The SFO Museum announced on May 8 that a new exhibition, “Destination: San Francisco,” will open at the Aviation Museum and Library in the International Terminal of San Francisco International Airport. The exhibition, which runs from May 9, 2026 to January 10, 2027, explores how San Francisco and the Bay Area have been promoted as travel destinations over more than eighty-five years.
The exhibition is significant because it highlights the role of airlines in shaping public perceptions of San Francisco as a tourist destination. Developed with local historian John King and the San Francisco History Center at the Public Library, it presents images, objects, and ephemera reflecting this history. Photographic commissions by Scott Chernis and Craig Buchanan for the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau are also featured.
“Destination: San Francisco” is located pre-security in the Aviation Museum and Library area. There is no charge to view this exhibition. According to the official website, SFO Museum features an Aviation Museum and Library with long-term displays including airline travel posters.
Established in 1980 by the San Francisco Airport Commission, SFO Museum operates more than twenty-five sites throughout airport terminals—including fourteen galleries—and maintains a permanent collection of over 160,000 objects related to commercial aviation history. The museum has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1999; it remains unique as an accredited museum within an airport setting. According to its official website, SFO Museum seeks to delight, engage and inspire a global audience by collecting, preserving and sharing aviation history through various programs while promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in its exhibitions.
SFO Museum offers exhibitions on topics such as aviation history alongside family-oriented activities for travelers within airport terminals, according to its official website. The institution acknowledges its location on ancestral Ramaytush Ohlone land. According to its official website, SFO Museum operates primarily at San Francisco International Airport focusing on cultural enrichment through education about aviation.
