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hapter 1: System Composition

The United States accounts for approximately 40 percent of all commercial aviation and 50 percent

of all general aviation activity in the world. An extensive system of almost 20,000 airports

throughout the U.S. has been developed to support this activity. A primary purpose of the NPIAS is

to identify the airports that are important to national transportation needs and, therefore, eligible to

receive grants under the AlP. The NPIAS includes 65 percent of the 5,261 U.S. airports that are

open to the public (see Figure 4). The plan contains all primary and commercial service airports; all

general aviation airports designated as reliever airports by FAA, and selected general aviation

airports.

Figure 4: Number of Existing and Proposed Airports by Ownership and Use

(July 2006)

382 2

Primary Primary

135 6

Commercial Commercial

Service Service

274 4

Reliever Reliever

2.573 55

General General

Aviation Aviation

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (2007·2011) 1
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d for air travel has grown in the last two years with regional and low-cost carriers 13 growing

h faster than the legacy carriers." The rapid growth of some low-cost carriers has added to the

cial difficulties of some legacy carriers. Legacy carriers are reducing operating costs replacing

e-body and larger narrow-body aircraft with smaller narrow-body and regional jet aircraft, and

reducing fares in markets served by low-cost carriers. The use of smaller narrow-body aircraft

ows the air carrier to better match the number of seats to the number of passengers. In some

ases, airlines have also downsized or closed hubs, redirecting capacity to their core or primary hubs.

se of Reliever and Secondary Airports

edistribution of traffic among airports to make more efficient use of facilities is another measure

tbat can be used to reduce delays. Reliever airports have been identified and improved in

metropolitan areas to provide general aviation pilots an attractive alternative to congested

commercial service airports. Large metropolitan areas usually have a system of reliever airports, one

ormore of which can accommodate corporate jet aircraft and others designed for use by smaller,

propeller-driven aircraft. Relievers have been very successful at relocating general aviation activity

from congested airports. As a result, general aviation activity at congested airports is a small and

decreasing percentage of total operations (one percent of operations at Atlanta Hartsfield and Seattle;

two percent of operations at John F. Kennedy Airport and Chicago O'Hare; three percent of

operations at LaGuardia Airport, Newark, and Los Angeles).

Another factor that helps to limit delay is the ability of carriers to introduce service to outlying,

suburban airports, using them to relieve congestion at the principal airport. This regional approach

is particularly effective in very large cities that are the origin or destination point for many trips by

air, such as Boston, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. Low-cost carriers

have begun serving alternative airports in metropolitan areas and providing competition to carriers at

the principal airport. Traffic has increased significantly at the alternative airports that attracted lowcost carriers. Examples include Boston (Manchester and Providence); Washington (BaltimoreWashington); San Francisco (Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento); Miami (Ft. Lauderdale); Chicago

(Midway); and Los Angeles (Long Beach, Burbank, Ontario, and Orange County).

SAFETY

The U.S. has the largest, most complex, and safest aviation system in the world. Figure 9 below

shows accidents per 100,000 flight hours for general aviation and large air carriers. The key

component of the aviation system and resulting safety record is the airport. Although it is rare that

the airport is determined to be a cause of an aircraft accident, it may be cited as a contributing factor

that often affects the severity of the accident. Through AlP, funds are provided to airport operators

for capital improvements to their facilities. AU such improvements must meet standards adopted by

FAA. Use of uniform standards at airports throughout the system promotes safety.

13 American Trans Air, America West Airlines, Air'Iran Airways, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Sun Country

Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines

14 Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, and US

Airways

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (2007-2011) 23