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South Coast Airport Solving The Mystery Behind The Missing Arrival/Departure Gate

(Santa Barbara Airport photo)
New jet bridge being installed at Santa Barbara Airport

A South Coast airport is answering a question that’s puzzled passengers for years. Where is Santa Barbara’s Gate 3? It’s a mystery for travelers which existed since the opening of Santa Barbara’s Airport’s new terminal in 2011. There was Gate One, Gate Two, and Gate 4. Gate Four was actually labelled Gate 3 and 4.

When the terminal opened air travel was down due to the recession, so the Airport only bought three instead of four jet bridges. Those are the moveable walkways which connect the planes to the terminal.

With air travel going through the roof at the airport, they finally ordered the final gateway. The $1.2 million dollar, 95 foot long structure arrived in a caravan of big rigs this week.

It’s expected to be ready for use by the end of the year. The federal government paid for most of it, with a million dollar plus grant.

The airport is expected to set an all time passenger record in 2019, hitting a million travelers by the end of the year.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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