lindbergh field opened on october 16, 1934 on the pacific highway. the san diego international airport east terminal opened on march 6, 1967, and the west terminal opened july 11, 1979. a new commuter terminal opened july 23, 1996. it is self-contained, full service facility with four gates used by seven commuter airlines to handle 25,000 passengers each day. construction of the expansion of the west terminal ended in november, 1997. almost 14 million passengers travel through lindbergh field each year. the 27 passenger and cargo airlines operate more than 500 flights each day from the runways.