San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport

thumb|right|San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, as Naval Auxiliary Air Station San Luis Obispo in 1943 in a US Army photo

San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport , McChesney Field is a civil airport near San Luis Obispo, California, United States. Five passenger airlines serve the airport. The airport was established in 1939 and used by the U.S. military between 1939 and 1945.

History

In 1933 Pacific Seaboard Air Lines single engine Bellanca CH-300s flew twice daily each way: Los Angeles - Santa Barbara - Santa Maria - San Luis Obispo - Paso Robles - Monterey - Salinas - San Jose - San Francisco. Pacific Seaboard later moved its operation to the eastern U.S., was renamed Chicago and Southern Air Lines, and became a large domestic and international airline that in 1953 was acquired by and merged into Delta Air Lines.

Earl Thomson, along with his brothers-in-law, William "Chris" and David Hoover, talked county officials into leasing them the land for an airport. By April 1939 it opened with an hangar and dirt runways.

During World War II the federal government took over the airport: From 1938 until 1941, the U.S. Army Air Corps and the California National Guard used 218 acres as an aerial observation training center; In 1940 the War Department added hard surface runways and lights, barracks, hangars, and mechanic shops. In 1940 and 1941, 183 private pilots and 20 advanced students were trained here though a federally sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program for armed services fliers. In 1943, the Navy began using the airport as a training center for the Pacific Fleet, calling the airport Naval Outlying Field, San Luis Obispo and the Naval Auxiliary Air Station, San Luis Obispo.

In 1947 county supervisors contracted for another hangar, ramp, and eventually an administration building. The supervisors named Chris Hoover full-time airport manager in 1953.

San Luis Obispo Airport had no scheduled airline service from 1956 until 1969 when locally based Swift Aire Lines began scheduled flights with Piper Navajos. Swift Aire's headquarters were at San Luis Obispo; it eventually operated Fokker F27 Friendships bought new from Fokker as well as Nord 262s and de Havilland Herons.

In 1975, after ending service to Paso Robles the year before, Hughes Airwest was operating McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s to nearby Santa Maria Public Airport to serve the San Luis Obispo area; these nonstops to Los Angeles and San Francisco soon ended. SkyWest (United Express) now has Canadair CRJ-200s on most nonstops to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Denver with a planned change to larger Embraer ERJ-175 regional jets for one daily flight each to Los Angeles and San Francisco, and all flights to Denver. United Airlines has now added mainline Airbus A319 jet service nonstop between Denver and the airport. Allegiant Air considered the airport for nonstop McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jet service to Las Vegas, but the short runway at the time at SBP resulted in their flights being operated from the Santa Maria Airport.

In January 2009, a charter Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-400 arrived at SBP from Chico and was the largest aircraft ever to land at San Luis. The flight carried 125 members of the San Francisco Symphony arriving to perform at Cal Poly's Performing Arts Center. From April 1 to 4, 2009 charter Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-700s, Frontier Airlines Airbus A319s, and Southwest Airlines Boeing 737s arrived at San Luis Obispo County carrying Oregon National Guard military troops. The mainline A319 operated by both American Airlines and United Airlines is currently the largest jet aircraft type to serve San Luis Obispo in scheduled passenger service. Currently, there are no military charter operations at San Luis Obispo; however, C-130 Hercules aircraft do occasionally stop at the airport. Allegiant Air has operated charters from the airport for the Cal Poly Football team.

In October 2015, ground was broken on a new passenger terminal; it was expected that increases in the regional population and tourism would attract more service to the airport.

On April 13, 2017, Alaska Airlines (Horizon Air) began a daily Embraer ERJ-175 jet service to Seattle. Alaska Airlines is currently operating mainline Boeing 737-800 jetliners nonstop between San Luis Obispo and Seattle.

On December 13, 2018, American Airlines announced daily nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth which began on April 2, 2019. The flights were being operated with American Eagle CRJ-700 and Embraer E-175 regional jets and are currently being operated with mainline Boeing 737-800 jetliners.

On June 26, 2019, Contour Airlines announced flights to Las Vegas which began October 17, 2019 with Embraer ERJ-135s. In March 2020, due to COVID-19, the airline ended service to the airport.

On September 4, 2019, Alaska Airlines announced daily flights with the ERJ-175 to Portland, Oregon (starting on June 17, 2021), and San Diego.

Environmental contamination

In 2015, the airport was suspected as a possible source of trichloroethylene or TCE, which was found in nearby water wells. However, an investigation ordered by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and conducted by a third-party engineering firm found that the airport was not the source of contamination. Water Board staff oversaw the county's field investigation activities. An estimated 48 residents had already filed claims against the county for negligence, even though the investigation concluded that the San Luis Obispo Regional Airport was not the source.

In 2019, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board confirmed that the source of TCE contamination in the Buckley Road Area was emanating from 4665 Thread Lane, which is located across Buckley Road from the airport.

Facilities

thumb|View of San Luis Obispo Airport with the new terminal on the left and the old terminal on the right

The airport covers and has two runways:

11/29: 6,100 x 150 ft (1,859 x 46 m): asphalt
7/25: 2,500 x 100 ft (762 x 30 m): asphalt

A new passenger terminal replaced the older, smaller facility towards the north end of the airfield. A ground-breaking ceremony was held on October 8, 2015, and opened on November 1, 2017. The new terminal features modern check-in counters and security screening, a pet relief area in a central courtyard, a post-security food stand, multiple gates with waiting areas, and two all-glass jet bridges in addition to the ground level gates. Artwork in the lobby includes tail sections and an engine nacelle from a Boeing 747. The airport is designed to accommodate up to 1.2 million passengers per year, well above the 450,000 seen by the airport at the time of construction.

The airport also has the Spirit of San Luis Restaurant, in the original terminal from the 1950s. It has outdoor seating for patrons to watch planes take off and land, and is popular with private pilots to fly in for "$100 hamburgers".

The 1980s built terminal covers 16,000 square feet, and is currently home to a flight school.

There are numerous parking spots for general aviation aircraft, and multiple FBOs, including Air San Luis and ACI Jet Center, as well as aircraft rentals and flight schools.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger