San Francisco, California is a city where many people want to go to, even for a short trip. Chances are that those getting there might reach it by airplane. The most important airport near San Fran is the San Francisco International Airport found 13 miles to the city’s downtown area. Millbrae and San Bruno are two other smaller cities that are close to this international airport. Virgin America and United Airlines use this airport as their main hub, and it is Virgin’s main base of operations.

The International Airport of San Francisco has a long history as it was dedicated in 1927, on what was at the time, a cow pasture. The current name of the airport was adopted only in 1955, as before that it was named San Francisco Municipal Airport, a name it received in 1933. Looking back at the records of the year 1939 we learn that there were 18 airline departures per week, and most of them were run by United. In 2014, San Francisco International Airport counted nearly 23.5 million passengers departing.

While most airlines offering flights to various points around the world, with a starting point in San Francisco International Airport, are permanent, there are some seasonal ones as well. These are some of the airline carriers that offer seasonal flights: WestJet – to Calgary and Vancouver, XL Airways France – to Paris, and American Eagle – to Los Angeles.

Reaching this airport by land is rather easy, especially if one plans on riding the BART. Bart offers a direct rail link between the City of San Francisco, the airport, and the Bay Area. Those who want to reach downtown San Francisco can ride one of the 5 bus lines operated by samTrans. Each of the lines has a different working schedule and their routes are also a little different.