Terminal Procedures

KPAO — Palo Alto

PALO ALTO, CA · 5 FAA charts · cycle 6 Aug 2026

FAA PAOElevation 6 ft1 runwayLongest 2,441 ftToweredFuel 100LL avgas, Jet AVolume SW-2Not for navigation

KPAO airport diagram — runways, taxiways and ramp layout

KPAO airport diagram The official FAA airport diagram — runways, taxiways, ramp layout and hold-short positions. Download PDF

1 published instrument approach: 1 RNAV (GPS).

All 5 KPAO charts in one download Every approach, departure, arrival and minimums page for this airport, sorted into folders, as a single ZIP. Taken one at a time on the free tier, 5 charts is roughly 31 sec of downloading — they queue one behind another.

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Instrument approach procedures

	Chart	Amendment
	RNAV (GPS) RWY 31	2	PDF

Arrival procedures (STAR)

	Chart	Amendment
	POINT REYES THREE	—	PDF

Takeoff and alternate minimums

	Chart	Amendment
	TAKEOFF MINIMUMS	—	PDF
	ALTERNATE MINIMUMS	—	PDF

Minimums pages cover a whole volume, so the same document is shared by every airport in it.

KPAO airport information

Control tower: Yes
Attendance: All all 0600-2000
ARTCC: Oakland Center
Flight service: Oakland
NOTAM facility: PAO (NOTAM-D available)
Magnetic variation: 15E
Beacon: White-green (lighted land airport), sunset to sunrise
Wind indicator: Lighted
Segmented circle: Yes
Fuel: 100LL avgas, Jet A
Airframe service: Major
Powerplant service: Major
Bottled oxygen: Low
Parking: Tie-downs
Customs: Landing rights airport
Activated: April 1940
Airport area: 102 acres
Ownership: Publicly owned
Sectional: San Francisco
Last FAA inspection: 2025-01-14

From the FAA NASR 28-day subscription, cycle 6 Aug 2026.

KPAO radio frequencies

Service	Frequency	Call sign
CTAF	118.6
UNICOM	122.95
Ground	125.0	Palo Alto
ATIS	135.275	Palo Alto
Approach	121.3133.95134.5	Palo Alto

Civil VHF frequencies from the FAA NASR 28-day subscription. Discrete sector and military frequencies are not listed.

Runways

Runway layout at KPAO, drawn to scale from FAA published runway-end coordinates and true alignments. Runways served by an ILS are highlighted.

Runway	Length	Width	Surface	Lighting
13/31	2,441 ft	70 ft	Asphalt Good	Medium intensity
13 142°T	PAPI (2-box) 4°
31 322°T	PAPI (2-box) 4° · right-hand circuit

Runway and approach-aid data from the FAA NASR 28-day subscription.

Where KPAO is

Latitude, longitude37.4611210, -122.1150470

Elevation6 ft

Paste the coordinates into a simulator’s world map to drop straight onto the field.

FAA remarks for KPAO

+100 FT TRANSMISSION TWRS E OF ARPT.
ARPT LGTS OPERATE CONTINUOUSLY WHEN ATCT CLSD.
RY 13 +8 FT DIKE 300 FT FROM RY END, OBSTN LGTD.
RY 31 +5 FT DIKE 230 FT FROM RY END, OBSTN LGTD.
BIRDS ON AND INVOF AP.
TPA 1000 FT W & 800 FT E.
NOISE SENSITIVE AREA SE THRU NW OF ARPT. RCMD ACFT LDG AT PALO ALTO ARPT FLY AT OR ABOVE 1500 FT UNTIL XNG THE BAYSHORE FREEWAY, AND RCMD ACFT DEP RWY 31 TURN 10 DEG RIGHT AFTER TKOF TIL RCHG DUMBARTON AUTO BRIDGE.
BE ALERT FOR PEDESTRAINS XNG A DIKE ROAD 8 FT HIGH AND 300 FT FROM RWY 13 END.
CONS PEDESTRIAN/VEHICLE ACT ON ACFT TAXI LANES NOT DESIGNATED AS TWY MOV AREAS.
ARPT SCTY PRODS IN EFCT.
ON APCH TO RWY 31 BE ALERT TO POSS STG UPDRAFT FM WIND TUNNEL LCTD ON W SIDE OF MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD.
ARPT RSTRD BY ARPT OPR TO ACFT WITH MAX CERTD WT OF 12500 LBS OR LESS.
FOR CD WHEN ATCT IS CLSD CTC NORCAL APCH AT 916-361-3748.

