Palo Alto Airport
PAO · KPAO · Palo Alto, California · Santa Clara County · map
Palo Alto Airport is a public-use airport owned by the City of Palo Alto in Palo Alto, California, 7 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 13/31, is 2,441 feet of asphalt. It has a control tower, fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 331 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The receiver network heard 51 different aircraft arrive or depart here in the last seven days. The FAA counts about 149,762 takeoffs and landings a year. About 50 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Palo Alto Airport?
Its FAA code is PAO, and its ICAO code is KPAO.
Where is Palo Alto Airport?
It is in Palo Alto, California, 7 feet above sea level.
How long is the runway at Palo Alto Airport?
Its one runway, 13/31, is 2,441 feet long, asphalt.
Does Palo Alto Airport have a control tower?
Yes, it has a control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Palo Alto Airport?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A.
Where can you fly nonstop from Palo Alto Airport?
Airline flights go to 1 airport, the busiest of them Hollywood Burbank. Every route
Are there flight schools at Palo Alto Airport?
20 flight schools, flying clubs or college flight programmes are based within about 15 miles of it, including West Valley Flying Club and Advantage Aviation INC. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Palo Alto Airport?
10 pilot examiners and 23 aviation medical examiners work within 50 nautical miles. See them by name
Weather and planning now, the forecast, warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions
Fetching the weather now, the forecast, the warnings in force, pilot reports and the winds aloft for Palo Alto Airport…
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
The airport facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA PAO · ICAO KPAO
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- City of Palo Alto
- Elevation
- 7 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- A control tower · 7:00 am to 9:00 pm
- Attended
- every day, 6:00 am to 8:00 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A; the services card below
- On the chart
- San Francisco sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 15E
- In the FAA's files since
- April 1940
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/31 | 2,441 × 70 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 13: PAPI, two lights on the left, berm 8 ft high 300 ft from the end
- Runway 31: PAPI, two lights on the left, right-hand traffic pattern, berm 5 ft high 230 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · Tower | 118.6 | Palo Alto |
| UNICOM | 122.95 | |
| ATIS (recorded airport information) | 135.275 | Palo Alto |
| Ground | 125.0 | Palo Alto |
| Approach · Departure | 121.3 | Palo Alto |
| Approach (secondary) | 133.95 | Palo Alto |
| Approach (secondary) | 134.5 | Palo Alto |
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- tie-downs
- Oxygen
- bottled oxygen (low-pressure)
- Also here
- air ambulance, avionics, charter flights, gliders, flight instruction, aircraft rental, aircraft sales
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: San Carlos Airport (7 nm northwest), Mineta San Jose International (11 nm southeast), Hayward Executive (12 nm north).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in California · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- +100 feet transmission towers east of airport.
- Airport lights operate continuously when the control tower closed.
- SELF-FUELING availble 24/7.
- Runway 13 +8 feet dike 300 feet from runway end, obstruction lighted.
- Runway 31 +5 feet dike 230 feet from runway end, obstruction lighted.
- Birds on and in the vicinity of AP.
- Pattern altitude 1000 feet west and 800 feet east.
- Noise sensitive area southeast through northwest of airport. Recommended aircraft landing at Palo Alto airport fly at or above 1500 feet until xng the bayshore freeway, and recommended aircraft departure runway 31 turn 10 degrees right after takeoff until rchg dumbarton auto bridge.
- Be alert for pedestrains xng a dike road 8 feet high and 300 feet from runway 13 end.
- Cons pedestrian/vehicle act on aircraft taxi lanes not designated as taxiway mov areas.
- Airport scty prods in effect.
- On approach to runway 31 be alert to poss stg updraft from wind tunnel located on west side of moffett federal airfield.
Flights and activity in the air now, the airlines, based aircraft, takeoffs and landings
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
- Looking…
Arrivals and departures, last hour
- Looking…
From the volunteer receiver network, a few minutes behind at most; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out; no person is named. Open the live map here.
Scheduled and charter flights from here the DOT's airline reports · August 2025 to July 2026
Airlines reported 1 departures from PAO in those twelve months, carrying 1 passengers in 8 seats (12% filled), to 1 destination on 1 airline.
| Where to | Flights | Passengers | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto → Hollywood Burbank PAO–BUR | 1 | 1 | Scott Aviation, LLC ... |
All 1 destinations, the airlines and the aircraft, month by month
From the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' T-100 table: every segment an airline reported flying, three months in arrears. Private, business and training flights are not in it; the live picture is in the activity card.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 311 |
| multi-engine | 18 |
| helicopters | 1 |
| other | 1 |
The FAA's count is the general-aviation aircraft kept on the field (singles, twins, business jets, helicopters) from its Terminal Area Forecast, the latest year with an actual count; airline fleets are never counted as based anywhere, so a big airline airport shows a small number. The aircraft heard arriving or departing are the site's own record from the volunteer receiver network, airliners included; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out. The register section below shows how many aircraft are registered to owners in town, a different measure again.
Takeoffs and landings a year about 149,762, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| airline | 6 |
| air taxi and commuter | 716 |
| general aviation, travelling | 56,341 |
| general aviation, local | 92,673 |
| military | 26 |
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates. How this compares nationally: Airports by the numbers.
Who flies and works here aircraft registered in town, the companies, the examiners nearby
Aircraft registered in Palo Alto from the FAA register
185 aircraft are registered to owners in Palo Alto, California: 82 piston singles, 66 electric and sustainable aircraft, 13 business jets, 11 turboprops, 5 gliders. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Companies and organisations in town with two or more aircraft:
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in California.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Fuel and service companies in Palo Alto, by their names on the register (a start, not a directory):
- Victor Aviation Service INC Victor Aviation Service is an FAA-certified repair station specializing in overhaul, exchange, and repair of Lycoming and Continental aircraft engines.
