Santa Barbara Airport Named “Best Small Airport” Finalist

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - For many travelers, flying out of Santa Barbara Airport means starting the trip closer to home.

“It’s super convenient a lot less congested than LAX. You’re not waiting a long time," said travelor Rachel Hernandez.

“Wonderful great small airport … convenient … takes me 15 minutes from my car to the gate," said traveler Jon Reveles.

Nearly 1.5 million people passed through the Airport last year — the busiest year in its history.

New nonstop routes have given passengers additional choices.

“Just this year we added two new routes … one nonstop route to San Diego and a nonstop route to Chicago," said marketing supervisor Lauren Gonzales of the Santa Barbara Airport.

Now, Santa Barbara Airport is one of 20 nominees in USA TODAY’s Best Small Airport contest.

“I’m not surprised it’s a wonderful airport. People staff cruise are wonderful," said Reveles.

More people are flying from Santa Barbara, and now passengers can help put their hometown airport on top.

“We received great feedback on the routes we’ve added and we always get suggestions from passengers on where they’d like to fly," said Gonzales.

The public vote will decide the winner.

Voting for the national honor continues through October 5th.

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