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.