San Diego International Airport is one of the closest airports in the United States to the city it serves, and is the busiest airport in the country with only one runway. It is near the site where Charles Lindbergh tested the “Spirit of St. Louis” before flying the Atlantic, and the airport was built in 1928 with Lindbergh’s support and named for him. The airport is 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of the center of the city and is accessed from Harbor Drive, which connects to California route 163 and Interstates 5 and 8. Driving time from central San Diego is about 5 minutes. Because of the airport’s almost unique proximity to downtown, there is a pedestrian and bicycle path that permits the airport to be reached from the Little Italy section of downtown, and from Point Loma to the west.
Five taxicab companies serve the airport and fares are metered. These range from about $10 plus tip to the nearby cruise ship terminals to $20 plus tip to the historic downtown Gaslamp Quarter and $70 plus tip to the Mexican border. Shared-ride shuttles to downtown are around $8 per person plus tip. Many of the downtown and Harbor Drive hotels also offer shuttle service because of the proximity of the airport. The Metropolitan Transit System offers bus service from downtown to both major terminals and the commuter terminal; bus route 992 operates every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends between 5:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. The bus route also connects at America Plaza with the San Diego Trolley, a light rail system whose three lines serve the suburbs and run to the Mexican border. For roaming the city and for reliable transportation book for San Diego airport taxi. There are also connections at the downtown Santa Fe rail terminal to Amtrak trains and the Coaster commuter rail line, which runs daily except holidays to San Diego suburbs, Orange County and Los Angeles. Bus fare is $2.25, trolley fare is $2.50 and train fares on the Coaster, which runs along the Pacific coast and offers excellent views of the ocean, range from $4.00 to 5.50.