John Wayne Airport is an international commercial and general aviation airport that serves Orange County and Greater Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California. The airport is located in an unincorporated area of Orange County, and it is owned and operated by Orange County. John Wayne Airport is surrounded by the cities of Irvine, Newport Beach, and Costa Mesa, and is separated from the city limits of Santa Ana (from which the IATA airport code SNA is derived) by Interstate 405 and State Route 55. Originally named Orange County Airport, the Orange County Board of Supervisors renamed the airport in 1979 in honor of actor John Wayne, who lived in neighboring Newport Beach and died that year. A statue of John Wayne was installed at the airline terminal in 1982.
John Wayne Airport is the sole commercial airport in Orange County. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings per year. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 5,370,273 enplanements in calendar year 2024, a decrease from 5,706,332 in 2023. In 2024, John Wayne Airport was the second busiest airport in the Greater Los Angeles area by passenger count with over 10 million total passengers. , the largest airlines at John Wayne Airport were Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Alaska Airlines.
In addition to the airline terminal, several facilities at the airport serve the general aviation and corporate aviation community. General aviation operations outnumber commercial operations. The only other general aviation airport in Orange County is Fullerton Municipal Airport.
John Wayne Airport has two runways. The main runway, 2L/20R, at in length, is the shortest runway in the United States that handles regularly scheduled international flights, and passenger jetliners operating from the airport have never been larger than the Boeing 757 (although some larger cargo aircraft fly from SNA, such as the widebody Airbus A300 operated by FedEx). Runway 2R/20L is long and serves general aviation aircraft. No widebody passenger jetliners have ever been operated into SNA in scheduled airline service.
History
The first airstrip in the area was constructed in 1923, when Eddie Martin signed a five-year lease with James Irvine to operate a flying school on land that used to be part of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana and Rancho San Joaquin, which were owned by the Irvine Company.Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: California: Central Orange County . Members.tripod.com. Retrieved on July 21, 2013. It was purchased through a land swap by the County of Orange in 1939 and remains under the county's ownership and management.
Martin added the first hangar to his airfield in 1926. In 1935 Howard Hughes staged his world speed record-setting flight from the Eddie Martin Airport. At some point between 1940 and 1941, the new Orange County Airport was established on land adjacent to Martin Field, to the south. Martin Field closed shortly thereafter.
The facility was used as part of the Santa Ana Army Air Base during World War II, after which it was returned by the federal government to the county with the stipulation that it remain open to all kinds of aviation uses.
In addition to continuing to serve aviation, the field became an important drag racing center. From 1950 to 1959, C.J. "Pappy" HartPappy Hart and Creighton Hunter operated the Santa Ana Drag Strip, credited for being the world's first commercial drag strip,1950 – 1959 The Santa Ana Drag Strip Days. They Did It For Love theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com May 25, 2009 on the airport runway every Sunday, when it was closed to air traffic.
The original single runway was long, on a magnetic heading of 210 degrees (Runway 21) and 30 degrees (Runway 3). In 1964 the airport was rebuilt, with its present two parallel runway configuration, oriented 190/10 degrees magnetic. The longer runway, 19R (now 20R), at , is only longer than the old Runway 21 but long enough to accommodate jet airliners. A full instrument landing system (ILS) was also installed.
In the 1950s, the only airline flights were Bonanza's few flights between Los Angeles and Phoenix, via San Diego. In 1963 Bonanza started nonstop F27s to Phoenix, and to Las Vegas in 1965; in 1967 Air California started Electra nonstops to San Francisco, 48 flights a week each way. The first scheduled jet flights were Bonanza DC-9s later in 1967. From 1967 through 1980, Air California (later renamed AirCal) and Bonanza and its successors, Air West and Hughes Airwest, had a duopoly at the airport, until the FAA ruled this illegal.
In 1967, the Eddie Martin Terminal, designed by William L. Pereira & Associates, was built to accommodate 400,000 annual passengers. Remodeling added two passenger holding areas in 1974, a new baggage claim area in 1980 and a terminal annex building in 1982, bringing the facility to .
Nonstop flights reached Salt Lake City in 1976–77 (Hughes DC-9s), Denver in 1982 (Frontier MD-80s), Dallas/Fort Worth in 1983 (American MD-80s), Chicago–O'Hare in 1986 (AirCal 737-300s), and New York–Kennedy in 1991 (America West 757-200s).
After the Orange County Airport was renamed John Wayne Airport on June 20, 1979, the John Wayne Associates commissioned sculptor Robert Summers to create a bronze statue of "the Duke". The statue, created at Hoka Hey Foundry in Dublin, Texas, was dedicated to the County on November 4, 1982. Today, the bronze statue is in the Thomas F. Riley Terminal on the Arrival Level.
