Salt Lake City International Airport is a joint civil-military
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...
located about west of
Downtown Salt Lake City
Downtown (also called City Center) is the oldest district in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The grid plan, grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake Temple.
Location
Downtown S ...
,
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The airport, along with the much smaller
Provo Airport (PVU) and
Ogden–Hinckley Airport (OGD) are the closest commercial airports for more than 3 million people and is within a 30-minute drive of nearly 1.3 million jobs.
The airport serves as a hub for
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...
and is a major gateway to the
Intermountain West
The Intermountain West, or Intermountain Region, is a geographic and geological region of the Western United States. It is located between the Rocky Mountain Front on the east and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada on the west.
Topography
...
and
West Coast. The airport sees 343 scheduled nonstop airline departures per day to 93 cities in North America and Europe.
It is by far the busiest
airport in Utah.
Salt Lake City International Airport continues to rank high for on-time departures/arrivals and the fewest flight cancellations among major US airports. The airport ranked first for on-time departures and arrivals and first for the percentage of cancellations as of April 2017.
The airport is owned by the City of Salt Lake City and is administered by the municipal Department of Airports.
In 2024, SLC Int'l Airport set an all-time record with 28,364,610 passengers served, a 5.2% increase from 2023.
History
1900 to 1940
In 1911, a site for an air field was chosen on Basque Flats, named for Spanish-French sheep herders who worked the fields in the then-desolate area of the Salt Lake Valley, where a cinder-covered landing was subsequently created. The Great International Aviation Carnival was held the same year and brought aviation pioneers representing
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Curtiss, Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in ...
and a team representing the
Wright Brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...
to Salt Lake City. World-famous aviator
Glenn H. Curtiss brought his newly invented
Seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...
to the carnival, a type of airplane that had never been demonstrated to the public. Curtiss took off from the nearby
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, partic ...
, awing the 20,000 spectators and making international headlines.
For several years, the new field was used mainly for training and aerobatic flights. That would change in 1920 when the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
(USPS) began
air mail
Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...
service to Salt Lake City. The city bought a 100-acre tract around Basque Flats for $4,000 and built a field, hangar and other facilities. In the same year, the airfield was given the name Woodward Field, named for John P. Woodward, a local aviator. The first transcontinental air mail flight landed at Woodward Field on September 8.
In 1925, the postal service began awarding contracts to private companies.
Western Air Express
Western Airlines was a major airline in the United States based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexi ...
, the first private company to carry U.S. mail, began flying from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles via
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. Less than a year later, Western Air Express would begin flying passengers along the same route. Western Air Express later became
Western Airlines
Western Airlines was a major airline in the United States based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mex ...
, which had a large hub in Salt Lake City.
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...
visited Woodward Field in 1927, drawing many spectators to see
The Spirit of St. Louis
The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that Charles Lindbergh flew on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight ...
. During the next few years the airport would gain another runway and would span over . In 1930 the airport was renamed Salt Lake City Municipal Airport.
The first terminal and airport administration building was built in 1933 at a cost of $52,000. By then,
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
had begun serving Salt Lake City on flights between New York City and San Francisco.
[
]
As air travel became more popular and the United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
established a base at the airport during World War II, a third runway was added
Runway diagram for 1955
. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide (no
OAG
shows 42 weekday departures: 18 on Western, 17 United and 7 Frontier. United had flown nonstop to Chicago since 1950, but nonstop service to New York did not start until 1968. The first jets were United 720s in September 1960.
1960 terminal
A new terminal was needed and work began on the west side of the airport on Terminal 1, designed by Brazier Montmorency Hayes & Talbot and dedicated in 1960 after seven years of work and a cost of $8 million. In 1968, the airport became Salt Lake City International Airport when a non-stop route to Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, Canada was awarded to Western Airlines.
After airline deregulation
Airline deregulation is the process of removing government-imposed entry and price restrictions on airlines affecting, in particular, the carriers permitted to serve specific routes. In the United States, the term usually applies to the Airline D ...
in 1978, hub airports appeared. Western Airlines, with ties to Salt Lake City since its inception, increased service into hub status on May 1, 1982.
Terminal 2 was designed by Montmorency Hayes & Talbot and built solely for Western and had several murals by artist LeConte Stewart
__NOTOC__
LeConte Stewart (April 15, 1891 – June 6, 1990) was an American Latter-day Saint painter and printmaker, primarily known for his Landscape art, landscapes of rural Utah. His art Media (arts), media included oils, watercolors, pastel ...
.
