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Advice about Flying into SNA (Orange County, CA/John Wayne Airport)
Advice about Flying into SNA (Orange County, CA/John Wayne Airport)
I just wanted to share some very vital advice if you choose to fly into SNA, especially if you have a disability.
DON’T TAKE AN EVENING FLIGHT INTO SNA!!
For those unfamiliar with SNA, it’s an airport in Orange County, CA. It’s an alternative to LAX (Los Angeles) if you’re flying domestically or in/out of Western Canada, especially if your final destination is Disneyland.
What you may not know is…it’s not a 24/7 airport. The last flights into SNA can’t land past 11 pm. Why? Because those who live in the flightpath got the airport and FAA to not allow flights past that time due to noise (and, in my opinion, entitlement). They even got planes to land or take off in a certain way also.
Why does this matter to you? If your evening flight gets delayed and is scheduled to arrive after 11 pm, you will be diverted to LAX, over 40 miles north from there. They do make very few exceptions. How will you get back to SNA? That, I don’t know.
So, take my advice. Choose a flight that will have you arrive into SNA at an earlier time, maybe no later than 5 pm Pacific Time.
- 3 Replies
Wow! I would have never thought about something like that!
Has it ever happened to you?
My last flight (LAS-SNA on Southwest) was delayed and then canceled. Then, we got put on another flight and that got delayed and then canceled. Then, they uncanceled the original flight. SNA did give us an exemption and let us land. We arrived at 11:20 pm. By the time I got to the shuttle to go home, I was literally the last passenger to leave the entire airport.
Thanks for the heads-up. Will keep it in mind if I ever need to go there.
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