California
Here is a list of all 161 airports in the state of California that have been identified as having received scheduled commercial air service at some point in its history -
City Served Distance From City Years of Air Service Comments
Alameda See San Francisco for SF Bay Airdrome and Alameda Airport.
Apple Valley (1 of 3) 1 mile W 1957-1965, 1967-1968 Original airport - Abandoned
Apple Valley (2 of 3) 9.5 miles WNW 1965-1966, 2003-2005 George AFB; Southern California Logistics Airport
Apple Valley (3 of 3) 5 miles N 1970-1973, 1978-1979, 1981-1982
Arcata See Eureka / Arcata
Avalon See Catalina Island
Avenal Adjacent W 1930
Bakersfield (1 of 3) 1 mile NE 1920 Bernard Field - Abandoned
Bakersfield (2 of 3) 4 miles NNW 1926-1927 1 mile west of current airport - Abandoned
Bakersfield (3 of 3) 4 miles NW 1927-Present
Banning 1 mile E 1932
Barstow See Daggett / Barstow
Beaumont 1.5 mile E 1932 Abandoned
Bermuda Dunes 1 mile SE 1967-1969, 1984, 1988-1990, 1991-1992
Big Bear City 0.5 miles NW 1929, 1953, 1988-1990
Bishop (1 of 2) 2 miles S 1929 Abandoned
Bishop (2 of 2) 2 miles NE 1929, 1969-1970, 1971-1992, 2021-Present
Blythe 7 miles W 1952-1989
Borrego Springs 3 miles E 1968-1989
Brawley 1 mile NE 1929
Burbank (Los Angeles) 3.5 miles NW 1930-Present
Calexico (1 of 2) 2 miles NE 1928-1929 Abandoned
Calexico (2 of 2) 1 mile W 1967-1968, 1978, 1979-1980, 1986-1991
Carlsbad (Oceanside) 4.5 miles SE 1959-60, 1962-63, 1967-69, 1977-85, 1986, 1990-2015, 2018-19, 2020-Present
Catalina Island 7 miles NW of Avalon 1946-1954, 1959-1960, 1969-1976, 1981-1983, 1985-1987, 1990-1992
Chico (1 of 2) 1.5 miles S 1934 Patrick Field - Abandoned
Chico (2 of 2) 5 miles N 1936, 1947-2014
Clear Lake (Lakeport) 3 miles S of Lakeport 1975-1979
Clear Lake (Lower Lake) 11 miles S Lower Lake 1947 Middletown Airport - Abandoned
Coalinga 1 mile N 1929-1930, 1946-1953, 1960 Abandoned
Colton (Rialto, San Bernardino) 2 miles W 1968-1971 Morrow Field; Colton Air Park - Abandoned
Columbia / Sonora 1 mile WSW c. 1960, 1966, 1977-1980
Concord (1 of 3) Adjacent S 1920 Mahoney Field, served as San Francisco stop - Abandoned
Concord (2 of 3) 2.5 miles ESE 1926 Concord Air Mail Field, served as San Francisco stop - Abandoned
Concord (3 of 3) 1 mile W 1969-1979, 1984-1985, 1986-1992, 2016-Present
Corning 1 mile NE 1928-1929, 1936
Crescent City 2.5 miles NW 1948-Present
Daggett / Barstow 5 miles E 1967, 1981-1982
Death Valley (1 of 2) 0.5 miles NW 1930, 1934-1935 Distance from Furnace Creek Inn - Abandoned
Death Valley (2 of 2) 1.5 miles NW 1953-1954, 1974-1984 off and on Distance from Furnace Creek Inn
Delano 1 mile SSE 1968-1969
Edwards Air Force Base Adjacent 1951-1952, 1978-1982
El Centro / Imperial (1&4 of 3) 3 miles NNE 1928-1933, 1953-Present
El Centro (2 of 3) 17 miles ENE 1946-1947 Holtville Airport – Closed Indefinitely
El Centro (3 of 3) 7 miles WNW 1947-1953 El Centro NAS; El Centro NAAS
El Monte 1 mile N 1968-1971, 1980-1981
Eureka (1 of 2) 2.5 miles ENE 1936, 1972-1980 Murray Field
Eureka / Arcata (2 of 2) 16 miles N 1946-Present
Fort Bragg / Mendocino 4 miles SE Mendocino 1947-1956, 1975-1977
Fresno (1 of 4) 5 miles NW 1920 Knox-Mundorff Aviation Field - Abandoned
Fresno (2 of 4) 8 miles NW 1926-1930 Original Fresno Municipal Airport - Abandoned
Fresno (3 of 4) 1.5 miles SW 1930-1947 Fresno-Chandler Airport
Fresno (4 of 4) 5 miles NE 1947-Present Fresno Air Terminal; Fresno Yosemite Int’l Airport
