Plane Facts: Airports

Plane Facts
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Key Takeaways:

  • The U.S. airport system has seen immense growth and diversification since 1903, expanding from a single "airport" to nearly 20,000 facilities by 2014, including over 5,000 public-use airports, thousands of heliports, and hundreds of seaplane bases.
  • This extensive infrastructure encompasses a wide range of operational and geographical extremes, featuring the world's highest and lowest airports, longest runways, busiest general aviation fields, significant historical milestones, and varying operational aspects like the most expensive landing fees.
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Total number of “airports” in 1903: 1

Total number of U.S. airports in 2014: 19,299

Total number of U.S. airports in 1980: 15,161

Number of public-use airports in 2014: 5,145

Number eligible for federal funding: 3,300

Number of public-use airports in 1980: 4,814

Number of airports used by U.S. in support of WWII: 2,308

State with the most public-use airports: Texas, 393

State with the fewest public-use airports: Rhode Island, 7

Oldest U.S. active airfield: College Park Airport, Maryland (KCGS), established in 1909

Oldest U.S. continuously operating commercial field: Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Minnesota (KMSP), since 1920

Busiest GA airport: Van Nuys, California (KVNY), 250,000+ annual operations

Number of towered U.S. airports in 2014: 516

Number of towered U.S. airports in 1974: 417

Highest-elevation airport in the 50 United States: Lake County Airport, Leadville, Colorado (9,934 ft.)

Highest-elevation airport in the world: Bangda Airport in eastern Tibet (15,548 ft. above sea level)

Lowest airport in the 50 United States: Furnace Creek Airport, west of Furnace Creek, Death Valley, serving Inyo County, California (-210 ft. MSL)

Lowest airport in the world: Bar Yehuda Airfield, west of the Dead Sea, Israel (-1,240 ft. MSL)

Most expensive landing fee in the United States: La Guardia Airport, New York: $3,950

First concrete runway: Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan (1928)

First operational ILS approach system: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1938)

Number of precision GPS approaches (LPV) in the United States: 3,628

Number of those at non-ILS airports: 1,016

Southernmost airport in the 50 United States: Hilo, Hawaii

Southernmost airport in the Lower 48 States: Key West International Airport, Florida

Southernmost airport in the world: Jack F. Paulus Skiway, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica

Northernmost airport in the Lower 48 States: H28, Whetstone International Airport, Montana

Northernmost airstrip in the 50 United States: Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport, Alaska

Northernmost airport in the world: Alert Airport, Nunavut, Canada

Number of runways at Chicago O’Hare: 8

Number of runways at JFK, LGA and EWR combined: 9

Number of GA airports in New York, 30-mile ring: 21

Number in D.C. Flight Restricted Zone: 5

Number of airports in the United States served by the Airbus A380: 8

Number served by Concorde before its retirement: 2

Longest paved public-use runway in the United States: Denver International Airport, Colorado (16,001 ft.)

Longest military runway: Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, California (15,023 ft.)

Shortest airport with commercial service: Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport in Saba (1,300 ft.)

Number of U.S. airports with scheduled airline service (including territories): 358

Number of airports served by business jets versus those with commercial air service: 5,000/500

Most expensive airport built in the United States: Denver International Airport, Colorado ($4.8 billion)

Most expensive airport built in the world: Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan ($20 billion)

Number of backcountry strips the Recreational Aviation Foundation has opened: 8

Number it has kept from being closed: 6

Number of heliports in the United States: 5,418

Number of seaplane bases in the United States: 290

U.S. state with the most public-use airports per square mile: New Jersey (5.85 per 1,000 square miles)

Tallest air traffic control tower in the United States: Atlanta (398 ft.)

Tallest air traffic control tower in the world: New Bangkok International Airport, Thailand (434 ft.)

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