Baggage Pillars

Sacramento International Airport is a public airport located 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown. It is run by Sacramento County.

The airport first opened on October 21, 1967 as Sacramento Metropolitan Airport. It's the primary choice of jet-setters who want to save money—and a great deal of time—by avoiding the Bay Area airports. SMF has its own exit from Interstate 5 (Exit 528) & has free wifi connections throughout all the terminals and boarding gates. The parking, rental car returns, and passenger pickup and drop-off are much more accessible than the airports in Oakland, San Jose, or (worst of all) San Francisco.

There are two terminals: A and B. For many years, "A" was the newest terminal, until the new "B" terminal opened in 2012 -- now "B" is the most modern.

In 1996, coinciding with the opening of a new terminal building, Terminal A is gorgeous by airport standards. The usual services of shopping, ticketing, and baggage check are present, but the building is easy to navigate. Plus, the baggage claim has gigantic pillars that look like they're made of baggage! These pillars are titled "Samson" and are by artist Brian Goggin. It was renamed Sacramento International Airport; though it didn't receive its first international flights until 2002 when Mexicana initiated nonstop service to Guadalajara. The airport was officially designated a port of entry on October 5, 2006.

The first thing you'll see (hella outdated)

Terminal B at night Additionally, fares to or from Sacramento are usually less expensive than their Bay Area competition. Several carriers are noticing the increase in passenger traffic; it is now possible to fly nonstop from Sacramento to Hawaii. On their "About" page, they boast that "Sacramento International has set itself apart from other airports by adding four new air carriers to its rosters after September 11, 2001."

Hourly parking is free for the first 30 minutes. Parked for 4 hours or less, you'll pay about $3 in Hourly B. If you're parked there for more than 4 hours, you will pay the daily limit of $24 in Hourly B and $26 in hourly A. There are also two daily lots, which are cheaper: Daily B parking is $10/day, while Daily A parking is $12/day. The two daily lots are further away from the airport than the hourly lots, and are serviced with shuttle busses that run every 10-15 minutes. Economy parking is also available, at $7/day. It's even further away from the terminals, but serviced continuously with shuttle busses. Be sure to leave lots of time to catch your flight if you intend to park in economy, however; it can sometimes take up to 30-40 minutes to get from the parking lot to the airport, since the shuttle busses tend to get out of sync and pile up behind each other, especially at the end of the day.

It appears that materials abandoned at the security checkpoints in SMF may be donated to a local Goodwill store. Exact one yet to be determined. To keep up with what is and isn't allowed in carry-on or checked baggage, visit TSA's Prohibited Items page.

presidental preferred parking (2006-4-22)

In the next couple of decades, SMF hopes to become HUGE! Check out their website for all the juicy details.

Terminals, airlines, and destinations

The following airlines fly to Sacramento International Airport:

Terminal A

• Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Salt Lake City)
• JetBlue (Long Beach, New York-JFK)
• United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Crescent City, Denver, Eureka/Arcata, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles)
• US Airways (Phoenix, with seasonal destinations; Charlotte, Las Vegas, and Philadelphia)

Terminal B

• Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air (Boise, Palm Springs, Portland (OR), San Jose (CA), Santa Barbara, Seattle/Tacoma, and beginning March 26th; Kahului and Spokane)
• American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth)
• Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu)
• Horizon Air
• Southwest Airlines (Burbank, Chicago-Midway, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Ontario, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland (OR), San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma)
•  Volaris Airlines

Transportation to and from

• The Davis Airporter -- Door-to-door service from Davis for $24. Phone (530) 756-6715, Toll Free (800) 565-5153.
• Taxis to/from Davis are available for about $50., plus tip.
• Yolobus At $1.50, it's cheap, but takes over an hour. UCD Undergrads: flash your student ID for a free ride.
• SuperShuttle costs $24 plus tip. However, on pickup to SMF they tend to go to Davis first, then Sacramento, then the airport, and on drop-off from SMF to Sacramento then Davis, so you're always looking at an hour minimum for transportation.
• http://www.apilimos.com Executive Class Towncar Service for airport transfers in and around the greater Sacramento area, from $38 plus tip. Reservations required, call API A Professional Image Limousine, LLC at 916-719-1236.

Comments

2005-02-05 13:44:09   I've not only found good fares from SMF, security is also much less painful than other airports (LAX, cough cough). If you are preprinting your boarding pass and not checking bags, life is even easier. —ArlenAbraham

2005-02-05 20:25:46   What's the difference between Sacramento International Airport and Sacramento Executive Airport? I believe the latter has airport code SAC. —KenBloom

• Sacramento Executive Airport is a general aviation field. It's where lots of traffic reporter-type helicopters, student pilots, and private jet owners take off. SMF, on the other hand, is all about commercial aviation. Should it have its own entry in the wiki? —JeffLeCates

2005-02-06 23:34:21   Are SAC and SMF in different geographical locations? —ArlenAbraham

• SAC and SMF are in very different locations. SMF is in a largely rural area, sandwiched between Woodland and Arco Arena; northwesterly outskirts of the city of Sacramento. SAC, on the other hand, is south of downtown Sacramento. (I apologize in advance if the links don't work.) —JeffLeCates

2005-02-18 18:43:03   The cheaper flights to Sac vs. SF are very interesting... I was once looking at two itineraries to Detriot; one direct from SF the other from Sac -> SF -> Detriot. Both itineraries had the same exact flight from SF -> Detriot, but the one starting from Sac (with the extra flight) was cheaper. —JevanGray

2006-02-22 22:56:07   I recently took the Yolo Bus; it took a while, but the lady didn't charge me. She asked "... you a student?" then just let me ride for free. I wonder if I'll be so lucky when I come back. —SS

• I think students (undergraduate) can ride Yolobus for free. —RohiniJasavala

2006-04-10 08:27:50   If anyone is interested to know...there are at least two play areas for kids in the airport. We have found it very useful from the time our little girl was 8 months old and even now at 18 months. Makes the whole experience of travelling with a child that much easier! —RoyWright's wife

2006-04-23 01:55:24   I am a Sacramento Airport worker, and I have been so for many years, so I will happily answer any and all your questions regarding my SAC. Just ask. —WayneSchiller

2007-01-11 20:44:58   I've been taken to the airport by Supershuttle I think 3 times and brought home many more times and not once have been taken to Sacramento before going to my destination. —JimEvans

2007-05-05 23:50:15   A flight or two to mexico doesn't an internation airport make. But it lets them sound super snazy —StevenDaubert

• What makes an airport international? Does it have to have a certain amount of flights out of the country? Number of passengers on and off those flights? Is it somewhere in some IATA or ICAO guideline for international classification? —MichelleAccurso
  • has to have a certain number of terminals(airlines) that fly intenationally
    • which it does, also good god this page is outdated.