SBA
Source: Santa Barbara Airport
Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is celebrating the month of August, which marks the Airline Terminal’s ten years of service to the greater Santa Barbara region. The 72,000-square-foot, Spanish Colonial Revival-style terminal has been providing convenient air service to points around the United States and beyond since its completion in 2011.
Currently, the terminal provides space for four major airlines and handles more than two dozen departures every day. With four distinctive glass boarding bridges and four outdoor ground boarding positions, the facility serves aircraft as small as a 50-seat CRJ-200 and as large as the 172 passenger 737-7 MAX. In 2019, SBA handled nearly 1 million passengers, and is on track toward a swift recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part of the terminal project, which began construction in 2008, included the restoration of the original passenger terminal, the Earle Ovington terminal, named after Santa Barbara’s pioneering air mail aviator. Today, the Ovington terminal sits beside the new terminal and provides space for meetings and administrative offices.
The Airport originated commercial air service in 1936 in the terminal originally built by United Airlines under a 50-year lease. The terminal resumed commercial service after the second World War and the site of the Airport was deeded to the City of Santa Barbara by the federal government. Over the decades, the original building was expanded by way of various add-ons and a conglomeration of outdoor tented facilities, possible due to Santa Barbara’s favorable weather. Numerous initiatives to build a new terminal were attempted over the years without coming to fruition. Ultimately, it was impossible to stave off the need for a modern facility indefinitely.
After the changes in aviation security following the 2001 terrorist attacks, the Ovington terminal became increasingly antiquated and ill-equipped to meet the demands of modern aviation. Long-time residents may recall that there was no food service or restrooms past the security checkpoint. Flight operations required new, modern IT infrastructure to assure passenger and aircraft safety – and later to meet the expectation of free WiFi service.
“We have learned a lot in the last ten years, and we are thrilled that the community has come to embrace SBA as the region’s closest and most convenient airport,” says Airport Director, Henry Thompson. “We are here to serve the travel needs of the community, while we also warmly welcome visitors to our beautiful area.”
To commemorate the milestone month, SBA will share historical highlights and trivia questions via social media on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms. The official opening day of August 18 will feature many surprises for passengers who happen to be traveling that day, including snacks, giveaways, and festive décor to celebrate together as a community.
Highlights to honor the past decade:
- In 2011, The Airport averaged 1,000 passengers boarding per day. On busy days in July 2021 there were over 2,000 passengers boarding.
- SBA’s Terminal building is certified “Gold” by U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
- United Airlines is the longest standing airline partner since 1936, and the newest, Southwest Airlines, was welcomed this year.
- SBA’s Terminal features numerous works of local artistry including “Fiesta,” a bright, 60-foot mural by local painter Channing Peake near the security checkpoint.
SBA continues to follow Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and is staying in close communication with Santa Barbara County Health, as well as state and federal agencies, to ensure safety guidelines and cleaning protocols are strictly followed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For information about specific airlines, destinations, and departure/arrival schedules, please visit www.flysba.com.
The airport is very considerate of locals. As a local that uses the airport often I am more than satisfied with the short lines, multiple airlines (especially now) and easy access to flights that can connect me with the world. All of SB locals are fortunate to have such a lovely, friendly, and easily accessible airport.
The airport has no say in approach procedures or pilot decisions. That’s the FAA’s domain. And ultimately it’s a requirement of the pilot that he or she make the decision of what’s the best, safest, most appropriate approach. For runway 25, the circle to land approach over More Mesa is often limited by offshore fog, other inbound traffic, and the size and speed of the approaching aircraft. If the the circle to land approach can’t be efficiently or safely done, the more standard straight-in approach is what will happen. Airport has no input into that at all.
Bosco–90% of the locals will not use the airport once a decade. The idea that you, as a frequent consumer who can afford the extra cost of SB flights, want the rest of us to be annoyed and interrupted in our daily lives is what is meant by inconsiderate.
