While San Diego International Airport (SAN) is not known for its wide-reaching international flight network, the airport is home to more than several flights outside of the United States and even North America. In fact, SAN is not among the top 20 most connected airports in North America, with the 20th airport, San Francisco International Airport (SFO), having a total of 145 destinations in 2024, of which 55 are international, according to data from the aviation analytics company Cirium . Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) was ranked 19th with a total of 145 destinations as well, yet the East Coast airport has 60 international destinations, ranking it higher than SFO.
San Diego’s North American international network Nevertheless, SAN has a total of eight international destinations in September. As such, there are 61 weekly flights departing the airport for flights beyond the US, resulting in 10,455 weekly seats and 63.5 million available seat kilometers (ASK), Cirium data showed.
Out of the eight, four are bound for Canadian airports, as shown by the map below. Out of the four Canadian destinations, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has the most significant number of weekly departures out of SAN, namely 16. 14 of those are marketed by Air Canada and operated by Jazz with a Mitsubishi CRJ900, while the remaining two are WestJet itineraries operated by either the Boeing 737 MAX 8 or 737-700.
Air Canada has also scheduled daily flights from SAN to Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), flown by the 737 MAX 8 and Airbus A220-300 , respectively. Meanwhile, WestJet was the only airline that has scheduled flights from the Californian airport to Calgary International Airport (YYC), connecting the two cities three times per week on a 737-700 or 737-800. Construction started in November 2021, and various stages of completion are expected by 2028.
From San Diego to Mexico The other non-Canada and non-US destination in North America from SAN was Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), serving the tourist region of Los Cabos in Mexico. Alaska Airlines was the only airline that has scheduled flights from SAN to SJD in September, operating five weekly departures from SAN with either the 737-800 or 737-90, per data from Cirium. However, Flightradar24 records showed that on some days, Alaska Airlines has used its 737 MAX 9 aircraft to operate the route, including on three straight days between September 5 and September 7.
The passenger was eventually restrained by off-duty law enforcement officers. Reaching Asia and Europe from San Diego The other three international destinations are London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Munich Airport (MUC), and Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT), with the routes being flown by British Airways , Lufthansa, and Japan Airlines, respectively. Out of the three non-North American airlines, British Airways has the busiest schedule: the carrier has two daily flights per week, with one being operated by the Boeing 777-200ER and the other with the Boeing 787-8 .
Lufthansa has scheduled five weekly departures from SAN to MUC with the Airbus A350-900. However, the German airline has not deployed its Allegris cabin on the route so far, with the A350-900 serving the route being equipped with 48 business, 21 premium economy, and 224 economy class seats, according to Cirium. Lastly, Japan Airlines has scheduled four weekly flights to NRT, operated by the 787-8.
Both aircraft landed at their destinations safely, with the Japan Airlines pilot admitting to his mistake..
