Federal Aviation

Administration

Airport Categories
Airports

There are approximately 14,400 private-use (closed to the public) and 5,000 public-
use (open to the public) airports, heliports, and seaplane bases. Approximately 3,300
of these public-use facilities are included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport
Systems (NPIAS). Airports or portions of airports, included in the NPIAS may be
considered for AIP funding. An airport is defined in the law as any area of land or
water used or intended for landing or takeoff of aircraft including appurtenant area
used or intended for airport buildings, facilities, as well as rights of way together with
the buildings and facilities. Special types of facilities such as seaplane bases and
heliports are included in the airport categories listed below.

The law categorizes airports by type of activities, including commercial service,

primary, cargo service, reliever, and general aviation airports, as shown below:

Categories of Airport Activities

Statutory Definition Criteria Also referred to as:

Publicly owned airports with at least 2,500 annual

enplanements and scheduled air carrier service
Commercial Service (§47102(7)). Primary airports are a commercial service
airport with more than 10,000 annual enplanements
(§47102(16)).

Receives 1 percent or more of the

— Large Hub annual U.S. commercial Primary
enplanements

Receives 0.25 to 1.0 percent of the

— Medium Hub annual U.S. commercial Primary
enplanements

Receives 0.05 to 0.25 percent of

— Small Hub the annual U.S. commercial Primary
enplanements

Receives less than 0.05 percent but

— Nonhub more than 10,000 of the annual Primary
U.S. commercial enplanements

The Nonprimary category was established for the distribution of nonprimary

entitlements apportioned under the AIP (§47114(d)(3)). Included in this category
are the nonprimary commercial service, reliever, and general aviation airports.
Nonprimary airports are identified with a role in the national airport system
based on their activity. Five roles are utilized: National, Regional, Local, Basic,
and Unclassified.
Statutory Definition Criteria Also referred to as:

Also referred to as nonhub

— Nonprimary nonprimary, these airports have
Commercial scheduled passenger service and Nonprimary
Service, Nonhub between 2,500 and 10,000 annual
enplanements.

An airport designated by the

Secretary of Transportation to
relieve congestion at a commercial
Reliever Nonprimary
service airport and to provide more
general aviation access to the
overall community (§47102(23)).

A public-use airport that does not

have scheduled service or has
General Aviation scheduled service with less than Nonprimary
2,500 passenger boardings each
year (§47102(8)).

The Nonprimary category was established for the distribution of nonprimary

entitlements apportioned under the AIP (§47114(d)(3)). Included in this category
are the nonprimary commercial service, reliever, and general aviation airports.
Nonprimary airports are identified with a role in the national airport system
based on their activity. Five roles are utilized: National, Regional, Local, Basic,
and Unclassified.

Definition of Airport Categories

1. Commercial Service Airports are publicly owned airports that have at least
2,500 passenger boardings each calendar year and receive scheduled
passenger service. Passenger boardings refer to revenue passenger boardings
on an aircraft in service in air commerce whether or not in scheduled service. The
definition also includes passengers who continue on an aircraft in international
flight that stops at an airport in any of the 50 States for a non-traffic purpose, such
as refueling or aircraft maintenance rather than passenger activity. Passenger
boardings at airports that receive scheduled passenger service are also referred
to as Enplanements.

a. Nonprimary Commercial Service Airports are Commercial Service

Airports that have at least 2,500 and no more than 10,000 passenger
boardings each year.

b. Primary Airports are Commercial Service Airports that have more than
10,000 passenger boardings each year. Hub categories for Primary Airports
are defined as a percentage of total passenger boardings within the United
States in the most current calendar year ending before the start of the
current fiscal year. For example, calendar year 2014 data are used for fiscal
year 2016 since the fiscal year began 9 months after the end of that calendar
year. The table above depicts the formulae used for the definition of airport
 categories based on statutory provisions cited within the table, including Hub
Type described in 49 USC 47102.

2. Cargo Service Airports are airports that, in addition to any other air
transportation services that may be available, are served by aircraft providing air
transportation of only cargo with a total annual landed weight of more than 100
million pounds. "Landed weight" means the weight of aircraft transporting only
cargo in intrastate, interstate, and foreign air transportation. An airport may be
both a commercial service and a cargo service airport.

3. Reliever Airports are airports designated by the FAA to relieve congestion at

Commercial Service Airports and to provide improved general aviation access to
the overall community. These may be publicly or privately-owned.

4. General Aviation Airports are public-use airports that do not have scheduled
service or have less than 2,500 annual passenger boardings (49 USC 47102(8)).
Approximately 88 percent of airports included in the NPIAS are general aviation.

In cooperation with the aviation community, FAA completed two top down reviews of
the existing network of general aviation facilities included in the NPIAS. The results of
these efforts are contained in two reports (General Aviation Airports: A National
Asset) and have been fully incorporated into the biennial NPIAS. The airport roles
capture the diverse functions and economic contributions GA airports make to their
communities and the Nation. Five categories for airports serving general aviation
(includes nonprimary commercial service, relievers and general aviation) were
developed based on existing activity levels. These roles are shown below.

General Aviation Airport Categories

If a
nonprimary
airport is It fulfills this role in the system:
classified
as:

Support the national airport system by providing communities

access to national and international markets in multiple States and
National throughout the United States. National airports have very high
levels of aviation activity with many jets and multiengine propeller
aircraft.

Support regional economies by connecting communities to regional

and national markets. Generally located in metropolitan areas and
serve relatively large populations. Regional airports have high levels
of activity with some jets and multiengine propeller aircraft. The
Regional
metropolitan areas in which regional airports are located can be
Metropolitan Statistical Areas with an urban core population of at
least 50,000 or Micropolitan Statistical Areas with a core urban
population between 10,000 and 50,000.
 If a
nonprimary
airport is It fulfills this role in the system:
classified
as:

Supplement local communities by providing access to markets

within a State or immediate region. Local airports are most often
located near larger population centers, but not necessarily in
Local metropolitan or micropolitan areas. Most of the flying at local
airports is by piston aircraft in support of business and personal
needs. These airports typically accommodate flight training,
emergency services, and charter passenger service.

Links the community with the national airport system and supports
general aviation activities, such as emergency response, air
ambulance service, flight training, and personal flying. Most of the
Basic
flying at basic airports is self-piloted for business and personal
reasons using propeller-driven aircraft. They often fulfill their role
with a single runway or helipad and minimal infrastructure.

Unclassified Currently in the NPIAS but with limited activity.

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Page last modified: September 30, 2020 3:17:03 PM EDT

This page was originally published at: https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/categories/