I total agree, they should consider safety first and fly in over the ocean to make their landing. I am now seeing large commercial planes come in for a landing from my home in the past year. Flying over main roads where thousands of homes are located is down right dangerous. Besides the jet fuel bad for health (carinogenic), it heats up the environment, making trees and vegetation drier and more susceptible to fire, especially since we are in a drought, and have high winds regularly. If an accident were to occur over a residential areas it would impact the whole town,/ city block main roads, knock out power, impact food supply grocery stores in the area, create a massive fire, and injure thousands creating utter chaos. It would create hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and lawsuits for the County. The pilot should know it is safer to approach and take off over the ocean creating less damage when an accident occurs then impacting a whole city, town etc..
I total agree, they should consider safety first and fly in over the ocean to make their landing. I am now seeing large commercial planes come in for a landing from my home just during the past year. Flying over main roads where thousands of homes are located is down right dangerous. Besides the fact that jet fuel is bad for health (carcinogenic) and impacts peoples immune system during covid-19, it heats up the environment. This makes trees and vegetation drier and more susceptible to fire, especially since we are in a drought, and have high winds regularly. If an accident were to occur over a residential areas it would impact the whole town,/ city, block main roads out, knock out power, impact food supply grocery stores, impact schools, hospitals in the area, create a massive fire, and injure thousands creating utter chaos. It would create hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and lawsuits for the County. The pilot /FAA/ County should know it is safer to approach and take off over the ocean creating less damage when an accident occurs.
It would be nice if the airport was more considerate of the locals. The recent change in approach path is obvious and really annoying but the airport simply denies a change or says it has no say in how the pilots follow the rules or whatever. I cannot believe that the airlines will not comply with reasonable requests to be nice to people in the area so it seems to me that the airport is either complicit in denial that there is a problem or intimidated that they will lose a tenant if they do anything. Unfortunately this is really one of the areas where government seems pretty much out of the reach of the voters.
10 years, $65million and they still dont have a clock or a filtered water fountain. Now I could give them a pass on the filtered water fountain – although its the only airport in the west without one, but not having an actual clock, on the wall, in plain sight, in an airport, that cost this much? This is just one fine example of how inept and our local government is at fulfilling the most basic of jobs. Or maybe they had a committee of citizens, elected officials and employees meet 12 times and determine that clocks were an affront to the aesthetics and foster an imbalance of equity for those who cannot tell time…
Since open public spaces tend to get abused by our transient population, who lives in the marshes nearby, they had to take out many of the welcoming aspects of the downstairs lobby area. Upstairs for ticketed passengers, who have gone through screening, is very welcoming, bright with windows and expansive views. Keep in mind easy passengers access to the airplane loading ramps has to be higher than ground level, so the working part of this building is designed to be more on the second floor – waiting area, shops, restaurants, bar. The first floor lobby space is more utilitarian for passenger pick up and drop off, baggage check and ticket desks. Do miss the upstairs public restaurant in the old building. Fun to watch the flight line while watching planes come and go. Maybe a future design expansion will bring that back.
I’d call the style of the old terminal building at our airport “antiquated.” I remember some of its negatives: 1) queuing up in dark and cold lines outside the terminal to be screened by TSA; 2) once admitted to Gates 8 & 9 (formerly United), not finding enough to seats to sit down upon during the 6 am departure rush; 3) no drinking fountains, no bathrooms, no coffee and no food in any post security gate areas; 4) retrieving your luggage under a white tent next to the terminal; 5) rental car counters a walk down the street. Yeah, the old terminal was great for the same folks that liked to brag that when they were young they walked through six feet of snow to get to school……
So 24 flights/day and cost $65M to build? Does the revenue even pay the interest on the debt?
It is a cold unwelcoming building. The design looks like it was done by committee. It has no where near the charm of the old building. Yes sometimes the old building was really crowded, but it had history and a real SB feel. A mural by Channing Peak does not make it any better. Should have incorporated the old terminal into the design, not as museum that no one visits. Oh BTW I am million mile flyer on a couole of airlines. cheers
Santa Barbara Airport is great. Easy in & out, beautiful & convenient. Fares are low and not having to go to LA is a bonus for sure.
We should be grateful we have such a great resource and for a few minutes of noise, don’t people have more important things to complain about. The people in Afghanistan can’t even get out of their airport.