Published verbatim from the FAA NASR subscription. Abbreviations are the FAA's own.

One approach for one runway end

A single RNAV (GPS) approach serves just one end of Palo Alto’s sole 2,441 ft runway. Instrument coverage is therefore directional, with no published approach to the reciprocal end in this cycle. The runway length also places a clear constraint on which aircraft can use the field within their required take-off and landing distances.

Local chart context

San Carlos has similarly thin procedure coverage, while Moffett Federal Airfield and Hayward Executive have broader chart sets. San Jose and San Francisco are covered much more extensively still. The San Francisco Sectional and Terminal Area Chart complement Palo Alto’s limited instrument set with VFR coverage at wider-area and terminal-area scales.

Airports near KPAO

ID	Airport	City	Distance	Charts
KNUQ	Moffett Federal Airfield	MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA	4 nm SE	16
KSQL	San Carlos	SAN CARLOS, CA	7 nm NW	6
KSJC	Norman Y Mineta San Jose Intl	SAN JOSE, CA	11 nm SE	33
KHWD	Hayward Exec	HAYWARD, CA	12 nm N	11
KSFO	San Francisco Intl	SAN FRANCISCO, CA	16 nm NW	52
KRHV	Reid-Hillview Of Santa Clara County	SAN JOSE, CA	16 nm SE	10
KOAK	Oakland San Francisco Bay	OAKLAND, CA	16 nm N	46
KHAF	Half Moon Bay	HALF MOON BAY, CA	19 nm W	4

VFR charts covering KPAO

San FranciscoSectional Chart San FranciscoTerminal Area Chart

Common questions about KPAO

What charts are available for KPAO?

5 current FAA charts for Palo Alto, including 1 instrument approach, 1 arrival procedure, 1 airport diagram. All are free to download as PDFs from this page, from the 6 August 2026 cycle.

What are the radio frequencies for KPAO?

Ground 125.0; ATIS 135.275; CTAF 118.6; UNICOM 122.95. Full civil VHF list, with sector notes, is in the frequencies table on this page — from the FAA NASR subscription.

How long is the runway at KPAO?

Palo Alto has 1 runway. The longest is 13/31 at 2,441 ft by 70 ft, asphalt. Full runway dimensions, lighting and approach aids are listed on this page.

Does KPAO have an ILS approach?

No ILS is published. In total KPAO has 1 published instrument approach, of which 1 are RNAV (GPS).

Where can I download the KPAO airport diagram?

The official FAA airport diagram for Palo Alto is free to download at the top of this page. It shows runways, taxiways, ramp layout and hold-short positions, and is reissued every 28 days.

Which runway do instrument approaches serve at KPAO?

Every published approach serves one runway end. There is no instrument procedure to the reciprocal direction, so an arrival in instrument conditions commits to that single approach direction regardless of the wind.

Is KPAO a towered airport?

Yes. Palo Alto has an operating control tower, within Oakland Center's airspace. Tower, ground and clearance frequencies are listed on this page.

Are these KPAO charts current?

They are from the FAA cycle effective 6 August 2026, which is superseded on 3 September 2026. We publish each new cycle on its effective date. They are for flight simulation and reference only — not for real-world navigation.

Wider chart sets

This airport5 chartsEvery KPAO plate, one ZIP

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Reviewed by Ian Stephens · Editor-in-ChiefChart sourcing and page templates reviewed for accuracy. The charts themselves are unmodified FAA publications.

Not for navigation. For flight simulation and reference use only. Procedures are superseded on a 28-day cycle — obtain current official charts from the FAA for real-world flight.

FAA public-domain products, mirrored unmodified. Fly Away Simulation is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FAA. Chart licensing and terms.