San Diego airport boosted by new Terminal 1, rise in international routes

California has taken a hit due to the slip in international travelers who want to visit the states. But San Diego is bucking the trend.

While foreign air travel is dwindling throughout California, San Diego International Airport saw a 5.5% boost in global passengers over the past year, with the addition of more international flights.

In May the airport launched direct flights to Amsterdam through KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and in June it introduced Copa Airlines, with a flight to Panama that opens South America to West Coast travelers.  Last year it bumped its nonstop flights to London from once to twice daily. 

Plus, the strong dollar means that more San Diego travelers are flying to destinations such as Europe and Canada, offsetting losses from incoming international flights, said Hampton Brown, vice president of revenue for the airport.

“Right now, we’re noticing that a lot of the international services that we have, actually are being carried by U.S people going abroad, rather than foreigners coming here,” he said.

Canadian air travel to California slipped nearly 38% between August 2024 and 2025, according to data from Visit California, a nonprofit tourism marketing agency. That prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to mount a marketing campaign to woo back those visitors with promises of warmth and welcome in the Golden State.

“Sure, you-know-who is trying to stir things up back in D.C., but don’t let that ruin your beach plans,” Newsom’s office stated.

Canadians aren’t the only tourists taking a pass. Visits from Japan have dropped 20% and from Australia by nearly 15%. Forecasts for 2025 predict a 9.2% decline in international trips to California.

Overall, Los Angeles International Airport saw a 2.4 percent drop in passengers between June 2024 and 2025, following the catastrophic fires in January and immigration raids in June. San Diego International, though, saw a smaller decline of .6% for that time period.

In May, Visit California projected a 1% drop in visits to the state, in the first year-over-year decline since the pandemic. San Diego tourism experts similarly predicted that visitation would flatten this year, as trade wars and market fluctuations lead people to pull back on travel spending. 

But San Diego airport officials hope to weather that downturn, and not only with new flights and routes. Another factor working in San Diego’s favor is the new Terminal 1, which opened last month and is part of a $3.8 billion improvement plan.

“The mix has sort of helped us out a little bit in the sense that where it’s dipped in one place it has sort of increased in other places,” said San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Chair Gil Cabrera

The agency estimates that the new terminal and other additions will generate $7.4 billion in sales and $127 million in local tax revenues between 2010 and 2029.