Mineta San José International Airport

Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport
Location	San Jose, California
IATA code	SJC
ICAO code	KSJC
Airport type	Commercial
Website	http://www.sjc.org
Overview map	Google Maps
Communications
Tower	124.0 257.6
Ground	121.7
Clearance	118.0
Approach	120.1 125.35 134.5
Departure	121.3
ATIS	126.95 408-980-8459

Mineta San José International Airport serves the southern region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and Silicon Valley in particular. Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier, and it is also a focus city for American Airlines.

The airport has three parallel runways, 12L/30R, 12R/30L, and 11/29. Normal operations sees arrivals and departures in the 29/30 direction. 11/29 is used by light aircraft only; airliners and all but the smallest business jets will normally use 30R for departures and 30L for arrivals. When there are no departures, arrivals will sometimes use 30R.

Official Spotting Locations

With the closure and demolition of Terminal C, there are no longer any official spotting locations at KSJC.

Other Spotting Locations

Airport Boulevard Spots

Airport Blvd Shoulder

Anywhere along the Airport Blvd curve near the southwestern corner of the Airport, where there are no sidewalks and just a dirt shoulder. There are ground-level utility boxes that provide a good place to keep your footing when taking photos. The height of the road shoulder provides enough elevation to see over the fence.

HOWEVER, police have regularly asked spotters to leave from this location and instead go to the SJSU parking lot just up the street. It's never been a big deal, but I've been told it's a safety issue with the proximity to the road and lack of sidewalk. To avoid this issue, it was suggested park in the SJSU lot, walk out onto Airport Blvd when it's time to get your photo, and then walk back to "safety". However, with the closure of the SJSU lot, alternative parking/waiting locations near this spot are unclear.

The Dirt Hill

Across Airport Blvd from the former SJSU parking lot, at Coleman Ave, there is a slight dirt hill that is in the middle of the curve made by Airport Blvd, near the I-880 ramps. Park a chair here and watch planes takeoff and land from both runways. You used to be able to drive a car up onto the hill but they caught onto it and chained off the driveway, however it is still open to pedestrians.

Terminal A Parking Garage

With an appropriate lens (200mm +), the top level of the Terminal A garage affords fairly good views of activity on the runways. Unfortunately, due to the terminal building being in the way, it is difficult to shoot anything which is closer to you than Runway 30R/12L. This location is best in the mornings, as you're facing west-southwest.

Long Term Parking Lot (Brokaw Rd)

The Long Term parking lot has excellent views of both runways along their entire length. You are also within a couple feet of the taxiway that most (if not all) private jets and general aviation aircraft use. Park along the chain-link fence and use either a step-ladder or truck bed to see over it. Parking is $1.00/20min. Security/police will usually question what you are doing, ask if you are paying for parking, and then usually will let you be. Don't park outside to avoid the parking fees, since they will ask you to leave if you aren't a paying customer. Late-afternoon/evening lighting is best for photos, and a long lens (200mm+) is recommended.

Guadalupe Park

There is a grassy field at Guadalupe Park which gives some nice opportunities for shots of aircraft landing directly overhead. The park is right near the Target and shopping center along Coleman Avenue and Taylor St.

Regular Traffic

Info current as of July 2010. For the latest listings, please check FlightAware.com's KSJC Flight Tracker page, here.

On a normal day, one might see the following aircraft. Large or notable aircraft are in bold:

Passenger

Alaska Airlines: B737-700, B737-800, B737-900

American Airlines: MD-82/83, B737-800

American Eagle: ERJ140

Continental: B737-800

Delta Air Lines: A319, A320, B737, MD-90

Hawaiian Airlines: B767-300 (Departs Mid-Morning, Arrives Late Evening)

Horizon Air: Bombadier Q400, CRJ700

JetBlue: A320

Mexicana Airlines: A320

SkyWest (incl: Delta Connection, United Express): EMB-120, CRJ200, CRJ700

Southwest Airlines: B737-300, B737-500, B737-700

United Airlines: A319, A320, B757-200

US Airways: A319, A320, B737-300, B737-400

Volaris: A320

Cargo

All cargo flights arrive during the early evening hours (4-6pm) and depart during the mid-evening hours (6pm-8pm), making for some great shots. One exception is the daily ATI flight, which arrives in the morning and leaves in the evening.

ATI: DC-8

FedEx Express: A300-600, MD-10, MD-11

UPS Airlines: A300-600, B767-300, B757-200

Private Jets and General Aviation

Private jets takeoff and land frequently at KSJC, especially during morning and late-afternoon/evening hours. There can be a handful of general aviation flights during the day also.