Fullerton 3 miles W 1968-1980
Grass Valley / Nevada City 3 miles E 1960, 1982 Nevada County Airport
Half Moon Bay 5 miles NW 1962 sort of PSA’s S.F. airport for 2 weeks during fog weather closure
Hanford 1 mile SE 1933, 1960
Hawthorne 1 mile E 2013-2014, 2018-Present
Hemet 3 miles SW 1984-1985
Indio (Thermal, Palm Springs) 6.5 miles SSE 1955-58, 2017-19 (2 weeks each year), 2022
Inyokern 1 mile NW 1951-2013, 2017
King City 1 mile NE 1979-1980
La Verne (Pomona) 1 mile SW 1968-1969, 1979 Brackett Field Airport
Lake Tahoe 3 miles SW 1959-1993, 1994-1995, 1999-2000
Lancaster See Palmdale / Lancaster
Livermore 3 miles W 1968-1969, 1975-1977
Lompoc 2 miles N 1969
Long Beach 3.5 miles NE 1929-1930, 1932-1934, 1936-Present
Los Angeles - 1st Generation Airports
Chaplin Airfield 6.5 miles W 1920 Abandoned
Angeles Mesa Drive Airport 6 miles WSW 1925-1929 Aka Ryan Field, PAT Airport - Abandoned
Continental Air Exp. Airport 6 miles WSW 1929-1930 Originally Sperl Airdrome - Abandoned
Rogers Airport 6.5 miles WSW 1927-1929 Abandoned
Vail Field 7 miles ESE 1926-1929 Aka Air Mail Airport, Western Air Express Airport - Abandoned
Aero Corp. of Calif. Field #1 8 miles SW 1928 Abandoned
Aero Corp. of Calif. Field #2 8 miles SW 1928-1930, 1932-1933 Aka Dycer Airport - Abandoned
Clover Field See Santa Monica
Los Angeles - 2nd Generation Airports
Grand Central Air Terminal 9 miles N 1929-1943 Located at Glendale - Abandoned
Union Air Terminal See Burbank
Alhambra Airport 7 miles E 1929-1931 Aka Western Air Express Airport - Abandoned
Los Angeles – 3rd Generation Airport
Los Angeles Int'l Airport 9 miles SW 1946-Present Aka Mines Field; Los Angeles Municipal Airport
Mammoth Lakes 7 miles E 1969-1995, 2008-Present
Marin County (San Rafael) 3 miles N of Novato c. 1973-1978
Marysville (1 of 2) 1.5 miles NE 1931, 1934, 1936 Cheim Airport - Abandoned
Marysville / Yuba City (2 of 2) 3 miles SE 1947-1970, 1972-1977
Merced (1 of 3) 1.5 miles NW 1931 Abandoned
Merced (2 of 3) 2.5 miles NW 1932, 1933 Primary pre-World War II Airport - Abandoned
Merced (3 of 3) 2 miles SW 1946-Present
Modesto 2 miles SE 1931, 1946-2014
Mojave 1 mile E 1971-1978
Montague (1 of 2) 0.5 miles W 1929-1930 Montague Municipal Airport
Montague / Yreka (2 of 2) 3 miles NE 1947-1958, 1979-1983 Siskiyou County Airport
Monterey (1 of 2) 3 miles SE 1929-30, 1933, 1934, 1935 Half mile south of current airport - Abandoned
Monterey (Salinas) (2 of 2) 3 miles ESE 1936-Present
Napa / Vallejo 5 miles S 1947-1953, 1969-1971, c. 1973-1979
Needles 5 miles S 1965-1966
Nut Tree (Vacaville) 2 miles NE of Vacaville 1969, 1972-1973
Oakland 6 miles S 1927-Present
Ontario 2 miles E 1949-Present
Orange County See Santa Ana
Oroville 3 miles SW 1936, 1949-1953, 1972-1974
Oxnard / Ventura 1 mile W 1946-2010, 2012-2013
Palm Springs (1 of 2) 1 mile E 1929, 1933, 1934-1937 Abandoned
Palm Springs (2 of 2) 2.5 miles E 1943-1945, 1946-Present
Palmdale / Lancaster (1&3 of 2) 3 miles NE 1957-59, 1971-82, 1990-98, 2004-06, 2007-08 Palmdale Regional Airport
Palmdale / Lancaster (2 of 2) 4 miles NW 1959-1971, 1983-1988 General William J. Fox Airfield
Palo Alto 2 miles ENE 1965-1970 (helicopter), 1970-1971, 1975-1976
Paso Robles (1 of 2) 2.5 miles SE 1932, 1933, 1934 Paso Robles Field – Abandoned
Paso Robles (2 of 2) 4 miles NE 1949-1954, 1956-1980, 1987-1988
Placerville 1.5 miles ESE 1976-1977
