International Travel To and From San Francisco
The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the largest airport in the San Francisco Bay Area and the second busiest airport in California after Los Angeles International Airport.
SFO is the twenty-fourth busiest airport in the world with almost 40 million passengers in 2010, and the twenty-third busiest in terms of traffic movements (landing or take off of an aircraft), with 387,248 movements from January to December 2010.
It is located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown San Francisco, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno. The airport has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, Asia, and Australia.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is the City’s mobility manager and operates the entire surface transportation network that encompasses pedestrians, bicycling, transit, traffic and parking and regulates the taxi industry.
The Municipal Railway, known universally as Muni, is one of the oldest transit systems on the globe, dating from 1912. It is the largest transit system in the Bay Area and seventh largest in the nation, serving more than 200 million customers a year. The Muni fleet is unique and includes: historic streetcars, biodiesel and electric hybrid buses and electric trolley coaches, light rail vehicles, transit cabs and vans and the world-famous cable cars.
For additional information, please visit the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency website.
Global Entry Program
To expedite the international travel experience, frequent travelers can enroll in the US Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry Program. Global Entry allows pre-screened travelers to bypass the traditional passport control process and, by use of an electronic kiosk, process through border control, reducing the amount of time participants need to spend at the airport. Global Entry reduces average wait times by 70 percent, with more than 75 percent of the users processed under five minutes. The program is available to US citizens, Permanent Residents, and citizens of the Netherlands.
For additional information, please visit the Global Entry website.