Santa Monica Municipal
SMO · KSMO · Santa Monica, California · Los Angeles County · map
Santa Monica Municipal is a public-use airport owned by the City of Santa Monica, 3 miles east of Santa Monica, California, 170 feet above sea level. It has 2 runways; the longest, 03/21, is 3,500 feet of asphalt. It has a control tower and fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A, UL94 unleaded avgas).
Weather right now KSMO · observed 12:51 pm PDT (19:51 UTC), 5 minutes ago
VFR good flying weather
- Wind from the southwest (230°) at 8 knots
- Visibility 10 miles or more
- Temperature 90°F (32°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter 29.85 inHg
The forecast issued Tue 10:20 am PDT (17:20 UTC), good until Wed 11:00 am PDT (18:00 UTC)
- From Tue 11:00 am PDT (18:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
- From Tue 2:00 pm PDT (21:00 UTC): wind from the west-southwest at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
- From Tue 8:00 pm PDT (03:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
- From Wed 6:00 am PDT (13:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility 6 miles, mist, a few clouds at 500 feet VFR
- From Wed 10:00 am PDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR
The codes as issued (METAR and TAF)
METAR KSMO 061951Z 23008KT 10SM CLR 32/13 A2985 RMK AO2 SLP103 T03220128
TAF KSMO 061720Z 0618/0718 VRB03KT P6SM SKC FM062100 24008KT P6SM SKC FM070300 VRB03KT P6SM SKC FM071300 VRB03KT 6SM BR FEW005 FM071700 21005KT P6SM SKC
From the National Weather Service's aviation weather service, refreshed every few minutes; times are local to the airport with UTC in brackets. For a flight, get your briefing from Flight Service or an approved provider.
The airport
- Codes
- FAA SMO · ICAO KSMO
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- City of Santa Monica
- Elevation
- 170 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- A control tower · 7:00 am to 9:00 pm
- Attended
- around the clock
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A, UL94 unleaded avgas
- Repairs
- airframe: major repairs; engine: major repairs
- Parking
- tiedown
- Notes
- landing fee
- On the chart
- Los Angeles sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 12E
- In the FAA's files since
- April 1940
Runways 2
Drawn to scale from the FAA's runway positions, north up. Not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/21 | 3,500 × 150 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
| H1 | 40 × 40 ft | Asphalt, good | Perimeter lights |
- Runway 03: PAPI, four lights on the left, right-hand traffic pattern
- Runway 21: PAPI, four lights on the left
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · Tower | 120.1 | Santa Monica |
| UNICOM | 122.95 | |
| ATIS (recorded airport information) | 119.15 | Santa Monica |
| Ground | 121.9 | Santa Monica |
| Approach 101-245 smo | 124.3 | Santa Monica |
| Approach 069-100 lax | 124.9 | Santa Monica |
| Approach · Departure procedure (CTRUS) · Departure 246-341 lax; Runway 21 | 125.2 | Santa Monica |
| Approach · Boget and star · Departure procedure (CHOII) 342-068 smo; Runway 3 | 135.05 | Santa Monica |
| Kimmo and star · Wayve and star | 119.85 | Santa Monica |
| Thrne and star | 126.7 | Santa Monica |
| Zuuma and star | 128.5 | Santa Monica |
| Bonjo and star | 128.75 | Santa Monica |
| Fernando and star | 134.2 | Santa Monica |
Automated weather (ASOS), by phone 310-309-5134.
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.
Aircraft registered in Santa Monica from the FAA register
111 aircraft are registered to owners in Santa Monica, California: 72 piston singles, 12 business jets, 6 piston twins, 5 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, never named. All aircraft registered in California.
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 52 since 1982, 14 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file
- When the control tower closed activate runway end identifier lights runway 21; medium-intensity runway lights runway 03/21 - the common traffic frequency.
- Pattern altitude: 1200' above ground level SINGLE-ENG; 1700' above ground level TWIN-ENG.
- 100LL full service only.
- UL94 available at SELF-SERVE island.
- Helicopter flight training open prohibited; helicopter operations approach airport bdry at midfield at or above 900 feet above sea level.
- Intersection departures and frmn landings/departures prohibited.
- Runway 03/21 departure end approx 1000 feet from residential homes. Extended high power settings on RUN-UP or departure negatively impact the community.
- No touch-and-go, stop/go, or low approach permitted on Saturday, Sunday, holidays; weekdays SS-0700.
- VFR departures runway 21 turn left 10 degreess over smo VOR then turn right 225 degreess
- If departure north, no right turns bfr rchg shoreline. Runway 03 departure no turns prior to 405 freeway located 1 MI east.
- Eng maintenance RUN-UP: jets and turboprops north side, WI 300 feet east of taxiway A4. Piston sngls and twins on south side, WI 300 feet east of taxiway B4. 9:00 am to 5:00 pm only.
- Noise lmts all aircraft: pure jet and stage II (with/without hushkits) prohibited. Maximum noise limit 95.0 dba sngl event noise exposure level (senel) rcrdd 2200 feet extdd centerline.
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 5, 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.