When the city of San Jose decided to develop a municipal airport, Nissen sold his share of the aviation business and became San Jose's first airport manager. Nissen and two partners leased about 16 acres (6.5 ha) of this land to build a runway, hangar and office building for a flight school. Renzel led the effort to pass a bond measure to pay for the land in 1940. In 1939, Ernie Renzel, a wholesale grocer and future mayor of San Jose, led a group that negotiated an option to buy 483 acres (195 ha) of the Stockton Ranch from the Crocker family, to be the site of San Jose's airport. History Beginnings and expansion San Jose Must Have An Airport – 1929 The proximity to downtown limits the height of buildings in downtown San Jose, to comply with FAA rules. The location near downtown San Jose is convenient, but SJC is surrounded by the city and has little room for expansion.

SJC is near downtown San Jose (less than 4 miles (6.4 km) from the city center and easily within city limits), unlike SFO and OAK, which are around 14 miles (23 km) and 10 miles (16 km) from their downtowns.

Since 2012, SJC has experienced one of the fastest rates of seat capacity growth among major airports in the United States, reaching a peak of 15.7 million passengers in 2019. SJC served 14.3 million passengers in 2018, surpassing its previous record of 14.2 million passengers set in 2001. San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area by both population and area, but SJC is the second-busiest of the three Bay Area airports by passenger count after SFO. Overview Boeing 737 landing at SJC with Downtown San Jose behind In 2021, 54% of departing or arriving passengers at SJC flew on Southwest Airlines Alaska Airlines was the second most popular airline with about 19% of passengers. Route 101, Interstate 880, and State Route 87. It is situated three miles northwest of Downtown San Jose near the intersections of U.S. Customs and Border Protection international port of entry. In addition, the airport is also an official U.S. While San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area, SJC is the Bay Area's second-busiest airport by passenger boarding, behind San Francisco International Airport. It is named after San Jose native Norman Mineta, former United States Secretary of Transportation and United States Secretary of Commerce, who also served as Mayor of San Jose and as a San Jose City Councilman. It serves the Santa Clara Valley region of the Bay Area. Mineta San Jose International Airport and branded as San José Mineta International Airport, is a city-owned public airport in San Jose, California, United States. San José International Airport ( IATA: SJC, ICAO: KSJC, FAA LID: SJC), officially Norman Y. Sources: FAA Airport Master Record and FAA passenger boarding data

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