Airport Name and ICAO/IATA Code
Sacramento International AirportIATA: SMF / ICAO: KSMF / FAA LID: SMF
Founded in 1967 (Oct. 21st), at the time known as Sacramento Metropolitan Airport
Location (City, Country)
Sacramento, California, United States of America ()
Airport Type & Size
Sacramento International Airport is an airport under the categorization of a medium-size hub - located in the U.S. state of California, it serves the capital of the state, Sacramento, along with its metropolitan area (alternatively known as Greater Sacramento).
The airport is also the primary gateway to a great selection of landmarks and attractions around Northern and Central California, such as Lake Tahoe, the Heavenly Mountain Resort, Old Sacramento, and Yosemite National Park.SMF is the fourth busiest airport in the state, with 2 parallel runways, 2 terminals, 32 gates, and 23 cargo stands - the airport recorded an annual passenger count of 13.9 million passengers in 2025.
As an interesting little side note: SMF is recognized as the biggest airport in the state in terms of land area occupied, listed at 6,000 acres.Runway and Terminal Details
The 2 parallel runways are known as 17L/35R and 17R/35L.
17L/35R, the eastern runway, has a length of 8,605ft (2,623m).
17R/35L, the western runway, has a length of 8,598ft (2,621m).Between the airport’s 32 gates, Terminal A currently has 13, and Terminal B currently has 19. There is also a sizable number of RON (Remain Overnight) stand positions, which could be represented as remote stands in-game - more specifically, there are around 40 of such (though do note some overlap).
The usual traffic of SMF involves standard commercial aircraft, such as 737s, A320s, A330s, and ERJs/E-Jets when it comes to passenger traffic, and on the other hand, the usual cargo traffic involves 767s, C208s, and MD-11Fs.
Additionally, the airport also has received regular visits from military aircraft over the years - the Sacramento region is home to Beale AFB and Travis AFB, the former of which actually has an agreement with the Sacramento County to allow their aircraft to operate around SMF’s airspace and even visit the airport itself through training exercises (alongside another airport in the region, that being Sacramento Mather). I’m unsure if Travis has ever had any of such agreements with the airport, but some of the bases’ aircraft have visited SMF before.The airport has previously handled passenger aircraft up to the A330-200 (Category E), and cargo aircraft up to the A330-300P2F (Category E).
When it comes to the future of SMF, there is an expansion project already underway, known as SMForward - this project has brought various improvements to the airport, and plans to bring more refinements, such as expansion of Terminal B’s concourse to the west to allow for at least 6 new gates, a new pedestrian walkway as an alternative to the airport’s Automated People Mover (APM), connecting both Terminal B and its airside concourse, and an expansion of Terminal A’s lobby.
There are also plans for a new ATC tower, but this appears to be unrelated to SMForward. Additionally, there has been mention of a potential third terminal (likely Terminal C), but no solid plans for this have formed as of yet.
Why should this airport be added to World of Airports?
I would say SMF should be added to World of Airports for quite a few reasons:The first reason, the layout and design of the airport. SMF features a solid layout, with 2 parallel runways, a great number of gates/stands for both passenger and cargo operations (including a rather large amount of small, A-class cargo stands, around 15), making it a rather capable and versatile airport.
SMF could even work as a generic airport for the region, connecting well with SAN or any other future West Coast and/or Pacific airports.SMF also features great architecture and terminal designs - most notable of which is the new Terminal B, which opened in 2011 and replaced the old Terminal B, which had been open since the airport’s inception in 1967. The terminal has received various awards for its design and is notable for the 2011 artwork “Leap”, featuring a large sculpture of a red aluminum rabbit, depicted ‘leaping’ into a large, granite suitcase.
However, that’s not to say the other terminal, Terminal A, isn’t notable in its own regard - Terminal A, having opened in 1998, also features a great, traditional and unique design - together, both the terminals could provide an interesting visual contrast, with each serving as the embodiment of two different ‘eras’ of sorts.The next reason involves the traffic of the airport - SMF of course does see the standard traffic and airlines of most US airports, however it does also see more unique operations and types on regular occasion, notably a good amount of freight traffic, with the smaller A-class Cessna 208s and the rare MD-11Fs - all in addition to more regular traffic, such as 767 and A330 freighters.
Beyond that though, as established above, SMF does also see regular military visits from the nearby Beale/Travis Air Force Base(s), notably from smaller aircraft, such as the T-38 trainer.And finally, historical significance. SMF was the first dedicated public use airport built west of the Mississippi river, and over the years has seen a notable variance in its operations, aircraft and airlines served, at one point even being home to a small commuter airline of its own (that being Skymark Airlines - not to be confused with the Japanese airline of the same name), and is the main airport serving the capital of the state - while the airport may not be as busy or sprawling as some of the giants of the state, namely SFO and LAX, SMF still holds its own importance and role to play in Californian aviation.
