Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is one of four airports owned by the County of Sacramento and operated by the Sacramento County Department of Airports (SCDA).
The Department is responsible for planning, developing, operating, and maintaining its four airports, the main one being Sacramento International, which serves scheduled passenger airlines, all-cargo carriers, and general aviation, followed by three smaller airports, Mather Airport, Executive Airport and Franklin Field, serving cargo and general aviation.
Director Cindy Nichol, Director of Sacramento County Department of Airports, explains that each of the airports supports the others in the system by having a strategic focus. “This enables the airports to focus on the uses that are best suited for their facilities, services and customers,” she says, adding that the Department is operated as an Enterprise Fund and as such must be financially self-supporting, with no general funds received.
Enhanced and thriving
The Department’s largest airport is an important transport hub. Sacramento International Airport (SMF) offers more than 155 daily non-stop flights on 12 domestic and international carriers to 36 destinations. The regional economic impact of the Sacramento County Department of Airports is more than $4 billion annually.
The airport has not only survived the pandemic in robust shape but continues to recover faster than other Northern California airports, reaching 12.98 million passengers in 2023, or 98.5% of pre-pandemic passenger levels. It has consistently exceeded pre-pandemic passenger levels through mid-June 2024 and is on target for 2024 to be the busiest period in the airport’s history.
This development follows a success trajectory of several years under Ms Nichol’s management. With more than 38 years of experience on staff and consulting to airports around the US and overseas, she runs the Department with a focus on passengers, continuous improvement, and transparency in communications. “Our mission is to put people at the centre of every trip, every experience, every day,” she says.
The progress towards this mission is well demonstrated by numerous awards collected over the years. For example, SMF was ranked the Best US Airport of 2022 by the Wall Street Journal, and in 2024 SCDA collected the Competitiveness Award from the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. A prestigious award was bestowed upon Cindy Nichol herself – in 2023 she was named Airport Director of the Year for Medium Airports by Airports Experience News.
“We are also very proud of enhancing our air service. Over the last 18 months, we have added 13 new non-stop air service US destinations, including inaugural non-stop flights to Toronto and Miami. We are now working on securing additional flights connecting the Greater Sacramento region to Europe in the near future.”
Innovating for improvement
Nichol affirms that one of the airport’s distinguishing features is the friendliness of its staff and focus on innovations. “Our people are always thinking about how they can achieve improvements. For example, we helped to change the legislation in California, eliminating specific rental car customers’ charges. This change is worth $20 million a year to our airport, and that’s only one of many airports in the state.”
In 2023 SCDA was the first airports authority in the country to submit a Safety Management System Implementation Plan to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the first to get it approved by the FAA, and the first to submit an SMS manual. The Department is also the first in the country to switch from ‘done-design-then-build’ in its project delivery to ‘design-build’, having both stages simultaneously done by one company, saving time and reducing errors.
Cindy Nichol is well aware of the value of human resources driving the airport to achieving its goals as a significant contributor to the region’s development. “Sacramento is a very diverse community and to me diversity, equity and inclusion are the critical factors that we need to promote. First, because better decisions are made with a diverse set of people, and second, by being more diverse, we’ll be able to serve our community better.”
A tangible example of this dedication is Ms Nichol’s plan to open a childcare centre at the Airport. “We won’t be the first airport in the country to do this, but we’ll be one of the first. This will not only help women and parents from under-served communities, but having children exposed to the excitement of airports may create a whole new generation of aviation fans!”
She further says that SCDA has initiated a number of actions for sustainability, such as energy waste management, water conservation and greenhouse gas reduction. “The County’s board has declared a goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, and the airport was an early adopter of electric buses. Sadly, that has not been a success story as only half of them are still working, an example of how sometimes the policy is ahead of the technology.”
Reshaped for the future
In addition to its warm and welcoming atmosphere, Sacramento International has yet another attractive feature – the availability of land. A much appreciated asset given the SCDA’s plans.
Last year, the Department announced SMForward, a $1.3 billion expansion project that will reshape the airport to accommodate projected passenger growth over the next seven years and further cement its place as an economic catalyst for the greater Sacramento region. SMForward is the largest construction programme in the airport’s history.
SMForward consists of six ambitious projects, including construction of a $140 million pedestrian walkway connecting Terminal B to Concourse B; expansions to both Terminal A and Concourse B, adding gates and new amenities; as well as a new parking garage west of Terminal B worth $390 million. The programme is expected to conclude in late 2027 with the completion of a new $400 million consolidated rental car facility, allowing passengers access to the airport’s rental car providers without the need to ride a shuttle bus.
“Over the next five years, this transformation will create world-class facilities that will enhance our customer’s travel experience while improving crucial infrastructure to meet our projected growth,” says Nichol and continues: “However, there are also other projects that we are undertaking, such as the $28 million roadway project that extends Elkhorn Boulevard that has just been opened and the new air traffic control tower. We also have initiatives at our other three airports, such as the rehabilitation of the 11,000-foot primary runway at Mather.”
She further points out that Sacramento International will also be the first airport to reach a significant agreement that will affect capital projects – a Community Workforce and Training Agreement (CWTA) that was agreed with the Sacramento-Sierra Trades Union, the first ever for the county. “This eliminates the potential for strikes or other actions, thus avoiding resulting delays, and delivers projects within their timeframe. The ultimate goal is to continue to best serve our customers.”
