Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (IATA: PHX, ICAO: KPHX, FAA LID: PHX) is a civil-military public international airport 3 mi (2.6 nmi; 4.8 km) east of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States.

Standard Air Lines had been serving Phoenix since late 1927 at a different airport and began landing at Sky Harbor on August 5, 1929.

Standard operated a route between Los Angeles and El Paso stopping at Phoenix, Tucson, and Douglas, Arizona.

Bonanza Airlines began service by 1951 with a route to Las Vegas and Reno making several stops at smaller communities.

New routes to Salt Lake City and Southern California were added in the 1960s along with nonstop flights to Las Vegas and Reno aboard Douglas DC-9 jets by 1965.

Bonanza merged with two other carriers to become Air West in 1968 and was changed to Hughes Airwest in 1970 adding several new routes, including service to Mexico, creating a hub at Phoenix.

In 1978, former Hughes Airwest executive Ed Beauvais formed a plan for a new airline based in Phoenix.

He founded America West Airlines in 1981, which began service from Phoenix in 1983 and doubled in size during its first year.

[12] America West filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1991 and sold its larger aircraft and Japanese route authority, but continued growing its domestic operations from Terminal 4 in cooperation with Continental Airlines.

Although AWA enjoyed further growth at Phoenix during the 1990s the aftermath of the September 11 attacks strained its financial position.

US Airways was then merged into American Airlines in 2015 which continues to build upon the largest hub operation at Phoenix Sky Harbor.

[11] Sky Harbor landed its first transatlantic flights in 1996 when British Airways inaugurated nonstop service to London.

[14] American and TWA began jet service to Phoenix in 1960 and 1961 respectively, and Terminal 2 (originally called the East Wing) opened in 1962.

[16] Terminal 2 also featured a 16-foot (4.9 m) high and 75-foot (23 m) wide mural composed of 52 different materials, including mosaic glass, gemstones, shells, and vintage toys.

The $36 million project was funded by a FAA Airport Terminal Program grant included in the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed into law by President Joe Biden.

She said that in 2023 the airport welcomed more than 48 million passengers and with continued growth expected the new terminal was needed to accommodate growing demand and handle the increased number of travelers.

The terminal would feature a new customs facility and would be designed to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, making it an environmentally friendly structure.

For the first time in its long history, the airport surpassed the 50 million passenger mark in a calendar year, an all-time record for the facility.

[3] Sky Harbor's private airplane area is also one of eight service centers for the Medevac airline Air Evac.

Valley Metro bus routes 44 serve the PHX Sky Train station at 44th Street and Washington.

[110] A number of taxi, limousine, ride share and shuttle companies provide service between each airport terminal, the Phoenix metropolitan area, and other communities throughout the state.

[111] By road, the airport terminals are served by East Sky Harbor Boulevard, which is fed by Interstate 10, Arizona State Routes 143 and 202.

Phase 1 opened on April 8, 2013, and runs from the 44th Street and Washington Light Rail station, to East Economy Parking and on to Terminal 4.