Welcome to the San Francisco International Airport SOP.
This manual provides guidelines for the control of air traffic at the San Francisco International Airport. All air traffic personnel are required to be familiar with its contents. These procedures supplement the Air Traffic Control Handbook, Order 7110.65. If you encounter a situation not covered in this manual, utilize your best judgment and bring the situation to the attention of the ARTCC Chief.
- ICAO: KSFO
- Airspace: Class B
- TRACON: Northern California TRACON
- Field Elevation: 13 ft
The following links provide information relating to the San Francisco International Airport. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Airport Diagram, SIDs, STARs, IAPs
- Information from the Airport/Facility Directory
- Sectional- and Terminal Aerodrome Charts, Low- and High Altitude Enroute IFR charts
- Routing of aircraft as can be derived from real world flights
Links:
Control positions
| Position | Frequency | FRA |
|---|---|---|
| KSFO_DEL | 118.200 MHz |  |
¶ IFR departures
Aircraft departing San Francisco International Airport IFR shall be assigned a SID and, if applicable, a transition. The initial altitude for all IFR departures shall be 5 000 ft.
| SID | Transition | Aircraft type | Departure runways |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIITY# RNAV | DEDHD, GRTFL, MOGEE, ORRCA, SYRAH, TIPRE | All | 10L/R, 19L/R |
| GAPP# | radar vectors | All | All |
| GNNRR# RNAV | ALCOA, AMAKR, BEBOP, CINNY | All | 28L/R |
| MOLEN# | ENI | All | 10L/R, 19L/R, 28L/R |
| NIITE# RNAV | DEDHD, GOBBS, GRTFL, MOGEE, ORRCA, SYRAH, TIPRE | All | 1L/R, 28L/R |
| SAHEY# RNAV | KAYEX, KTINA, NTELL, SUSEY | All | 10L/R, 19L/R |
| SFO# | radar vectors | All | 1L/R, 28L/R |
| SEGUL# RNAV | YYUNG | All | 1L/R, 28L/R |
| SNTNA# RNAV | DEDHD, GRTFL, MOGEE, ORRCA, SYRAH, TIPRE | All | 1L/R |
| SSTIK# RNAV | KAYEX, KTINA, NTELL, SUSEY, YYUNG | All | 1L/R |
| TRUKN# RNAV | DEDHD, GRTFL, MOGEE, ORRCA, SYRAH, TIPRE | All | 1L/R, 28L/R |
| WESLA# RNAV | KAYEX, KTINA, NTELL, SUSEY, YYUNG | All | 28L/R |
¶ VFR departures
A clearance to depart the San Francisco International Airport VFR in accordance with FAA Order 7110.65 7-9-2 shall be issued. Apply an altitude restriction of 2000ft until further advised. Further restrictions can be imposed as necessary. VFR departures shall be assigned a squawk code.
¶ VFR traffic pattern
A clearance to enter San Francisco class B airspace in accordance with FAA Order 7110.65 7-9-2 shall be issued. Apply an altitude restriction of 1000ft to piston powered aircraft and 1500ft to turboprop and turbojet powered aircraft. Aircraft operating in the VFR traffic pattern shall be assigned a squawk code.
¶ Special VFR
Special VFR is not permitted at the San Francisco International Airport at any time.
Control positions
| Position | Frequency | FRA |
|---|---|---|
| KSFO_GND | 121.800 MHz | |
¶ Airport Diagram
¶ Jurisdiction
San Francisco Ground is responsible for traffic movement on all taxiways west of runway 1L / 19R, with the exception of the taxiways between runways 28L / 10R and 28R / 10L, not including taxiway Z.
¶ Taxiway usage
Taxiway A shall be used for traffic outbound from the Terminals to the departure runways.
Taxiway B shall be used for traffic inbound to the Terminals from the arrival runways.
¶ Preferred taxi routes
From the Terminals
| Departure runway | Taxi route |
|---|---|
| 1L | A, M |
| 1R | A, A1 |
| 28L | A, F |
| 10R | A, B1, Z |
From Cargo
| Departure runway | Taxi route |
|---|---|
| 28R | Z, U, C |
| 10L | Z, U, C3 |
From Signature / General Aviation
| Departure runway | Taxi route |
|---|---|
| 28R | C |
| 10L | C |
Any time runway 28R is used for departures, corporate and general aviation aircraft may depart runway 28R from intersection E. The takeoff distance available is 5600 ft. Such intersection departure shall be coordinated with the overlying controller.