During the 1980s, the airport saw further expansion to both terminals as well as runway extension. In 1987, Western Airlines merged with Delta Air Lines. Salt Lake City would continue to be a major airline hub for Delta.
In 1991, the airport opened a new short-term parking garage. The airport opened a new runway in 1995 along with the International Terminal and E concourse for SkyWest Airlines
SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by four partner Mainline (air travel), mainline airlines. The comp ...
, which was designed by Gensler
Gensler is a global design and architecture firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is the largest architecture firm in the world by revenue and number of architects.
In 2022, Gensler generated $1.785 billion in revenue, the most o ...
. A new control tower
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled a ...
, new approach control facility, and a new fire station were opened in 1999.
In 2001, Concourse E was expanded for additional gates and SkyWest Airlines
SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by four partner Mainline (air travel), mainline airlines. The comp ...
opened its new maintenance hangar and training facility. In 2002, the airport saw heavy crowds as Salt Lake City welcomed over one million visitors for the Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...
.
In June 2008, Delta Air Lines began service to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on a Boeing 767. This was the airport's first transatlantic route. Delta also added the first flight from Salt Lake City to Asia, a link to Tokyo's Narita Airport, the following June. The service aboard Airbus A330s resulted from Delta's merger with Northwest Airlines, which had a hub at Narita. Later that year, Delta made it seasonal. The airline stopped flying to Tokyo in October 2011.
New terminal and concourses
The Airport Redevelopment Program broke ground in 2014, initiating construction of the New SLC terminal complex. This began the process of replacing the existing, aging facilities with all new facilities, including a rental car center, a parking garage, a terminal with two linear concourses (similar to Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
and Washington–Dulles) with 93 gates, two tunnels, and an elevated roadway. The construction was funded by airport funds, passenger and customer facility charges, bonds, and federal grants.
The Airport opened Phase 1 of the new terminal in 2020. This first phase consisted of the western portion of concourse A with 25 gates, and the western portion of Concourse B with 21 gates. The concourses were connected by a mid-field underground tunnel. After Concourse B opened, the old terminals and concourses were demolished, and then construction on concourses A and B east began. With the opening of the new airport, Delta Air Lines opened a brand new Sky Club in concourse A, which at the time was the largest in their network.
Phase 2 of the project included the eastern portion of concourse A with 22 gates and additional concession options. It opened in increments throughout 2023, with the final 13 gates opening on October 31, 2023.
Phase 3 opened on October 22, 2024 including five additional gates in the eastern portion of concourse B, the Concourse B Plaza, additional concession options and the much anticipated central River Tunnel. The central tunnel, which allows passengers to directly access concourse B from just outside the security checkpoint, will reduce walk times to concourse B by as much as half. The Concourse B Plaza includes the reinstalled floor world map that was featured in the former terminal, as well as a 30-foot-long replica of an allosaurus
''Allosaurus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period ( Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian ages). The first fossil remains that could definitively be ascribed to th ...
fossil.
Future features of Phase 3 will include 5 gates in the eastern portion of concourse B and an additional Delta Sky Club. Phase 4 will include the airport's first non-Delta club, a United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
club that will be on the far east end of concourse B, as well as the airport's only non-airline specific club, an American Express Centurion Lounge. The easternmost 16 gates of concourse B, to be completed in 2026, are also part of Phase 4. Future plans call for adding a tram to the central tunnel when a future concourse C is eventually built. All told, phase 2 through phase 4 are planned to add 48 new gates to the airport for a total of 94 gates.
Facilities
The airport covers and has four runways. The runways are generally oriented in a NNW/SSE magnetic direction due to consistent prevailing winds
In meteorology, prevailing wind in a region of the Earth's surface is a surface wind that blows predominantly from a particular Wind direction, direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a partic ...
in this direction.
Terminal
SLC has a single terminal with two concourses connected by two underground tunnels for a total of 73 gates. There is a single security check point with 16 lanes and 11 baggage carousels, with additional checkpoint and carousel facilities for international arrivals.
* Concourse A has 47 gates, completed October 2023.
* Concourse B has 26 gates, with 21 more opening in phases beginning in 2025.
Ground transportation
The airport is accessible from I-80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...
at exit 115 B or from I-215 at exits 22 and 22 B, with the GA terminal accessible from I-215 exit 23. The airport can also be accessed from North Temple Street and Utah State Route 154 (Bangerter Highway), both of which terminate and merge into the airport's Terminal Drive.
Rail and bus services that connect the surrounding region to Salt Lake City International Airport include TRAX light rail service from the Airport station, UTA bus service (via TRAX), and FrontRunner
''FrontRunner'' is a Commuter rail in North America, commuter railway operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) that runs along the Wasatch Front in north-central Utah with service from Ogden Central station in central Weber County, Utah, ...
commuter rail (via TRAX).
