John Wayne Airport (IATA: SNA, ICAO: KSNA, FAA LID: SNA) is an airport in an unincorporated area in Orange County, California, with its mailing address in Santa Ana, hence the International Air Transport Association (IATA) airport code. The main entrance to the airport is off of Mac Arthur Blvd in Irvine, the city that surrounds the southern and eastern part of the airport. Newport Beach is to the west of the airport and Costa Mesa and Santa Ana are to the north of the airport. Originally named Orange County Airport, the county Board of Supervisors renamed it in 1979 to honor the actor John Wayne, who resided in nearby Newport Beach and died that year. It also became the first airport to be named after an entertainer.[3]

The main runway, at 5,701 feet (1,738 m), is one of the shortest of any major airport in the United States, resulting in most passenger aircraft operating from the airport to be no larger than the Boeing 757. However, some larger cargo aircraft, such as the FedEx A310/300, fly from SNA. Some gates are built to handle planes up to the size of a Boeing 767, which can operate with payload/fuel load restrictions. No widebody passenger aircraft are currently in scheduled service at the airport.

John Wayne Airport is the sole commercial airport within Orange County. General aviation operations outnumber commercial operations and several facilities at the airport serve the general aviation and corporate aviation community. The other general aviation airport within the county is Fullerton Municipal Airport. Other commercial airports within close proximity are Long Beach Airport, followed by Los Angeles International Airport and LA/Ontario International Airport. In 2008, John Wayne Airport was the second busiest airport in the area (by passenger count) with almost 9 million total passengers. *1
 

The Orange County Sheriff's Department, and Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) services, provided by the Orange County Fire Authority, and acts as primary point of contact to the Transportation Security Administration.

*1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia