Find free ILS approach charts for US and international airports, then check the runway, procedure, effective date and simulator navdata.
Free ILS approach charts are available from official aviation authorities: use FAA terminal procedure publications for US airports and the relevant national AIP or eAIP elsewhere. For Aviation & Real-World Flying, search by airport ICAO code, select the exact runway’s ILS plate, and verify its effective date before use.
Where are free US ILS approach charts available?
For US airports, the FAA publishes instrument approach procedures as part of its Terminal Procedures Publications. Our free FAA chart library for flight simulation provides access to approach plates and chart-cycle information without requiring a paid chart subscription.
If you already know the airport, use our airport approach-plate search and enter its ICAO identifier. The results can include ILS, RNAV and other instrument procedures alongside airport diagrams, SIDs and STARs.
Where can you find international ILS charts?
Outside the United States, look in the country’s official Aeronautical Information Publication, usually called an AIP or eAIP. Instrument plates normally appear in the aerodrome section under “Instrument Approach Chart”, “IAC” or a similar heading.
Availability varies by country. Some authorities provide unrestricted PDFs, some require free registration, and others place operational chart services behind a subscription. Search using the airport’s four-letter ICAO code rather than only its commercial IATA code.
A random chart image found through a general search is a poor substitute. It may be several cycles old, cropped so that the missed-approach instructions are absent, or uploaded after the runway or localiser frequency changed.
How do you find the correct ILS plate?
The correct chart must match the airport, runway and named procedure—not merely the destination airport.
- Confirm the ICAO airport code. Similar airport names and three-letter IATA codes are frequent sources of mistakes.
- Identify the landing runway. An airport can have several ILS-equipped runways, including parallel left, centre and right procedures.
- Match the complete procedure title. Look for titles such as “ILS RWY 27”, “ILS or LOC RWY 27”, or separate ILS X, Y and Z procedures. Those suffixes identify different procedures, not interchangeable copies of one chart.
- Open the approach plate, not the airport diagram. The plate contains the localiser frequency and identifier, inbound course, glideslope intercept information, altitude restrictions, minima and missed approach.
- Check the effective date and amendment. Replace saved PDFs when a new chart cycle or revised procedure takes effect.
If the symbols, altitude boxes or minima are unfamiliar, our instrument approach chart reading guide explains the parts needed to brief the plate.
Why does the chart disagree with the flight simulator?
A frequency or course mismatch usually means the chart, simulator navdata and airport scenery represent different dates.
- Old simulator navdata: the real procedure may have changed since the aircraft database was compiled.
- Outdated scenery: a runway can be renumbered after magnetic variation changes while older scenery keeps the previous designation.
- Wrong procedure: parallel runways and opposite-direction localisers can have similar names but different frequencies and identifiers.
- Add-on data differences: the aircraft’s navigation database, simulator radio aid and third-party airport may not all use the same cycle.
Check the chart’s localiser frequency, identifier and front course against the installed data using our ILS frequency and course cross-checking steps. Small course differences can result from rounding or magnetic-data updates; a different frequency, runway number or localiser identifier indicates a real mismatch that should be resolved.
Can free ILS charts be used for a real flight?
A free chart can be valid for real-world flying when it comes from the responsible aviation authority, is in force and is used in accordance with the applicable operational rules. A saved, mirrored or archived PDF should not be assumed suitable merely because it looks official.
Our chart resources are intended primarily for simulation and reference. For an actual flight, obtain the procedure through an authorised operational chart or briefing source and confirm its effective date, revision status and completeness before relying on it.