Departure
95%
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MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Lake Tahoe Airport (KTVL) is a high-altitude general aviation field set in the Sierra Nevada mountains three miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, California, close to the shore of the lake that gives it its name. Once a busy airline gateway served by everything from Constellations to 737s, it is today a general aviation and instrument-approach field with a single long runway, ILS approach, and a resident FBO offering fuel, training and charter services. Its 6,257 ft elevation and surrounding high terrain make it a distinctive and demanding destination for visiting pilots.
Lake Tahoe Airport, operated by the City of South Lake Tahoe, sits in the Sierra Nevada mountains three miles southwest of the town of South Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County, California. It is sometimes referred to as Tahoe Valley Airport. For decades it hosted scheduled airline services from carriers as varied as Paradise Airlines, Pacific Air Lines, PSA, AirCal and American Airlines, but since 2000 it has served general aviation only, making it an interesting field for sim pilots wanting a taste of high-altitude mountain flying with a rich airline history behind it.
The airport lies at 6,257 ft elevation in mountainous terrain of the Sierra Nevada, three miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, with Lake Tahoe itself just to the north. There is no operating control tower; Oakland Center provides en-route and approach/departure services on 127.95 MHz, and Reno Flight Service is available on 122.25 MHz. The high surrounding terrain and elevation should be factored into any approach or departure planning, and the field is described as an all-weather airport with multiple instrument approaches available.
The field has a single physical runway aligned 18/36, hard-surfaced and lit. The database records a declared length of 7,738 ft for runway 18, which is equipped with an ILS, and 6,505 ft for the reciprocal runway 36.
Lake Tahoe Airport uses UNICOM/CTAF on 122.85 MHz for local traffic, with ASOS weather information broadcast on 124.725 MHz. Oakland Center handles approach and departure control on 127.95 MHz, and Reno Flight Service can be reached on 122.25 MHz. An ILS approach serves runway 18, and the field is equipped for all-weather instrument operations with multiple published instrument approaches.
Lake Tahoe is an uncontrolled airport for local traffic purposes, with pilots using the common UNICOM/CTAF frequency of 122.85 MHz to self-announce and coordinate in the pattern. Given the surrounding high terrain and the airport's mountain-valley setting, pilots should expect to fly a pattern shaped by the local topography rather than a standard flat-terrain circuit.
The most obvious visual reference for the approach is Lake Tahoe itself, lying just to the north of the airport, with the field positioned three miles southwest of the town of South Lake Tahoe amid the surrounding Sierra Nevada peaks.
The airport opened in 1959 with a 5,900 ft runway and went on to enjoy nearly forty years of scheduled airline service. Futura Airlines and Paradise Airlines began flights in 1962 with Lockheed Constellations, followed by Pacific Air Lines' Fairchild F-27 turboprops in 1964 and the first jet service in 1966 with Pacific's Boeing 727s flying from Los Angeles via San Jose; that jet service lasted less than a year before local government banned scheduled jet flights. Numerous commuter and regional carriers served the field through the 1960s and 1970s, including Holiday Airlines, Sierra Pacific Airlines, Skymark Airlines, Golden Pacific Airlines and Valley Airlines, followed later by Aspen Airways, Cal Sierra Airlines, Golden West Airlines and others flying Convair 580s and de Havilland Dash 7s. PSA and Air California withdrew in 1979. Jet service resumed in 1983 with AirCal's MD-80s and later 737-300s, with American Airlines taking over AirCal's Lake Tahoe operations in 1987 before switching to American Eagle regional aircraft such as Saab 340s and Metroliners through the 1990s. Reno Air also operated MD-80/87 jet flights to Los Angeles, and various nonscheduled casino charter operators used aircraft including BAC One-Elevens, Convair 990s and Lockheed Electras. Scheduled airline service ended around 2000, after which the airport has operated purely as a general aviation field.
Lake Tahoe Airport now functions solely as a general aviation airport, covering 348 acres. A fixed-base operator on the field, Mountain West Aviation, offers full-service fuelling, line service, hangar space and tie-downs, along with flight training, scenic flights and charter services. The Flight Deck Restaurant overlooks the runway. The field is equipped for all-weather instrument operations with an ILS approach to runway 18 and multiple published instrument procedures.