Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

PHX KPHX  Phoenix, United States

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PHX at a glance

  • What it is: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a major international airport serving Phoenix, United States.
  • Codes: PHX on your ticket, KPHX on the radar.
  • How busy: the reference profile lists about 49.0 million annual passengers across 3 runways.
  • Main airline: American Airlines bases aircraft here, along with 1 other carrier.
  • Right now: 71 aircraft are within 55 km, shown live on the map above.
  • Local time zone: America/Phoenix (UTC-7), so every time shown for PHX is local rather than UTC.

Aircraft observed near PHX

71 aircraft are within 55 km of PHX right now. This is live ADS-B traffic, not a published timetable: aircraft are classified by what they are physically doing - Climbing out, on approach, or holding at cruise overhead. For gate numbers and scheduled times, check with PHX directly or your airline.

Departing now

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
AAL2655 American Airlines route not published on stand or taxiing — 15 kts
FFT1703 — route not published on stand or taxiing — 8 kts
AAL2244 American Airlines route not published on stand or taxiing — 12 kts
AAL2659 American Airlines route not published on stand or taxiing — 3 kts
AAL2113 American Airlines route not published on stand or taxiing — —
AC0F03 — route not published on stand or taxiing — 4 kts
ENY3464 — route not published on stand or taxiing — 10 kts
N846PW — route not published on stand or taxiing — —

Arriving now

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
AAL2418 American Airlines route not published on approach 2,275 ft 161 kts
QXE2024 — route not published on approach 2,850 ft 160 kts
AAL195 American Airlines route not published on approach 4,075 ft 183 kts
ASI998 — route not published on approach 2,975 ft 100 kts
ASI928 — route not published on approach 2,300 ft 100 kts
N70562 — route not published on approach 1,600 ft 53 kts
OXF8186 — route not published on approach 1,700 ft 78 kts
VWA109 — route not published on approach 1,400 ft 62 kts

Overhead and in the area

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
ASA747 Alaska Airlines route not published in the area 1,225 ft 139 kts
N91BN — route not published in the area 34,000 ft 290 kts
SKW6416 — route not published in the area 5,150 ft 237 kts
SWA4882 Southwest Airlines route not published in the area 36,000 ft 462 kts
N7196W — route not published in the area 1,500 ft 9 kts
OXF4857 — route not published in the area 1,575 ft 73 kts
N724JH — route not published in the area 2,075 ft 81 kts
N65501 — route not published in the area 2,650 ft 109 kts
49.0M
Annual passengers (reference)
3
Runways
2
Terminals
1135 ft
Field elevation

About PHX

Known as America's Friendliest Airport, it is a major hub for American Airlines and a large Southwest base. Summer temperatures above 45°C occasionally restrict aircraft takeoff performance. The free PHX Sky Train links terminals with the city's light rail.

Phoenix Sky Harbor opened in 1928 as a privately built airfield so far from the small desert town that locals joked about "The Farm." The city of Phoenix bought the airport in 1935. Wartime training brought paved runways and steady growth.

The postwar Sun Belt boom transformed it: Terminal 2 opened in 1962 with its celebrated Paul Coze mural, Terminal 3 followed in 1979. The enormous Terminal 4 opened in 1990, eventually handling the great majority of passengers as Phoenix became one of America's twenty largest metropolitan areas.

America West Airlines made Sky Harbor its home in 1983 and grew into a national carrier from this single base, surviving bankruptcy and eventually acquiring US Airways in 2005, whose name it took. The merged company's 2013 combination with American Airlines kept Phoenix as a major hub in the enlarged network.

Southwest built a huge parallel operation of its own, making Sky Harbor a rare airport where a legacy hub and a low-cost giant coexist at scale. The PHX Sky Train opened in 2013 to link terminals with light rail and parking, extended to the rental car center in 2022. Aging Terminal 2 was retired in 2020.

How PHX operates today

Sky Harbor operates three parallel east-west runways straddling a compact central terminal spine, with Terminal 4 hosting American Airlines and Southwest and Terminal 3 serving Delta, United, and most other carriers. The automated PHX Sky Train glides above the field connecting terminals, light rail, economy parking.

The rental center, famously crossing an active taxiway on a bridge. American runs a classic connecting bank structure feeding the mountain west and Mexico, while Southwest operates a rolling all-day schedule. Summer heat is the operational quirk: on extreme days, performance limits can trim payloads or ground smaller regional jets.

