Aviation Services to the Community
Regardless of their size, type, category, or provided services, airports in each community play critical roles in the transportation network, public safety and welfare, and commerce and economy. Their unique contributions lie in the specialized services they provide. As airports continue their development, it is helpful to have an understanding of the diverse roles they fulfill and the benefits the community enjoys as a result. Each airport fills a unique combination of roles which can range from meeting one or two needs of the community to offering most of the services and benefits listed below. It should be noted that these various roles are not limited to one category of airport or another. In many instances, these various activities can be found across a number of the airport categories and it is much more a reflection on the demand for services within a local community that drives the provision of these various services and related roles.
Click on the links below to learn more about the many aviation-related airport roles:
- Commercial Passenger Travel
- Scheduled airline service (regular air travel by airline)
- Scheduled charter or air taxi service (air service providing niche market travel destinations)
- Non-scheduled airline service (airline charters, e.g. sports team travel)
- Reliever Services for Primary Airports
- GA aircraft storage (some primary airports have little space for hangars and tie-downs)
- Personal and recreational flying
- Corporate and business aircraft (avoid congested air carrier airports)
- Charter or air taxi operations (aircraft hired for personal or business travel)
- Air Cargo and Manufacturing Transportation
- On-demand cargo service (charter aircraft for special needs cargo transport)
- U.S. mail transport
- “Just-in-Time” manufacturing (supplying parts when needed)
- Time-critical cargo (goods that must be moved quickly, e.g. human organs for transplant)
- Manufacturing and distribution (parts and goods)
- Scheduled cargo service (daily cargo flights, e.g. FedEx and UPS)
- Express delivery service (overnight letters and packages)
- National Protection and Security
- Military exercises and training
- Prisoner transport
- Environmental patrols
- Wildlife management
- Customs and Border Protection patrols
- Emergency Preparedness and Response
- Aeromedical flights (commonly known as Air Ambulance)
- Patient transfer
- Doctor transport
- Law enforcement patrols (e.g. police helicopters)
- Emergency response
- Aerial firefighting support
- Emergency diversionary airport
- Disaster relief
- Search and rescue
- Civil Air Patrol (US Air Force Auxiliary group tasked with assisting emergency response)
- Critical Community Access
- Remote population or island access
- Air Taxi and charter services
- Air cargo deliveries
- Other Aviation Specific Functions
- Corporate flight departments
- Flight instruction and training
- Personal or recreational flying
- Aircraft rental
- Aircraft and avionics manufacturing and maintenance
- Aircraft sales
- Aircraft storage (hangar and tie-down)
- Aerospace engineering and research
- Aviation career training and education
- Youth aviation outreach
- Traffic and news reporting
- Commercial, Industrial, and Economic Aviation Activities
- Agricultural spraying
- Aerial surveying, observations, or photography
- Sightseeing
- Low-orbit space launch and landing
- Oil and mineral exploration and survey
- Utility and pipeline control and inspection
- Advertising (banner towing or skywriting)
- Destination and Special Events
- Tourism and access to special events
- Intermodal connections (rail and ship)
- Special aeronautical events (skydiving, “fly-ins”, air shows)
Flying via airline on a regularly scheduled commercial flight is a common public interaction with our airports. Often, when the community thinks of their airport, it is the commercial service airport that comes to mind. Although regular airline service is widely recognized, other types of passenger service exist. For special events, vacation packages, or other reasons that a large group may need to travel together, an airport can be used as a departure point for this specialty air service. The following are some examples of commercial passenger travel:
To learn more about commercial passenger service, see the Air Service topic.
Reliever airports have an important role in large cities across the country. Major metropolitan areas usually have one or more primary airports used by airlines and air cargo operators for their daily scheduled flights. Due to the difference in speed and size between airliners and GA aircraft, air traffic flow can become inefficient if both types use the same airport. Further, large commercial service airports often do not serve the needs of GA aircraft, who may pay high landing fees and arrive at airports in scale much larger than they need. Therefore, reliever airports in these cities provide additional capacity, services and convenience desired by GA operators. The following are some examples of reliever services for primary airports:
Air cargo and manufacturing transportation is a common, yet indirect interaction our communities have with our airports. It was U.S. mail routes that pioneered and laid the framework for our modern airport system – large quantities of mail still fly by airplane today. Online orders, race horses, fresh flowers, time-sensitive medical lab work, or a critical part for an industrial plant are all examples of ways that the nation’s airport network plays an integral role in our everyday lives, delivering various types of cargo. Cargo may arrive or depart in large wide-body aircraft, or single engine aircraft that deliver to small communities, giving many airports the role of a cargo airport. Manufacturers are known to use air cargo for “just-in-time” transportation where parts are delivered right before they need to be utilized to minimize lead time costs. The following are examples of air cargo and manufacturing transportation roles:
To learn more about air cargo and manufacturing transportation, see the Air Cargo topic.
Our airports serve the role as gateways to our nation. Customs and immigration agencies are stationed at various airports throughout the country to process passengers and cargo arriving by air. In addition, CBP agents use aircraft to patrol for illegal activity, and our airports often serve as a starting point for these operations. The military often uses civilian and military airports to conduct training.
Environmental and natural resource agencies are often users of airports for activities such as wildlife inventory and pesticide application. The following are examples of protective service roles:
Airports play a critical role in emergency preparedness and response activities. A common use of airports is for medical transport. Helicopters and fixed wing aircraft are used to move patients to or between care facilities, often past highway congestion, or from areas inaccessible by vehicles. Disaster response is another key role airports have in times of crisis. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, opening local airports was central to getting supplies and relief workers into New Orleans. When wildfires break out, airports can be the staging point of fire fighting efforts. Airports also provide diversion points if an aircraft experiences an emergency or encounters weather conditions beyond the capability of the pilot or aircraft. The landscape dotted with airports provides multiple alternatives for a safe landing beyond the original destination. The following are examples of emergency preparedness and response roles:
Much of our population lives in areas accessible by roads and rail that provide connections throughout states and regions. However, some communities are isolated and cut off from others by undeveloped or impassable terrain, or on islands surrounded by water. These communities have airports that play a vital role in the survival of its residents. For example, many towns in Alaska rely on their airport for transportation, goods, food, and medical supplies. Below are some examples of critical community access roles:
There are a variety of roles directly related to aviation that airports serve in their community. This includes flight training, recreation or personal flying, aircraft hangars and storage, aircraft maintenance, and charter operations. Almost every airport provides one or more of these activities for their community. The following are examples of specific aviation functions:
There are several commercial activities that an airport has a role in providing, in addition to supporting airline, cargo and corporate flight operations. Aerial photography, pipeline patrol, agricultural crop spraying, sightseeing, and now even the possibility of launching spacecraft are activities that may occur at an airport. Below are selected examples of commercial, industrial, and economic aviation activities:
Some airports have a larger role in providing access to special events or tourism. Travelers to large sporting events or popular tourism locations can sometimes use airports as a method to get directly to their destinations. Airports may also hold special events such as airshows, or host skydiving instruction and demonstrations. Finally, some airports have the role of providing intermodal connections for the shipping of goods. The following are examples of destination and special event roles of airports: