Scottsdale Airport

Scottsdale Airport, located in Arizona, 9 miles north of downtown Scottsdale, uses the codes SDL (FAA) and SCF (IATA). Notably, it is one of few airports with different codes for each organization. In 2005, the airport served nearly 4,800 passengers, but this number drastically decreased to 266 by 2006. Designated as a reliever airport by the FAA's National Plan Integration and Development from 2007-2011, it handled over 186,000 aircraft operations in 2019, ranking it among the busiest single-runway general aviation airports. The airport provides tower services daily from 6 AM to 9 PM local time and customs services from 9 AM to 7 PM, facilitating international travel. Noise complaints were significant around 2004-2005 but had notably decreased by 2019. As a key economic asset, Scottsdale Airport contributed $688 million in FY2019 and supported nearly 4,000 jobs. It is one of three airports in the Phoenix area serving commercial flights, alongside Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Historically, during World War II, the airport operated as Thunderbird Field #2, training over 5,500 pilots. Post-war, Arizona State Teachers College (now Arizona State University) acquired it for an aviation program but later discontinued it due to operational challenges. In 1953, the Arizona Conference of Seventh-day Adventists purchased the site for Thunderbird Academy. The City of Scottsdale bought part of the property in 1966 for $750,000, funded by Landel Inc., and has since owned and operated the airport. The airport spans 282 acres with a single asphalt runway (3/21) measuring 8,249 ...