Oakland International Airport (OAK)

History The Oakland International Airport which was created in 1927 as part of the Port of Oakland is the San Francisco Bay Area's oldest airports. That first year Oakland was the starting point of the widely publilized Dole Races from Oakland to Hawaii sponsored by pineapple magnate James Dole. Also that year Boeing Air Transport (the forerunner of United Airlines) inaugurated transcontinental passenger and airmail service between New York and Oakland and in 1928 inaugurated West Coast passenger/airmail service between Oakland and Southern California. Amelia Earhart made her first trip to Oakland in June, 1931 and her last ill-fated flight in May, 1937. Beginning May, 1943 all commerical airlines were diverted to Mills Field and Oakland was used by the military as the focal point for all planes bound for the U.S. forces in the Pacific.

Data as of 1995

Management Owned and operated by the Port of Oakland.

Land 2,600 acres.

Runways South Field - 1 runway (10,000')
North Field - 3 runways (6,200'; 5,020' and 3,300')

Terminals:2 terminals with 22 boarding gates.

Flights more than 1,200 nonstop, direct or connecting weekly to cities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

Air Carriers 11 major passenger carriers and 14 cargo carriers.

Passengers 9,835,025.

Cargo Nearly 1.2 billion pounds of cargo.

Parking 7,000 spaces.


Employment More than 7,200 people (about 2,600) in air cargo.