Major Airlines & Routes
Major airlines at the airport are as follows (in order of each airline’s relevance at the airport):Southwest Airlines, FedEx / FedEx Feeder - major airlines at SMF
Skymark Airlines (USA) - former hub at SMFSome of these Wikipedia pages don’t have cargo routes listed down nowadays, and I’m really unsure as to why, given I’ve seen a decent bit of cargo aircraft running around SMF, especially the likes of FedEx (and by extension FedEx Feeder). It’s kind of weird to me…
Historical Airlines/Routes
(The following tab is a collection of images displaying routes/airlines listed by Wikipedia over the years for this airport, with revision dates provided for context.)
January 5th, 2025 revision:
January 5th, 2020 revision:
February 13th, 2015 revision:
February 23rd, 2010 revision:
October 19th, 2005 revision:
Unique Features or Challenges
When it comes to this airport’s features and challenges, let’s see…First, the traffic of the airport. To start, the airport has a decent amount of stands for really small cargo aircraft (I believe such stands allow for only A-class cargo aircraft, like the Cessna 208), which could be used as a means to promote the development of other really small cargo aircraft, too - while the airport definitely would feel more alive with them in-game (which airport wouldn’t, really?), it also is not 100% reliant on them either, which I think makes for a nice balance.
Beyond just these cargo aircraft, however, there’s of course the “military visits” aspect, which could make for some nice easter eggs or even special events.Next, the layout of the airport. Being the biggest airport in California by land occupied, SMF would likely see long taxi times, and I believe there’s even some areas where congestion of the taxiways could occur (such as between Terminal A and B’s concourses), requiring some use of proper traffic/gate management.
And finally, the value in historical airlines/operations. While the airline selection with the present day SMF is rather standard, SMF did see a lot of now-defunct airlines serving the airport over its history that could really play into the airport’s historical value - to name a few, this selection includes AirCal, Aloha Airlines (their lone 737-800 actually primarily undertook a route to SMF), Mexicana, Morris Air, Pacific Southwest Airlines, and Western Airlines - all of these airlines could be really great events, or even special contracts, that could help spice up SMF a little more.
Historical Airport Configurations
(The following tab will showcase the various states of the airport over the years, to provide a means of showing some ‘states’ or options that can be chosen for the airport’s possible release.)
Present Configuration
This configuration represents the airport as it appears today - included as a reference.
New and Old Terminal B Configuration (2011)
This configuration represents the airport as it looked with both the new and old Terminal B concourse - more specifically around September 2011, as construction was finalizing on the new concourse.
The key differences between this configuration and the last include the old Terminal B, which was still operational up until the very day the new Terminal B opened (if it were to be represented, the old Terminal B would provide an additional 14 gates), a reduction in gates of the southern end of the new Terminal B, the lack of most RON stands, and a smaller cargo area.
Old Terminal B Configuration (2000s)
This configuration represents the airport before the current Terminal B began construction, specifically around the mid-2000s (the satellite shot above was dated around August 2006).
Key differences between this configuration and the last include the lack of any construction or modification related to the present Terminal B, and different taxiways leading to Terminal B’s apron.
Optional: Links, images, maps, or videos
Before I list the sources, just a quick little note:
Yesterday, October 14th, was my birthday (I’m now 19), and I wanted to save this airport for around that day for a good reason - that reason being SMF has been my local, go-to airport for many, many years, and given I do hold this airport in rather high regards, I figured… what better time to suggest it? (Even if it was a little late, I was a bit busy)
This was not the only suggestion I wanted to make for the occasion, however - you can find the second here.
Anyways though, thanks for reading, and now, onto the sources and media:
SOURCES:
SMF’s Wikipedia page
Airliners.net database of SMF photos
Jetphotos database of SMF photos
A report of the partnership/agreement between SMF and Beale AFB
Planespotting at SMF
A Departed Wings history of SMF’s early yearsMEDIA SOURCES / GALLERY:
(Pictured below: A graph of SMF)(Pictured below: An aerial view of SMF)
(Pictured below: The ATC tower of SMF, with the landside portion of Terminal B in the background)
(Pictured below: Various shots of SMF’s terminals, namely Terminal B)
(Plus, an included aerial shot of Terminal A and B at a closer glance, as little media seems to exist of Terminal A’s exterior
(Pictured below: Examples of regular passenger traffic at the airport)
(Pictured below: Examples of regular cargo traffic at the airport)
(Pictured below: Examples of military traffic at the airport)
(Pictured below: SMF, in the 2010s)
(Pictured below: SMF, in the 2000s)
(Pictured below: SMF, before the 21st century)
(Pictured below: Bonus pictures)
