San Carlos Airport
SQL · KSQL · San Carlos, California · San Mateo County · map
San Carlos Airport is a public-use airport owned by San Mateo County, 2 miles northeast of San Carlos, California, 6 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 12/30, is 2,621 feet of asphalt. It has a control tower, fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A, Jet A with additive, UL94 unleaded avgas) and about 260 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The receiver network heard 66 different aircraft arrive or depart here in the last seven days. The FAA counts about 91,746 takeoffs and landings a year. About 2,505 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for San Carlos Airport?
Its FAA code is SQL, and its ICAO code is KSQL.
Where is San Carlos Airport?
It is 2 miles northeast of San Carlos, California, 6 feet above sea level.
How long is the runway at San Carlos Airport?
Its one runway, 12/30, is 2,621 feet long, asphalt.
Does San Carlos Airport have a control tower?
Yes, it has a control tower.
What fuel can you buy at San Carlos Airport?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A, Jet A with additive, UL94 unleaded avgas.
Where can you fly nonstop from San Carlos Airport?
Airline flights go to 2 airports, the busiest of them Santa Barbara Municipal, Jack Northrop Fld/Hawthorne Municipal. Every route
Are there flight schools at San Carlos Airport?
19 flight schools, flying clubs or college flight programmes are based within about 15 miles of it, including Pelican Flight Training LLC and San Carlos Flight Center INC. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to San Carlos Airport?
9 pilot examiners and 24 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 San Carlos 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 SQL · ICAO KSQL
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- San Mateo County
- Elevation
- 6 feet above sea level
- Pattern altitude
- 800 feet above the airport
- Control tower
- A control tower · 7:00 am to 9:00 pm
- Attended
- every day, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A, Jet A with additive, UL94 unleaded avgas; the services card below
- On the chart
- San Francisco sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 15E
- In the FAA's files since
- July 1952
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/30 | 2,621 × 75 ft | Asphalt, fair | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 12: VASI, two boxes on the left, pole 18 ft high 565 ft from the end
- Runway 30: VASI, two boxes on the left, right-hand traffic pattern
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · Tower | 119.0 | San Carlos |
| UNICOM | 122.95 | |
| ATIS (recorded airport information) | 125.9 | San Carlos |
| Ground | 118.025 | San Carlos |
| Approach | 133.95 | San Carlos |
| Approach (secondary) · Departure | 135.65 | San Carlos |
Automated weather (AWOS-3P), by phone 650-593-0613.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A, Jet A with additive, UL94 unleaded avgas
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: minor repairs
- Parking
- tie-downs
- Oxygen
- bulk oxygen (low-pressure)
- Also here
- charter flights, flight instruction, aircraft rental, aircraft sales
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Palo Alto Airport (7 nm southeast), San Francisco International (9 nm northwest), Hayward Executive (11 nm northeast).
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
- When the control tower closed; activate medium-intensity runway lights runway 12/30 and runway end identifier lights runway 12/30 - 119.0
- Applies to BOTH-FIXED wing and helicopter.
- Dir of pub works - tory a. Newman
- 7' lighted dike 100' east of centerline at threshold, extending to 60' east of centerline at end of primary surface.
- Helicopter right traffic runway 12/LEFT traffic runway 30.
- FIXED-WING right traffic runway 30/LEFT traffic runway 12.
- Unusable beyond 8 degrees left of centerline.
- Levee
- No tgl or stop and go landings when the control tower closed.
- Calm wind runway 12.
- Migratory bird act on and in the vicinity of of airport.
- 100 feet steel transmission towers and powerlines located 750 feet west and parallel to runway 12/30.
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 3 departures from SQL in those twelve months, carrying 9 passengers in 24 seats (38% filled), to 2 destinations on 2 airlines.
| Where to | Flights | Passengers | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Carlos → Santa Barbara Municipal SQL–SBA | 2 | 5 | Scott Aviation, LLC ... |
| San Carlos → Jack Northrop Fld/Hawthorne Municipal SQL–HHR | 1 | 4 | ADVANCED AIR, LLC |
All 2 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 | 238 |
| multi-engine | 14 |
| jets | 2 |
| helicopters | 6 |
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 91,746, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| airline | 12 |
| air taxi and commuter | 5,422 |
| general aviation, travelling | 33,075 |
| general aviation, local | 53,204 |
| military | 33 |
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 San Carlos from the FAA register
44 aircraft are registered to owners in San Carlos, California: 40 piston singles, 2 gliders, 2 business jets. 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
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles (12 nearest of 19, all in California):
- Pelican Flight Training LLC 3 aircraft · San Carlos
- San Carlos Flight Center INC 2 aircraft · San Carlos San Carlos Flight Center is a flight school and flying club based at San Carlos Airport in California.
- United Flying Club INC 2 aircraft · Belmont, 2 miles away United Flying Club is a nonprofit mutual benefit cooperative flying club established in 1947 and based at San Carlos Airport near San Francisco.
- Sky Slingers Flying Club - Spc INC 1 aircraft · Redwood City, 2 miles away
- Mh Aviation LLC 7 aircraft · Foster City, 4 miles away MH Aviation is a flight school and FAA Part 145 repair station at Fox Field (KWJF) in Lancaster, California.
- Hydro Flyers LLC 2 aircraft · Woodside, 6 miles away
- Sri Flying Club INC 1 aircraft · Menlo Park, 6 miles away
- West Valley Flying Club 6 aircraft · Palo Alto, 8 miles away 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, 8 miles away 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, 8 miles away Fly America is a flight school located at DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport in DeKalb, Illinois.
- Sundance Flying Club INC 2 aircraft · Palo Alto, 8 miles away
- San Mateo Flying Club INC 1 aircraft · Palo Alto, 8 miles away United Flying Club is a nonprofit mutual benefit cooperative flying club established in 1947 and based at San Carlos Airport near San Francisco.
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
9 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 9 for private pilot, 7 for commercial and instrument, 3 for flight instructor, 3 for sport pilot; 8 for airplanes, 3 for multi-engine airplanes, 1 for seaplanes, 1 for helicopters. Also nearby: 1 sport aviation examiner, 24 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 · San Carlos, 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 - SQL · San Carlos, 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 (3 nm) · (650) 430-2730 · [email protected]
- Evan Paraskevopoulos private pilot, commercial pilot, instructor renewals, ground instructor; helicopters · Hayward, CA (11 nm) · (408) 887-0903 · [email protected]
- Terence Wilson private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instructor renewals; airplanes · Sundance Air Services · Alameda, CA (14 nm) · (925) 223-7145 · [email protected]
- Clayton Miles Conrad private pilot, commercial and instrument, sport pilot, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · San Jose, CA (23 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 (23 nm) · (916) 399-3669 · [email protected]
- Mark Pollard private pilot; airplanes · Walnut Creek, CA (26 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 · 54 since 1982, 2 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 San Carlos 44 aircraft · 40 piston singles, 2 gliders, 2 business jets
- Pelican Flight Training LLC 3 aircraft in town
- San Carlos Flight Center INC 2 aircraft in town
- 83L Ventures LLC 2 aircraft in town
- Pelican Flight Training LLC 3 aircraft · flight school
- San Carlos Flight Center INC 2 aircraft · flight school
- United Flying Club INC 2 aircraft · flying club
- Santa Barbara Municipal (SBA) 2 flights in twelve months · Scott Aviation, LLC d/b/a Silver Air
- Jack Northrop Fld/Hawthorne Municipal (HHR) 1 flights in twelve months · ADVANCED AIR, LLC
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 54 since 1982 · 2 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 27,658 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/SQL.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 27, 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.