SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Tuesday marked the opening of a 93,000-square-foot building that houses bulky cargo items shipped in the bellies of passenger jets and serves as a storage area for aircraft provisions.
The Airline Support Building, located on the south side of San Diego International Airport's airfield along the main roadway toward the airport entrance, is the location for the public to pick up and drop off live animals or large cargo. Southwest, American, Alaska, Hawaiian, Sun Country, Delta and Lufthansa airlines and United Airlines/PetSafe are all housed in the facility.
"This building culminates the work of all teams at the Airport Authority and delivers on our promise to provide extraordinary customer service," said Kimberly Becker, the airport authority's president and CEO. "The new ASB provides our airline tenants with an efficient and sustainable building to carry out their cargo operations."
The ASB is touted as an energy-efficient building utilizing natural lighting intended to enhance a healthy work environment. A total of 70% of the regularly occupied area has access to daylight and views to the outside. The building includes fixtures with efficient flush and flow rates intended to result in a 42% reduction of indoor potable water use. Drought-tolerant landscaping also will help reduce outdoor potable water use by 75%, according to the Airport Authority.
"This is an important first step in the improvements we can look forward to seeing at the airport over the coming months and years," said Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. "Tourism is a cornerstone of California's economy, and this is a symbol of the recovery of air travel, the local tourism industry and all the economic benefits that it brings to our region."
The new building "increases efficiency for airlines that bring millions of travelers to San Diego each year who dine at our restaurants, stay at our hotels, visit our world-class attractions and ultimately bolster our local economy and support small businesses." said Mayor Todd Gloria. "This is the latest example of our Airport Authority delivering another key infrastructure project that benefits the region and helps San Diego prosper."
San Diego International Airport opens Airline Support Building
The Airline Support Building is the location for the public to pick up and drop off live animals or large cargo.
