However, given its unique geography, the airport can be prone to delays from fog. And just recently, it saw widespread delays due to poor visibility around the airport.
As more people take to the skies this holiday season, this is a major challenge the airport must be prepared for.
San Diego has great weather until it doesn't
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, over 800 inbound and outbound flights were delayed due to fog over the last three days.
Though it was a prolonged episode, by the evening of December 20th, only low clouds were reported near the coast.
However, the National Weather Service warned that dense fog could still form overnight, in time for the morning departure bank.
The day, however, saw a large portion of the delays, with over 300 flights arriving or departing late.
This is partially due to the insufficient padding of the airline's schedules to fully account for the disruptions, resulting in delays “rolling” into other flights to destinations beyond San Diego.
Officials from San Diego International Airport anticipate that 1.3 million passengers will fly through the airport during the 18-day holiday period that began on December 19th.
However, this weekend is anticipated to be among the busiest days of the travel period. Ensuring San Diego’s airport can cope with disruptions like fog or other weather-related factors will be critical in ensuring a smooth holiday operation.
"Year-round weather conditions can impact both departing and arriving flights," Hall stated to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
"Beginning on Thursday and continuing into Friday, a dense low fog cover impacted visibility at the San Diego International Airport. Consequently, more than 100 flights were diverted to other airports and about 30 were canceled. It is possible that fog will persist and continue to create challenges."
Diverting not once, but twice
One flight in particular could not even land due to dense fog. According to Phil Derner, British Airways flight 273, operated by an Airbus A350 from London experienced a "double diversion" on Wednesday.
After its first landing attempt, the crew decided to divert to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to wait out the weather.
San Diego at a glance
Though not quite as busy as San Francisco International Airport or Los Angeles International Airport, San Diego is rather well-connected, despite not being used as a hub for any major US carrier.
In fact, the airport sees several long-haul services courtesy of foreign carriers. Lufthansa, British Airways, and Air France all offer nonstop services to their respective European hubs in Munich, London, and Paris.
Meanwhile, Japan Airlines offers direct flights to Tokyo Narita. However, San Diego also has an impressive domestic schedule.
Southwest Airlines is the market leader in the Californian city, carrying 33% of San Deigo’s traffic. The low-cost carrier first commenced service to San Diego on January 31, 1982, making it the 17th city ever added to the airline’s route map.
Initial service consisted of six daily nonstop flights to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport .
Today, San Diego has become an important destination for the Dallas-based airline. According to Southwest, it employs 641 people in San Diego, including 520 ground operations personnel.
At most, it will operate 111 daily departures to over 30 cities across the United States. These include important bases like Denver and Baltimore and more unique destinations like Honolulu, Colorado Springs, and El Paso.
Much smaller than Southwest, United Airlines is the second-largest carrier in San Diego. The airline flies almost 13% of the airport’s passengers and offers service to its hubs, including Denver, Houston, Chicago O’Hare, and Newark. United is followed closely by Delta, American, and Alaska.
