Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) – #10 Busiest Airport in US

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Overview

The tenth busiest airport in the United States is the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix International Airport served over 18,900,000 passengers in 2010, placing it just behind the ninth place spot (LAS), which served about 90,000 more passengers. Unlike the other airports on the list of busiest airports in the United States, Phoenix Sky Harbor International is a joint civil-military airport.

Phoenix Sky Harbor is a hub for US Airways, and is a focus city for Southwest Airlines. Other airports that fly to PHX are British Airways, which has direct flights to London Heathrow, Hawaiian Airlines and Aeromexico Connect. The airport’s three terminals are numbered Terminal 2, Terminal 3, and Terminal 4, which is also known as Barry M. Goldwater Terminal. There was once a Terminal 1, but it has since been retired. Over 120 gates are located within the three terminals, about 90 of which are in Terminal 4.

The busiest routes from Sky Harbor travel to Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle/Tacoma. Internationally, the busiest routes travel to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, London (Heathrow), Guadalajara, Mexico, and Mexico City.

Airport Services

Wi-Fi: Free Wi-Fi is available throughtout the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in all terminals.

Shopping and Dining: Some shopping and dining options are available throughout the airport, like cafes, coffee shops, newsstands and bookstores. Each of the terminals has gift shops for last minute souvenirs and local treasures. Terminal 4 will soon feature many new local dining options.

Extras: Play areas and the Phoenix Airport Museum Exhibitions provide plenty of ways to pass the time during a layover or before a flight, and can be great for families. The museum exhibitions are changed every few months, but some of the exhibitions have included photography showcases and unique historical artwork collections.

Ground Transportation

 

Sky Harbor’s Automated People Mover, called the Phoenix Sky Train, is still under construction. The first part of the plan will open in 2013, and will have a train running from a downtown light rail station to the airport parking lot, ending at Terminal 4, and will then be extended to both terminal 3 and then 2. The last phase will extend the line to the Rental Car Center, but will not be completed until 2020.

Public transportation options are the Valley Metro, which transports passengers to the airport terminals, and the METRO light rail, which does not have direct service to the airport. Instead, the light rail station nearest the airport offers free shuttle service to the airport.

The Rental Car Center has several rental companies, and can be accessed via the free shuttle which runs every five to ten minutes from the airport’s baggage claim areas.