Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
History, Facts and Overview

(Phoenix, Arizona - AZ, USA)

The Sky Harbor Airport has its origins in the mid-1930s, when the City of Phoenix first began developing this airport, after purchasing the site for the sum of $100,000. By the mid-1950s, four main airlines were offering regular flights and the new Terminal 1 building had been completed, costing more than $800,000. By 1960, annual passenger figures had grown from almost 300,000 ten years before, to more than 900,000. In 1962, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) inaugurated its new Terminal 2, which had cost around $2.7 million to build.

Terminal 3 and its enormous parking garage arrived in 1976 and cost almost $50 million. The stunning Terminal 4 opened in 1990 and was considered to be a major feat of engineering, costing a staggering $248 million. The onsite Phoenix Airport Museum is worth visiting if you have time and not only features information about the history of the airport, but also includes various exhibitions and around 500 different works of art, displayed in different gallery areas.


With a range of passenger amenities at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, highlights include Travelers Aid escorts for passengers with special needs, a modern paging system using 'PALs' (Paging Assistance Locations) and free parking spaces at the Stage and Go Lots. Phoenix Airport is also home to specific areas for pets, including fresh water and a fenced park, an inter-faith Chaplaincy, and Sky Harbor Navigators, who are on hand should travelers need personal guidance or assistance.

Around 150 shops and restaurants offer the perfect way to pass your time if you are waiting, being particularly clustered in Terminal 4. The main shops include CNBC, Desert Books, Press Express, Phoenix Souvenirs and PHXpress, while popular eateries are never far from hand, such as Blue Burrito, California Pizza Kitchen, El Bravo, Home Turf Bar, Martini Bistro, Roadhouse 66 Bar and Taberna del Tequila.