Porterville 3 miles SW 1960, 1968-1969
Red Bluff 2 miles SSW 1934, 1936, 1940-1942, 1946-1961, 1972-1977
Redding (1 of 2) 1 mile WSW 1934, 1936, 1968-1969 Benton Field Airport; Benton Airpark
Redding (2 of 2) 7 miles SE 1947-Present
Redlands 2 miles NE 1965-1969
Redwood City 0.5 miles NE 1920 Redwood City Aviation Field, served as S.F. stop - Abandoned
Riverside (1 of 2) 2 miles WNW 1932, 1953 West Riverside Airport named Flabob Airport today
Riverside (2 of 2) 4.5 miles SW 1955-1980, 1982-1986, 2004-2007
Sacramento (1 of 3) 13 miles E 1927-1931 Mather Field
Sacramento (2 of 3) 3.5 miles SSW 1931-1967 Sacramento Municipal Airport
Sacramento (3 of 3) 10 miles NW 1967-Present Sacramento Metropolitan/International Airport
Salinas (1 of 2) 1.5 miles NE 1930-1936 off and on American Legion Airport - Abandoned
Salinas (2 of 2) 2.5 miles SE 1946-1962, 1966, 1969-1970, 1981
San Bernardino 3 miles SSE 1928-29, 1968, 1971-72 Tri-City Airport including Colton and Redlands - Abandoned
San Bernardino 4.5 miles NNW 1953-1954 San Bernardino Airport
San Bernardino 2 miles SE 2022-Present San Bernardino International Airport
San Carlos 2 miles NE 1960
San Diego (1 of 2) 3 miles W 1925-1926, 1927-1930 Ryan Field; Ryan-Mahoney Airport; Maddux Airport - Abandoned
San Diego (2 of 2) 1.5 miles NW 1929-Present
San Diego (secondary) 6.5 miles NNE 1979-1980, 1982, 1993 Montgomery Field
San Diego (secondary) 13 miles SE 1964-1966, 1987-1991 Brown Field Municipal Airport
San Diego (secondary) 12 miles NE 1967-1968, 1980, 1982 Gillespie Field Airport - city also listed as El Cajon
San Francisco (1 of 4) 3 miles WNW 1926-1927 Crissy Field - Abandoned
San Francisco (2 of 4) 12 miles SSE 1927-Present (off and on the first few years) San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco (3 of 4) 3.5 miles NW Alameda 1929-1930, 1935? Alameda Airport - Abandoned
San Francisco (4 of 4) 2 miles NW of Alameda 1929-1933, 1935-1938 San Francisco Bay Airdrome - Abandoned
San Francisco Also see Concord and Redwood City for airports designated as having served San Francisco
San Jose (1 of 4) 4 miles E 1928-1929 San Jose Airport; Mead-Orr Airport - Abandoned
San Jose (2 of 4) 2.5 miles SE 1929-1935 off and on Original San Jose Municipal Airport - Abandoned
San Jose (3 of 4) 10 miles NW 1947-1949 Moffett Field NAS
San Jose (4 of 4) 2 miles NW 1949-Present San Jose Municipal/International Airport
San Luis Obispo (1 of 2) 1.5 miles S 1932-1935 off and on Clark Field - Abandoned
San Luis Obispo (2 of 2) 3 miles SSE 1946-1956, 1970-Present San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport
San Simeon 0.5 miles N 1935 2nd of 3 W.R. Hearst Airports - Abandoned
Santa Ana (1 of 2) 3.5 miles S 1929-1932 Eddie Martin’s Airport - Abandoned
Santa Ana / Orange Co. (2 of 2) 4 miles S 1952-Present
Santa Barbara 6 miles W 1931-1935 off and on, 1936-Present
Santa Cruz See Watsonville
Santa Maria (1 of 2) 1 mile SE 1931-1934 off and on Hancock Field - Abandoned
Santa Maria (2 of 2) 3.5 miles SSW 1946-Present
Santa Monica (Los Angeles) 2.5 miles ESE 1929, 1968-1970, 1980-1981
Santa Rosa 7 miles NW 1947-2001, 2003, 2007-Present
Santa Rosa (secondary) 2 miles NW 1969-1971 Santa Rosa Coddingtown Airport - Abandoned
Stockton (1 of 2) 1.5 miles NW 1920 Tuxedo Field; Pond Aviation Field - Abandoned
Stockton (2 of 2) 4 miles SSE 1931, 1932, 1946-1995, 2001-2003, 2006-Present
