PHL is governed by the City of Philadelphia's Division of Aviation, and most of the airport property is located in Philadelphia proper. The international terminal and the western end of the airfield are located in Tinicum Township, Delaware County.
Starting in 1925, the Pennsylvania Air National Guard used the PHL site (historically known as Hog Island) as a training field for its pilots. The site was dedicated as the "Philadelphia Municipal Airport" by Charles Lindbergh in 1927. However, there was no proper terminal building until 1940, so airlines used an airfield in nearby Camden, New Jersey. Once the terminal was completed, four airlines (American, Eastern, TWA, and United) started flights to the airport. Philadelphia Municipal became Philadelphia International in 1945, when American Overseas Airways began flights to Europe.
US Airways became the dominant carrier at PHL through the 1980s and 1990s. In 2004, its dominance was challenged when Southwest Airlines announced it would begin flights from PHL, challenging US Airways in most of the major's important north-south and transcon markets.
Layout
Philadelphia International Airport has five terminal buildings, which are divided into seven lettered concourses. The two "A" concourses are separated from each other. Concourses B, C, and D are interconnected, while concourses E and F are in separate terminals. There is a relatively large airport mall between concourses B and C.
Concourse A West
All international arrivals are processed in the Terminal A West arrivals building
US Airways-International Gates A15 - A26 (Amsterdam, Antigua, Aruba, Barcelona, Bermuda, Cancun, Cozumel, Dublin, Frankfurt, Freeport, Glasgow, Grand Cayman, Grenada, London Gatwick, Madrid, Manchester, Montego Bay, Munich, Nassau, Paris de Gaulle, Providenciales, Rome, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, San Jose CR, Santo Domingo, Shannon, Venice)
US Airways Gates B1 - B16 (Aguadilla, Albany, Allentown/Bethlehem, Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Buffalo, Burlington, Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Hartford, Houston Bush, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Manchester NH, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Montreal, Nashville, New Orleans, Myrtle Beach, New York LaGuardia, Norfolk, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland ME, Providence, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Rochester, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Syracuse, Tampa, Toronto, Washington National, West Palm Beach, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
Concourse C
US Airways (United States and Canada) Gates C17 - C31
Southwest Airlines Gates D2,D4 (Chicago Midway, Ft. Lauderdale, Hartford, Houston Hobby, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Manchester, New Orleans, Oakland, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, West Palm Beach)
United Airlines Gates D1, D3, D5, D7, D9 - D12 (Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco)
Southwest Airlines Gates E8, E9, E10, E12 (Chicago Midway, Ft. Lauderdale, Hartford, Houston Hobby, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Manchester, New Orleans, Oakland, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, West Palm Beach)
Concourse F
US Airways Express Gates F1 - F38 (Albany, Allentown/Bethlehem, Asheville, Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Bangor, Binghamton, Boston, Buffalo, Burlington, Charleston SC, Charleston WV, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, Detroit, Elmira/Corning, Erie, Fayetteville NC, Grand Rapids, Greensboro, Greenville/Spartanburg, Harrisburg, Hartford, Indianapolis, Islip, Ithaca, Jacksonville NC, Kansas City, Louisville, Manchester NH, Martha's Vineyard, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Montreal, Myrtle Beach, Nantucket, Nashville, Newark, New Bern, Newburgh, New Haven, Newport News, New York LaGuardia, Norfolk, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Portland ME, Providence, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Rochester, St. Louis, Salisbury, Savannah, State College, Syracuse, Toronto, Washington National, White Plains, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Williamsport, Wilmington)
Ground transportation
Taxis charge a flat rate of $20 from the airport to central Philadelphia.
SEPTAtrain stations at Terminals A, B, C, D, and E provide passengers a fast and traffic-free connection between the airport, Central Philadelphia, and Glenside. SEPTA designates the Airport Line as the R1 Regional Rail Line. SEPTA trains charge $5.50 for direct connections to 30th Street Station, University City, and other stops in Center City. SEPTA
also operates bus service to and form the airport.
Rental cars are available through a number of companies, all of which must be reached by shuttle bus.
