Albuquerque International Sunport

Primarily servicing the Albuquerque metropolitan region and the greater Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Los Alamos combined statistical area, Albuquerque International Sunport, also referred to as the Sunport locally, is the principal international airport for the U.S. state of New Mexico. Every year, it handles more than 400 flights and over 5.4 million people. Between the Rio Grande and the Sandia Mountains in Bernalillo County, ABQ is situated east of Old Town and Barelas, three miles southeast of the city center, south of the University of New Mexico, and immediately west of Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base.

There were once two private airports that serviced Albuquerque. 1928 saw the opening of the Albuquerque Airport (after dubbed Oxnard Field), and 1929 saw the opening of the West Mesa Airport (later dubbed TWA airport). Varney Speed Lines took over Mid Continent Air Express's service in 1934. After three years, Varney became Continental Airlines. It was proposed in 1935 that the city use funds from the Works Progress Administration to construct a new public airport. 1948 saw the start of Pioneer Airlines, which in 1955 amalgamated with Continental Airlines. Using a Boeing 707, TWA, the biggest airline serving Albuquerque, launched the first jet service in 1961. William E. Burk Jr. designed the current terminal. Initially, there were eight gates at the terminal: four were located at the main structure and four more at a smaller satellite building south of it that was connected by tunnel. There was not a jet bridge at any gate.

Most of the main airlines that service ABQ are Advanced Air, Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit, Sun Country, and United. Southwest Airlines, which carries most of the passengers, uses ABQ as one of its key airports. Many national companies, like Hudson News and Book Sellers and Panda Express, are among the many eateries and retail establishments in ABQ. Together with local restaurants like Rio Grande Brew Pub & Grill, Black Mesa Coffee, and Comida Buena, it also has regional gift shops and New Mexican eateries like Tia Juanita's. The low-lying foundation and Pueblo Revival style of the Sunport, which alludes to the Pueblo and Nuevo México origins of New Mexico as well as the Tiquex and Hispano legacy of Albuquerque, make it distinctive. In 2023, a J.D. Power study using customer satisfaction surveys placed it seventh among medium-sized airports in the United States. The Albuquerque International Sunport features three runways.