¶ Airport Terminal & Airline Parking Information
| Terminal 1 | Terminal 2 | Terminal 3 |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | Alaska Airlines | United Airlines (domestic flights) |
| JetBlue Airways | Air Canada | |
| Southwest Airlines | Delta Air Lines |
| Intl Terminal A | Intl Terminal G |
|---|---|
| AeroMexico | Aer Lingus |
| Air France | Air China |
| Alaska Airlines | Air India |
| Avianca | Air New Zealand |
| British Airways | All Nippon Airlines (ANA) |
| Cathay Pacific | Asiana Airlines |
| China Airlines | Copa Airlines |
| China Eastern | EVA Air |
| China Southern | Fiji Airways |
| Copa Airlines | French Bee |
| EL AL Israel Airlines | Hawaiian Airlines |
| Emirates | Lufthansa |
| EVA Air | Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) |
| Finnair | Singapore Airlines |
| French Bee | Sun Country Airlines |
| Frontier Airlines | Swiss International Air Lines |
| Iberia | TAP Air Portugal |
| Icelandair | Turkish Airlines |
| Interjet | United Airlines (international flights) |
| Japan Airlines | |
| KLM Royal Dutch Airlines | |
| Korean Air | |
| Level | |
| Philippine Airlines | |
| Qantas | |
| Qatar Airways | |
| Virgin Atlantic | |
| WestJet |
Control positions
| Position | Frequency | FRA |
|---|---|---|
| KSFO_TWR | 120.500 MHz |  |
Airport
¶ Airspace and Jurisdiction
Local Control owns all active runways and the taxiways located between active runways, excluding taxiway Z. Additionally, Local Control owns all taxiways east of runway 1R. The airspace ceiling is 2500ft MSL within the class B surface area depicted on the chart below. The Local Control position at San Francisco cannot be split.
¶ Available runways
| Runway | Length |
|---|---|
| 1L / 19R | 7650 ft x 200 ft |
| 1R / 19L | 8650 ft x 200 ft |
| 28L / 10R | 11381 ft x 200 ft |
| 28R / 10L | 11870 ft x 200 ft |
¶ Runway configuration
San Francisco International airport runs runway configurations according to the following list. Maximum wind components of 20 knots crosswind and 5 knots tailwind are acceptable.
- Normal operations (to adjacent ARTCC controllers, this is known as SFO-W)
| Departures | Arrivals |
|---|---|
| 1L & 1R (light and medium airliner) | 28L & 28R |
| 28L (heavy airliner) | |
| 28R (cargo, corporate, GA) |
- West operations (to adjacent ARTCC controllers, this is known as SFO-W)
| Departures | Arrivals |
|---|---|
| 28L & 28R | 28L & 28R |
- East operations (to adjacent ARTCC controllers, this is known as SFO-E)
| Departures | Arrivals |
|---|---|
| 10R (airliner) | 19L & 19R |
| 10L (cargo, corporate, GA) |
- Runway pair most aligned with the wind
If configurations 1-3 cannot be safely run, use the runway pair most aligned with the wind.
Intersection departures
When using runway 28R for departures, intersection departures from taxiway E are permitted for corporate and GA aircraft only. The remaining takeoff distance available is 5600 ft. Other intersection departures are not permitted at any time.
¶ VFR
Traffic pattern
VFR traffic patterns shall be conducted as follows:
- pattern altitude for piston powered aircraft is 1000ft MSL
- pattern altitude for turboprop and turbojet powered aircraft is 1500ft MSL
| runway configuration in use | runway to be used | pattern direction |
|---|---|---|
| 1, 2 (and 4) | 28R | right |
| 3 (and 4) | 19L | left |
| (4) | 1R | right |
| (4) | 10L | left |
Increased situational awareness is required while runway configuration 1 is in use to avoid loss of separation between IFR departures off of runways 1L & 1R and VFR traffic on right downwind for runway 28R.
¶ Special VFR
Special VFR is not permitted at the San Francisco Intl airport at any time.