# San Diego International Airport (SAN)

> San Diego, US · IATA: SAN · ICAO: KSAN · Large Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `SAN` |
| ICAO | `KSAN` |
| City | San Diego |
| Country | US |
| Type | Large Airport |
| Elevation | 5 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | 32.73360, -117.19000 |

## Description

A single runway on a tightly hemmed-in downtown site defines the cargo profile of San Diego International Airport (SAN/KSAN): its air freight moves almost entirely as belly cargo on passenger aircraft, with the last publicly documented annual figure around 192,000 tonnes of freight and mail in 2018. The physical constraints, combined with a long-standing night-time operating restriction, make regular freighter rotations impractical, so consignments are handled through passenger carrier stations including United Cargo and IAG Cargo. Express volumes for FedEx and UPS largely reach the region by road and regional feeder services rather than through dedicated widebody freighters at SAN. The Terminal 1 replacement programme now under construction adds gates and modernised handling areas that should also ease belly cargo processing. US Customs and Border Protection clears international arrivals on site, but goods imported from Asia or Europe normally enter through Los Angeles. The local shipper base is dominated by biotechnology, medical devices, semiconductors and perishables from Baja California. The main alternatives are Los Angeles International (LAX) some 190 km north, Ontario International (ONT) with its substantial freighter activity, and — for cross-border traffic — Tijuana International (TIJ) just south of the frontier, with the Otay Mesa land crossing remaining the fastest option for north–south movements.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/san-diego-international-airport-san](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/san-diego-international-airport-san)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/san-diego-international-airport-san](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/san-diego-international-airport-san)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/san-diego-international-airport-san/llm-summary*