Ground transportation is available from the airport to ski resorts and locations throughout Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Utah, and Summit counties. Many Salt Lake taxis, limousines, and shuttles accommodate ski equipment.
General aviation
Despite being the 28th busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft operations,World's busiest airports by traffic movements
The thirty world's busiest airports by aircraft movements are measured by total movements (data provided by Airports Council International). A movement is a landing or takeoff of an aircraft and includes both air transport movements and general avi ...
the airport still maintains a large general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
presence. In 2008, 19% of aircraft movements at the airport came from general aviation traffic. This is in contrast to most large airports, which encourage general aviation aircraft to use smaller or less busy airports in order to prevent delays to commercial traffic. The airport is able to effectively handle both commercial and general aviation traffic largely in part to the airport's layout and airspace structure. Nearly all general aviation operations are conducted on the east side of the airport, away from commercial traffic. Additionally, smaller and relatively slower general aviation aircraft arrive and depart the airport in ways that generally do not hinder the normal flow of arriving or departing commercial aircraft.
2021 data shows that there were 337 general aviation aircraft based at the airport.[, effective April 17, 2025.] The airport has three fixed-base operator
A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down, and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction ...
s; Signature Flight Support, Atlantic Aviation, and Menzies Aviation located on the east side of the airport. The airport has facilities for air ambulance
Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...
, law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...
, as well as state and federal government aircraft. Additionally, the airport is home to several flight training facilities, including one operated by Westminster College.
Military operations
The Utah Air National Guard
The Utah Air National Guard (UT ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Utah, United States. It's a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Utah Army National Guard an element of the Utah National Guard of the larger United ...
operates what was previously named the Salt Lake City Air National Guard Base on the east side of the airport. In November 2014, the installation was renamed the Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base after Brigadier General Roland R. Wright, USAF (Ret).
The base occupies approximately 140 acres as a U.S. Government cantonment area leased from the airport. In addition to flight line, the installation comprises 65 buildings: 3 services, 13 administrative, and 47 industrial. There are 255 full-time Air Reserve Technician and Active Guard and Reserve personnel assigned, augmented by 1,343 part-time traditional air national guardsmen. The host wing for the installation is the 151st Wing
The 151st Wing (151 WG) is a unit of the Utah Air National Guard, stationed at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base, Utah. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.
The primary ...
(151 WG), an Air Mobility Command
The Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri, ...
(AMC)-gained unit operating the KC-135R Stratotanker
The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...
.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Passenger numbers
Annual traffic
Top destinations
Airline market share
Accidents and incidents
* On May 1, 1942, United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
Trip 4, a Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...
impacted the side of a hill after deviating off course NE of Salt Lake Municipal Airport, all 17 on board were killed.
* On January 17, 1963, a West Coast Airlines
West Coast Airlines was a United States local service carrier, a scheduled airline certificated by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), linking small cities in the Pacific Northwest with larger cities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, ...
Fairchild F-27
The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 are versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined, turboprop, passenger aircraft formerly manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to ...
on a training flight out and back to SLC crashed west of the airport into Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, partic ...
simulating an emergency descent, all three occupants perished.
* On November 11, 1965, United Airlines Flight 227
United Airlines Flight 227 (N7030U), a scheduled passenger flight from LaGuardia Airport New York City to San Francisco International Airport, California, crashed short of the runway while attempting a scheduled landing at Salt Lake City Interna ...
, operated with a Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...
, crashed just short of the runway at Salt Lake City International Airport (then named Salt Lake City Municipal Airport), killing 43 of the 91 people on board.
* On December 16, 1969, an Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander operated by American Smelting and Refining Co. lifted off prematurely, stalled and crashed. Both occupants died.
* On December 18, 1977, United Airlines Flight 2860, a cargo flight operated with a Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is an early long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body jetliner designed and produced by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. Work began in 1952 towards the United States Air Force's (USA ...
crashed into a mountain near Kaysville while in a holding pattern prior to landing at Salt Lake City International Airport. The crew was trying to figure out an electrical problem and did not realize they were adjacent to a mountain. All three people on board were killed in the accident.
* On January 15, 1987, Skywest Airlines Flight 1834, a Fairchild Metro
The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San A ...
, collided with a Mooney M20
The Mooney M20 is a family of Reciprocating engine, piston-powered, four-seat, propeller-driven, general aviation aircraft, all featuring low wings and tricycle gear, manufactured by the Mooney International Corporation.Munson, Kenneth & Mich ...
at 7000 feet while the Metro was on a runway 34 approach. Both aircraft fell and crashed to the ground. All eight on the Metro and two on the Mooney were killed.
