Reid–Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County is in the eastern part of San Jose, in Santa Clara County, California. The airport is owned by Santa Clara County and is near the Evergreen district of San Jose where aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery experimented with gliders in 1911. Reid–Hillview Airport was also the official general aviation airport for the 2015 Super Bowl in Levi's Stadium. Reid–Hillview is a general aviation airport; there is no scheduled airline service. As with most general aviation airports air charter operations are available. The airport has a control tower that operates 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time. The FAA classifies Reid–Hillview as a reliever airport for San Jose International Airport.
History
Groundbreaking for Reid–Hillview airport came in 1937. Bob and Cecil Reid built the Garden City Airport in 1935, which was quickly closed to make room for U.S. Route 101. Their second site was northwest of the Hillview golf course, hence the name. Until 1946 the single runway was unpaved. Reid–Hillview was a single runway airport until 1965, when a second runway was added. The control tower opened in October 1967. The airport was the origin for an emergency supply airlift to the Watsonville Municipal Airport following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, after mountain and coastal roads were blocked, cutting offSanta Cruz and Watsonville from relief efforts by ground. The Watsonville Airport estimates that it received 100 tons of supplies via the airlift during the week following the quake. John McAvoy and Bill Dunn of the Reid–Hillview Airport Association received the 1990 Grand Award from the Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission for organizing the airlift. In 2010 San Jose State University's Aviation program relocated to Reid–Hillview. The University operates out of the Swift Building, where it holds classes during the academic year.
Fixed-base operators (FBOs)
At Reid–Hillview, fixed-base operators compete for fuel sales, aircraft rentals and/or flight training. * *
The Santa Clara County wrote up a containing information for future plans and expansions for Reid–Hillview. Around the mid-2000s the County announced they would demo the second story of the Airport Terminal to make room for new offices for the Airport Administration. They failed to follow up on this plan and the second story has been sitting idle ever since. Included in the document, the County also planned on adding small expansions to the runway to allow turboprops and small business jets to land. Although turboprops and small business jets still land in the current runway, this minor expansion will allow a larger flow of these type of aircraft to land. On December 4, 2018 the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to not accept new FAA grant funding for the airport, which allows the county to explore alternative uses for the land. Previously accepted grants require the county to keep the airport open through 2031.
Ground transportation
is at the entrance to the airport at Cunningham Ave.
Rental cars/taxi
Enterprise car rental is available on the field next to the Airport Shoppe. Nice Air also has rental vehicles.
As of a few years ago, Reid–Hillview Airport had vending machines, a pilot's lounge and break room. Santa Clara County passed a new law stating the terminal would no longer allow unhealthy food or drinks to be sold inside. This means coffee and all the vending machines that used to be there would no longer exist in the terminal. Now, all that remains is a water drinking fountain and bathrooms. However, there is still a seating area inside the terminal.