In 1990, the Thomas F. Riley Terminal opened. The aging Eddie Martin Terminal was replaced with a modern facility. The new facility included 14 loading bridges, four baggage carousels, wide-open spaces and distinct roadside arrival and departure levels. In 1994, the then-unused Eddie Martin Terminal was demolished. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a new, larger airport was proposed for the nearby site of the then recently closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. However, after a series of political battles, combined with significant opposition from residents in the vicinity of El Toro, the proposal was defeated, and no new airport was built.
In 2011, additional terminal space was added and existing terminals were refreshed as part of a $543 million expansion project. A new Terminal C with six additional gates was built along with dedicated commuter gate areas in the new Terminal C and new commuter facilities in Terminal A. A new parking lot C was added along with additional support facilities such as a Central Utility plant.
In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, the change of the airport's name back to Orange County Airport was demanded by activists, due to comments the actor had made in support of white supremacy in a 1971 Playboy interview.
In September 2020, Orange County officials announced they planned to end all of carrier JSX operations at the airport on January 1, 2021, stating it is "no longer welcomed" [sic]. Following the announcement, the airline sought support from its customers, encouraging them to contact the Orange County officials and demand that the airline is allowed to continue operations at John Wayne. In December 2020, the airline filed a lawsuit stating that the airport has "refused to offer any accommodations" to JSX and "discriminatorily chose" to terminate the airline's operations at John Wayne "in favor of two large airlines [Spirit and Allegiant Airlines]," of which the former already operates the same flights as JSX to Las Vegas, Reno, and Oakland. Shortly after, the airline won a temporary restraining order that prevented the airport authorities from terminating the airline's operations, with which an airport spokeswoman stated the airport would comply.
Terminals
There are 22 gates in total. The main passenger terminal, the Thomas F. Riley Terminal, is named for the late county supervisor who lobbied for the airport's expansion in the 1980s. The Thomas F. Riley Terminal is divided into three terminal areas, A, B and C, with dedicated commuter gate areas at the north end of Terminal A and south end of Terminal C.
All three terminals, A, B and C, are within the same Thomas F. Riley building and security screened passengers can move "airside" between all terminal areas. Security screening lanes exist in all three terminals adjacent to check-in. All security screening areas also have a "fast track" lane for first-class and elite frequent fliers along with full TSA PreCheck availability based on TSA defined schedules. Switching between terminals indoors before security "landside" is also possible, the check-in counter areas between all three terminals have connecting walkways to allow access between all terminals. Complimentary Wi-Fi is provided in all three terminals.
Terminals A and B Terminals A and B were built in 1990 to replace the former Eddie Martin Terminal which was closed upon the new terminals' opening. In November 2011, Terminal A added a dedicated commuter gate area, along with refreshed gates, signage and information displays at both Terminals A and B.
Terminals A and B were designed by Gensler & Associates, Leason Pomeroy Associates, and Thompson Consultants International. They contain restaurants, bars and shops, with a themed restaurant located in the airside connecting area of both terminals. In the upper rotunda above the themed restaurant is an American Airlines Admirals Club (operating out of Terminal A) and a United Club (operating out of Terminal B). The two lounges lie adjacent to each other on the mezzanine level. Terminal A has gates 1–8, and Terminal B has gates 9–15.
Terminal C Terminal C opened in November 2011 and added seven new gates, a dedicated commuter gate area and new eateries and retail.
Terminal C also provides a U.S. Customs and Border Protection FIS/Federal Inspection Service for international flights that do not have pre-clearance. Two arrival gates feed into the FIS and passengers once cleared exit at the south end of the Terminal C arrivals area. The FIS facility has Global Entry kiosks for registered users to shorten processing time. The FIS facility was designed by Gensler. Terminal C has gates 16–22.
Arrivals level The Arrivals level is on the lower level of the airport and provides seven baggage claim belts, two in Terminal A, two in Terminal B and three in Terminal C. Baggage Claim 7 is for international arrivals. Immediately outside the baggage claim is the curbside arrivals pickup area. Rental car offices are between Terminal A and B baggage claim areas with most rental agencies on-site in the lower levels of the parking facility across the arrivals pickup area between Terminal A and B. Across the roadway from the arrivals pickup area between Terminal A and B is an island for public transportation, including taxis and buses.
International service John Wayne Airport offers international flights to Mexico and Canada. The airport did not have any regularly scheduled international service until 2010 when Air Canada began operations to Toronto, Ontario. Flights from Canada complete immigration and customs formalities in Canada via United States border preclearance.
Southwest Airlines operated international flights to Puerto Vallarta and San José del Cabo in Mexico as of March 11, 2021. Prior to resumption, it previously served flights to Puerto Vallarta from June 18, 2015, until March 2017. Southwest has also served flights to Cabo San Lucas until March 2020, alongside terminating other destinations at the time due to passenger limitations following a 1985 settlement agreement.
Canadian airline WestJet provides non-stop year round service to Vancouver since May 2011. It is also serving direct flights to Calgary; it previously served that route from June 2011 to 2013 before ending operations up until its resumption on November 4, 2021.