Bharat Lakshmanan, a commercial pilot from the East Coast, takes photos while plane spotting at the SkyTerrace observation deck inside Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. The open-air deck overlooking the runways is free to visit — even without a boarding pass.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
A photo of the old airport hangs at the SkyTerrace lobby as part of SFO Museum exhibitions in Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
The SkyTerrace observation deck offers 180-degree views of the airfield from Terminal 2 — without having to brave security lines or TSA checks.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
The SkyTerrace lobby showcases an exhibit as part of the SFO Museum in Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
Neda Dai leaves the SkyTerrace observation deck at SFO, where she was waiting for a friend after arriving from Los Angeles.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
Less than 40 minutes ago I was a grown-up, juggling the usual adult worries, at work near downtown San Francisco.
Now I’m a kid again, on an open-air observation deck at San Francisco International Airport, listening to the mighty roar of a massive United Airlines Boeing 777 as it launches into the sky a couple hundred yards away. Then another plane. Then another. A seemingly endless ballet of aeronautical engineering — accessible without a boarding pass.
How have I never heard of this place?
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I grew up in the 1980s five minutes from the airport, and would run through it with my friends like a feral cat, in the pre-Sept. 11 days when you could hop from terminal to terminal without a ticket. I assumed this kind of experience was extinct in 2026.
The SkyTerrace observation deck in Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport offers views of the four airport runways that intersect like a tic-tac-toe board and arriving and departing aircraft.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
But Chronicle Climate Editor Kate Galbraith let me know that the SkyTerrace, one of two SFO observation decks, offers plane-spotting views before the long lines and TSA checks. Anyone can go, including culture critics who love to find new places to chill over a long lunch.
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The BART gods smile on me. It’s less than half an hour from the Powell Street station to the SFO airport stop, and another six minutes on the AirTrain to Terminal 2.
I enter Terminal 2 ticketing, grab a sad sandwich at the only food option outside security (pro tip: bring your own lunch) and walk just short of the TSA lines, where an elevator to my left is labeled “SkyTerrace.”
The elevator doors open, I walk through a quick security check, show my bag to a guard and step into what looks like the lobby of a Scottsdale wellness spa.
The SkyTerrace lobby has comfy chairs and an exhibit from the SFO Museum in Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
No sturdy chairs bolted together like at Gate 27A. Curvy mid-century modern furniture seems teleported from the Pan Am “Mad Men” era of air travel. The room is filled with history and props from SFO’s commercial airport beginning in the 1930s and its predecessor Mills Field. What looks like a tourist pamphlet wall just inside the glass doors is actually the SkyTerrace library, with historical aviation moments and ephemera curated by the airport’s in-house museum team.
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That’s far from the only draw. Outside a series of well-spaced wooden lounge chairs, benches and drought-resistant plants look out on 180-degree views, surrounded on three sides by thick seven-foot glass.
One tendril of Terminal 2 is front and center, with United planes boarding below me. I’m briefly disappointed, thinking the deck is too far from a runway for impressive plane-watching. But then a Korean Air 747 rumbles into view close by, gathering speed for liftoff with a roar I feel in my kidneys. That turns out to be an appetizer. Larger United 777 and 787 planes appear, launching like blue whales over the San Bruno Mountains, making me wonder for the 1,000th time: “How do these enormous things fly?”
Chief Development Officer at SFO Judi Mosqueda arrives at SkyTerrace. The free observation deck is open to guests Friday-Monday, no ticket required.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
The SkyTerrace and a second observation deck located inside the International Terminal opened in 2020. This one is closer to the runways, but the hours are short: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Monday.
The airport’s four runways intersect off the tip of Terminal 2 like a tic-tac-toe game. While some planes head northwest, others take off across San Francisco Bay, seeming to disappear over the Oakland Hills and Mt. Diablo in the distance.
The complex dance will move a little slower for the foreseeable future. One runway closed Monday for a six-month repaving project, and on Tuesday the FAA imposed new limits on the number of flights that can arrive at SFO each hour.
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A flight from United Airlines takes off from San Francisco International Airport.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
But the visual display is entrancing regardless. My plan to hang out for 30 minutes turns into “maybe I’ll just work from here today.” The Wi-Fi is stable and free, and the company is pleasant. I chat with one local who asked not to be identified, we’ll call him “Viktor,” and who tells me about luxe overseas observation decks with pools and fireplaces. SFO’s has none of these amenities, but is special because it’s one of the very few “land” side decks, accessible without a ticket.
I check the time and realize that my planned 20-minute stop is pushing two hours. (Beware if you have a plane to catch: Time stretches into infinity at record stores and airport observation decks.) Next time I’ll stop in the Mission District or Glen Park and grab some tacos to bring along. Otherwise this detour has worked out perfectly.
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