* On October 14, 1989, Delta Air Lines Flight 1554, operated with a Boeing 727, caught fire during the boarding process for a flight to Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
, Alberta, Canada while the aircraft was parked at a gate. Of the 22 people who were on the aircraft at the time, five sustained minor injuries. While all passengers and crew evacuated, the aircraft was destroyed. An investigation determined the fire started due to a malfunction with the passenger oxygen system.
* On March 2, 1997, a Beechcraft Super King Air
The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketing, marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was droppe ...
operated by Coast Hotels and Casinos impacted terrain south of SLC. One passenger out of the four on board died.
* On November 16, 2015, three days after the 2015 Paris terror attacks, an Air France
Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...
traveling from Los Angeles to Paris was diverted to Salt Lake City International Airport due to a bomb threat on the aircraft. The aircraft was the largest plane to ever land at the airport. The airport workers had only 15 minutes to get ready for the emergency landing.
* On January 18, 2016, two people died when their Cessna 525 private jet crashed shortly after take-off from Salt Lake City International on their way to Tucson International Airport
Tucson International Airport is a civil-military airport owned by the City of Tucson
south of downtown Tucson, in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is the second busiest airport in Arizona, after Phoenix Sky Harbor International Air ...
in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
.
* On March 30, 2021, a chartered Delta Airlines Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the trijet Boeing 727, 727, received its first orders in August 1978.
The ...
carrying the NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
's Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...
to Memphis International Airport
Memphis International Airport is a civil-military airport located southeast of downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. It is the primary international airport serving Memphis. It covers and has four runways., effective A ...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
for a game against the Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...
made an emergency landing at SLC after suffering a bird strike
A bird strike (sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)) is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a moving vehicle (usually an aircraft). The term ...
shortly after takeoff. The plane suffered damage to an engine but there were no injuries among its occupants.
* On January 1, 2024, a 30-year-old man exited the terminal via an emergency exit following a reported "disturbance" and ran to a deicing area, where he proceeded to crawl into a Delta Airbus A220
The Airbus A220 is a family of five-abreast narrow-body airliners by Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (ACLP). It was originally developed by Bombardier Aviation and had two years in service as the Bombardier CSeries.
The program was launche ...
's engine intake. The man was removed from the engine and died on the scene. He apparently had a boarding pass for Denver.
In popular culture
In the 1974 film ''Airport 1975
''Airport 1975'' (also known as ''Airport '75'') is a 1974 American air disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film ''Airport''. It was directed by Jack Smight, produced by William Frye, executive produced by Jennings Lang, a ...
'', Captain Alan Murdock (played by Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
) lands a crippled Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023.
After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
at SLC which was involved in a midair collision with a Beechcraft Baron
The Beechcraft Baron is a light twin-engined piston aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft was introduced in 1961. A low-wing monoplane developed from the Travel Air, it remains in production.
Design and development
The ...
which crashed into the cockpit of the 747, killing most of the flight crew. After landing, the aircraft exited the runway but eventually came to a stop. The movie ends with an emergency evacuation of all passengers and crew at the airport. A good portion of the movie was filmed on location at SLC.
Other notable films with scenes shot on location at SLC:
* ''Dumb and Dumber
''Dumb and Dumber'' is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise. Starring Jim Carrey and ...
'' (1994)
* ''Unaccompanied Minors
''Unaccompanied Minors'' (also known as ''Grounded'' in the United Kingdom and Ireland) is a 2006 Christmas comedy film directed by Paul Feig and starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly ...
'' (2006)
* ''Darling Companion
''Darling Companion'' is a 2012 American comedy drama film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, written by Kasdan and his wife Meg, and starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline. Filming took place in Utah in 2010 and was released on April 20, 2012.
Plot
Bet ...
'' (2012)
See also
* Ogden-Hinckley Airport
* Provo Municipal Airport
Provo Airport , formerly Provo Municipal Airport, is a public-use airport on east shore of Utah Lake on the southwestern edge of Provo, in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is a small regional airport with domestic flights mainly to destinat ...
* Spanish Fork Municipal Airport Woodhouse Field
* Heber Valley Airport
* South Valley Regional Airport
* St. George Regional Airport
* Utah World War II Army Airfields
* List of airports in Utah
This is a list of airports in Utah (a U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such as airports that we ...
*
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
1911 establishments in Utah
Buildings and structures in Salt Lake City
Airports in Utah
Transportation in Salt Lake City
Airports established in 1911