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles (12 nearest of 20, all in California):
- West Valley Flying Club 6 aircraft · Palo Alto West Valley Flying Club is a not-for-profit flying club operating at Palo Alto (KPAO) and San Carlos (KSQL) airports in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1972.
- Advantage Aviation INC 5 aircraft · Palo Alto Advantage Aviation is a flying club based in Palo Alto, California that offers flight training from private pilot through commercial and multi-engine ratings, discovery flights, aircraft rental, and maintenance services.
- Fly America INC 5 aircraft · Palo Alto Fly America is a flight school located at DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport in DeKalb, Illinois.
- Sundance Flying Club INC 2 aircraft · Palo Alto
- San Mateo Flying Club INC 1 aircraft · Palo Alto United Flying Club is a nonprofit mutual benefit cooperative flying club established in 1947 and based at San Carlos Airport near San Francisco.
- Sri Flying Club INC 1 aircraft · Menlo Park, 2 miles away
- Charlie Alpha Flying Club 1 aircraft · Sunnyvale, 7 miles away
- Sky Slingers Flying Club - Spc INC 1 aircraft · Redwood City, 7 miles away
- Pelican Flight Training LLC 3 aircraft · San Carlos, 8 miles away
- Hydro Flyers LLC 2 aircraft · Woodside, 8 miles away
- San Carlos Flight Center INC 2 aircraft · San Carlos, 8 miles away San Carlos Flight Center is a flight school and flying club based at San Carlos Airport in California.
- Feet Wet Flying Club 1 aircraft · Portola Valley, 9 miles away
Repair stations in Palo Alto:
Companies in the same town as this airport, and schools within about 15 miles of it (each placed at the main public airport of its town, or at the town's centre); not every one of them works from this field. All operators · all repair stations · all flight schools · all FBOs.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
10 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 10 for private pilot, 8 for commercial and instrument, 3 for flight instructor, 3 for sport pilot; 9 for airplanes, 3 for multi-engine airplanes, 1 for seaplanes, 1 for helicopters. Also nearby: 1 sport aviation examiner, 23 aviation medical examiners, 4 mechanic examiners, 2 airworthiness representatives (maintenance), 1 airworthiness representative (manufacturing), 2 engineering representatives, 1 aircraft dispatcher examiner, 2 administrative pilot examiners.
- James Courtney Higgins private pilot, commercial and instrument, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes · Palo Alto, CA (0 nm) · (530) 307-9776 · [email protected]
- R Rohlfing private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · West Valley Flying Club - PAO · Palo Alto, CA (0 nm) · (408) 234-8423 · [email protected]
- Michael Healey private pilot, commercial and instrument, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, seaplanes · WP 27 Oakland FSDO · Foster City, CA (9 nm) · (650) 430-2730 · [email protected]
- Evan Paraskevopoulos private pilot, commercial pilot, instructor renewals, ground instructor; helicopters · Hayward, CA (12 nm) · (408) 887-0903 · [email protected]
- Clayton Miles Conrad private pilot, commercial and instrument, sport pilot, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · San Jose, CA (16 nm) · (140) 866-6696 · [email protected]
- Jennifer Rayne Watson private pilot, commercial and instrument, sport pilot, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · AeroDynamic Aviation · San Jose, CA (16 nm) · (916) 399-3669 · [email protected]
- Terence Wilson private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instructor renewals; airplanes · Sundance Air Services · Alameda, CA (18 nm) · (925) 223-7145 · [email protected]
- Mark Pollard private pilot; airplanes · Walnut Creek, CA (28 nm) · (925) 595-1980 · [email protected]
All 46 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- SAE: Sport Aviation Examiner: gives the tests for sport pilot certificates and light-sport aircraft.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DME: Designated Mechanic Examiner: tests candidates for the mechanic certificate (airframe and powerplant).
- DAR-T: Designated Airworthiness Representative, maintenance: issues airworthiness certificates and approvals for aircraft in service.
- DAR-F: Designated Airworthiness Representative, manufacturing: issues airworthiness certificates for newly built aircraft and parts.
- DER-T: Designated Engineering Representative: approves engineering data for repairs and alterations on the FAA's behalf.
- DADE: Designated Aircraft Dispatcher Examiner: tests candidates for the dispatcher certificate.
- Admin-PE: Administrative Pilot Examiner: handles certificate paperwork rather than flight tests.
Designees are listed with the name and contact details the FAA publishes for them on its designee locator (read October 10, 2026): the FAA lists them so that pilots, mechanics and companies can find them. Private individuals are not named, the site's policy at this time. A designee who would rather not appear here can ask us through the contact address on the About page. Each designee is placed at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists (or the nearest one to its zip code), so "nearby" means the town, not an exact address. All examiners by state.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 70 since 1982, 5 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Palo Alto 185 aircraft · 82 piston singles, 66 electric and sustainable aircraft, 13 business jets
- Always Blue Skies INC 29 aircraft in town
- Kitty Hawk CORP 22 aircraft in town
- Kittyhawk CORP 14 aircraft in town
- West Valley Flying Club 6 aircraft in town
- Victor Aviation Service INC 2 aircraft · FBO or fuel seller
- West Valley Flying Club 6 aircraft · flying club
- Advantage Aviation INC 5 aircraft · flying club
- Fly America INC 5 aircraft · flight school
- Rossi Aircraft INC · repair station
- Victor Aviation Services, INC · repair station
- West Valley Aircraft Services INC · repair station
- Hollywood Burbank (BUR) 1 flights in twelve months · Scott Aviation, LLC d/b/a Silver Air
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 70 since 1982 · 5 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,069 since 1982 · 1,087 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in California 244 landing places
- California 27,642 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/PAO.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 1, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 26, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.