengers that Allegiant Air flights bring, the new holding room accommodates 200 passengers and has enough room for a new cafe.

Runway paved to 8,000 feet, giving it the longest commercial runway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the coast of California. (Bakersfield's Meadows Airport runway inland, and nearby Vandenberg AFB's military runways are longer).

Usage

Nov 2007 to October 2008: 56,553 passengers (SkyWest), 53,294 passengers (Allegiant), total 109,847 passengers. Nov 2008 to October 2009, 48,117 passengers (SkyWest), 37,570 passengers (Allegiant), total 85,687 passengers.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Allegiant Air	Las Vegas
United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines	Los Angeles

See also

• California World War II Army Airfields

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

• Central Coast Jet Center
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 9 Feb 2012
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KSMX
  • ASN accident history for SMX
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KSMX
  • FAA current SMX delay information