Stockton (secondary) 5.5 miles NNW 1931 Oranges Brothers Airport - Abandoned
Taft 0.5 miles E 1929-1930, 1932-1933
Tehachapi 0.5 miles NE 1973-1975
Travis Air Force Base Adjacent 1961-1962, 1971-1972
Trona (1 of 2) 1 mile NE 1934-1935 Original Trona Airport - Abandoned
Trona (2 of 2) 5 miles NE 1975-1978
Truckee (1 of 2) 3 miles NE 1933 Dept. of Commerce Intermediate Field - Abandoned
Truckee (2 of 2) 2 miles E 1963, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1976-1977, 1980-1981
Twentynine Palms 6 miles E 1988
Ukiah 1 mile S 1947-1961, 1969-1971, 1975-1979
Upland 2 miles NW 1967-1968 Cable Airport
Vacaville See Nut Tree for Nut Tree Airport and Travis Air Force Base
Van Nuys 3 miles NW 1932, 1962-1964, 1968-1970, 1980-1981
Vandenberg Air Force Base Adjacent 1962-1969
Visalia 5 miles W 1929, 1932-1933, 1946-2016
Watsonville/Santa Cruz (1 of 2) 3 miles SW 1936-1937 Original Watsonville Airport - Abandoned
Watsonville/Santa Cruz (2 of 2) 2.5 miles NW 1946-1956
Yosemite National Park 25 miles W 1977-1980 Pine Mountain Lake Airport
Other California Airports Where Scheduled Service Could Not Be Confirmed
OAG = Official Airline Guide
Oceanside Airport – Flag-stop for Gilpin Air Lines but never listed on airline timetables (early 1930s) - Abandoned
Willows-Glenn County Airport – Listed in 1972-1973 OAGs but newspaper articles give no indication that service ever commenced
The following airports appear in early 1994 OAGs as being served by Skynet Airways through a base at Torrance. Even though listed, it appears that Skynet was an on-demand air taxi company operating infrequently, at best. Skynet is shown to have operated to nearly 40 airports in California including the following that have not otherwise received scheduled commercial air service -
Chino Airport
Compton Airport
Oceanside Municipal Airport – Oceanside’s third municipal airport which opened in 1963
Rancho California – French Valley Airport which opened in 1989
Santa Paula Airport
Santa Ynez Airport
Torrance Municipal Airport - named Zamperini Field Airport today
The following airports were served by Channel Island Aviation which operated regular charter flights from Camarillo and Santa Barbara to the Channel Islands from January 1, 1975 ending August 1, 2021. Public daytrips started in 1985 and Channel Islands became the official airplane concessionaire for the Channel Islands National Park in the mid-1990s. There is no indication that this service was ever operated on a “scheduled” basis although regular tour packages were offered -
Camarillo Airport
San Miguel Island Airstrip – the airstrip is essentially part of the primitive road system on the island, located near the San Miguel Island Ranger Station.
Santa Cruz Island – 3 airstrips have existed on the island. Santa Cruz Island Airport, which no longer exists, was located at the far northwest part of the island adjacent Forney Cove and had a dirt runway. Christy Airstrip, the most established of the Santa Cruz Island airstrips is located 1.5 miles east-southeast of Christi Beach, on the west side of the island and has a turf runway. Finally, the relatively new (2019) Santa Cruz Ranch Airport is located at the neck of the eastern third of the island, three-quarters of a mile in from the southern shore of the island on Harbor Boulevard.
Santa Rosa Island Airstrip – located at Water Canyon off Bacher’s Bay on the northeast side of the island.