Top routes from PHX

DestinationMain airlinesWhy it matters
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) American Airlines A hub-to-hub artery within American's network, flown many times daily.
Denver (DEN) Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines A fiercely competitive high-frequency corridor between two western giants.
Los Angeles (LAX) American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines The short haul to Southern California is among the busiest routes in the West.
Seattle (SEA) Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines Connects the desert Southwest with the Pacific Northwest year-round.
Chicago O'Hare (ORD) American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines A key trunk route linking Phoenix to the Midwest's largest hub complex.

Facts about PHX

  • During a June 2017 heat wave, temperatures near 120 degrees Fahrenheit exceeded the certified operating limits of some regional jets, forcing dozens of cancellations.
  • The PHX Sky Train crosses an active taxiway on a bridge, with aircraft taxiing directly beneath passing trains.
  • America West Airlines grew from a Phoenix startup into the carrier that ultimately acquired US Airways and later merged with American Airlines.
  • The airport's name, Sky Harbor, dates back to its 1928 founding, decades before the city grew out to meet it.

Plane spotting at PHX

The PHX Sky Train and Terminal 4 garage roof provide elevated views across the parallel runways, and spotters also gather along Old Tower Road and the dirt lots off Air Lane under the final approaches. New to spotting? Start with our aircraft identification guide and the world's best spotting airports.

IATA / ICAO
PHX / KPHX
Location
Phoenix, United States 33.437, -112.008
Time zone
America/Phoenix
Opened
1935
Hub for
American Airlines, Southwest Airlines
Website
www.skyharbor.com

Airlines hubbed at PHX

AA · AAL American Airlines United States WN · SWA Southwest Airlines United States

Tracked flights using PHX

Selected scheduled services whose curated route starts, ends or stops at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

FlightRouteTypical aircraft
WN100 LAS → PHX Boeing 737 MAX 8Track WN100 →

Nearby and related airports

Geographically close airports and useful alternatives in United States.

LAS Harry Reid International Airport Las Vegas, United States LAX Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles, United States SLC Salt Lake City International Airport Salt Lake City, United States DEN Denver International Airport Denver, United States SFO San Francisco International Airport San Francisco, United States DFW Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Dallas - Fort Worth, United States DAL Dallas Love Field Dallas, United States IAH George Bush Intercontinental Airport Houston, United States

More airports and guides connected to PHX

Most of the tails you see here belong to American Airlines. How a field like this runs day to day is covered in how airports work. Nearby, Las Vegas (LAS) serves the same country. The codes PHX and KPHX are explained in airport codes decoded.

Data sources and review

Reviewed 2026-07-29 by Flight-Tracker.net Editorial Team

Passenger, runway, terminal and hub figures are maintained as a reviewed reference snapshot, not a live operational record. Check the airport directly before travelling.

Read our airport data sourcing and review process, or inspect the machine-readable reference dataset.

Frequently asked questions about PHX

What is the airport code for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport?

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport uses the IATA code PHX on tickets and baggage tags, and the ICAO code KPHX in flight plans and on radar. The leading “K” in KPHX is the region marker: ICAO codes are grouped geographically, which is why airports near each other usually share their first letter or two while their IATA codes look unrelated.

How many runways does PHX have?

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport operates 3 runways across 2 passenger terminals. The field sits at 1,135 ft above sea level.

How busy is PHX?

This reference profile lists roughly 49.0 million annual passengers for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. You can see aircraft observed departing, arriving and overhead on this page, taken from live ADS-B broadcasts.

Which airlines are based at PHX?

American Airlines, Southwest Airlines treat PHX as a hub or major base. Many other carriers serve the airport without basing aircraft there.

How many terminals does PHX have?

This reference lists Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with 2 passenger terminals. Check the airport or operating airline for the terminal assigned to a specific flight.

What time zone is PHX in?

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport runs on America/Phoenix, currently UTC-7. Flight trackers work in UTC internally, so the seven-day history on our flight pages is stamped UTC while the boards on this page are in PHX local time - worth remembering when the two disagree by a whole calendar day.

Can I track flights at PHX live?

Yes. The map on this page shows every aircraft broadcasting its position within about 55 km of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and there are 71 in range as this page loaded. The boards split them into departures, arrivals and traffic passing overhead, all timed in America/Phoenix.