SDMmedium airport

Brown Field Municipal Airport

San Diego, United States

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ICAO

KSDM

Elevation

526 ft

The gateway in a glance

The Essence of Brown Field Municipal Airport

SDM

Location

San Diego · CA · United States

Position

32.573°, -116.980° · 526 ft elev.

Visa & Entry

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A closer look

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TravelerPulse profile

San Diego's southern general aviation gateway near the border.

Opened

1943

Location

San Diego, United States

Brown Field Municipal Airport (IATA: SDM, ICAO: KSDM) is a public-use general aviation airport located in the Otay Mesa district of San Diego, California, approximately 2 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. It is owned and operated by the City of San Diego and serves primarily general aviation traffic, including private, charter, and training flights. The airport has two asphalt runways and handles a significant volume of cross-border general aviation operations due to its proximity to Tijuana. It also plays a role in U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations, as many international general aviation flights entering the United States from Mexico use it as a port of entry. Brown Field does not serve scheduled commercial airline service and lacks a traditional passenger terminal. It is valued by the region's aviation community for flight training, cargo, and private operations, and has been considered in long-term regional aviation planning discussions.

Terminals

Brown Field has no commercial passenger terminal; facilities consist of fixed-base operator (FBO) buildings and general aviation services.

Getting to & from

The airport is accessible primarily by private vehicle via Otay Mesa Road, with limited public transit connections to the broader San Diego metropolitan area.

Airlines here

No scheduled commercial airlines operate at Brown Field Municipal Airport.

Notable facts

›Originally built as a U.S. Navy airfield during World War II.
›Named after Ensign Melville S. Brown, a Navy aviator killed in a 1936 aircraft accident.
›Located approximately 2 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, making it a key port of entry for general aviation from Mexico.
›Has two runways: Runway 8L/26R and Runway 8R/26L.
›Owned and operated by the City of San Diego as part of its municipal airport system.

Official website Wikipedia

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Airlines serving this airport

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Routes

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Encyclopaedia

Brown Field Municipal Airport is in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States, 13 miles (21 km) southeast of downtown San Diego and named in honor of Commander Melville S. Brown, USN, who was killed in an airplane crash in 1936. Its main runway is 7,972 feet (2,430 m) long. Its FAA/IATA airport code is SDM. Formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station Brown Field, it is now a civilian reliever airport and a port of entry from Mexico. It is sometimes staffed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but only upon request of incoming pilots to the Federal Aviation Administration. The development plans for the SDM airport have been announced on 4th Oct 2022, the development will occur in phases over 20 years. The plans include a new FBO terminal building and individual airplane hangars. There is also talk of adding a million square feet of retail and industrial buildings and possibly a hotel. Brown Field is also home to Chapter 14 of the Experimental Aircraft Association, and regularly hosts free Young Eagles events to introduce children to aviation.

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