The San Diego International Airport is an airport with a lot of "ests'' that can be used to describe it. Closest, busiest, smallest all come readily to the fore. All three of these "ests'' describe the unique features of the airport and also highlight some of the usage challenges of the facility.
The first "est'' is the closest. San Diego is the closest airport to the Mexican border. Tijuana is just under 20 miles away. As a result, while the airport serves a large number of domestic flights, a good portion of international traffic goes south of the border. This proximity to the border has also made the airport home to a large Coast Guard Air installation, and allowed the airport to be rated for seaplanes.
The next "est'' is the busiest. San Diego International Airport is the busiest single runway airport in America, and the second busiest in the world. In this world of mega-everything, the airport has stuck to just one runway, and does an east-west take-off and landing pattern that reverses with the wind. Naturally, the airport also takes pains to be very safe, as any trouble on the runway would gum up the whole system.
Finally, the last "est'' is the smallest. The San Diego airport has the smallest physical footprint of large commercial airport in the US, sitting on just 661 acres. More than 18 million passengers go through the area each year, and the tiny foot print means landing are exceptionally steep - the planes only clear the parking garage by an average of 109 feet, making the airport a very close presence for many travelers.
Mass transit, buses and straight driving are all options for getting to the airport. During busy travel times, extra time for security should be allowed. Flights leave between 6:30 am and 11:30 pm to align with resident noise curfews, though, so there is no need to rush to the airport extra early in the morning as there are not flights departing.
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