Community Access to General Aviation Amidst Airport Closures, 1991–2011

Abstract

General aviation accounts for 90 percent of U.S. registered aircraft and 75 percent of takeoffs and landings made at U.S. airports. Defined as aviation other than military and commercial airline services, general aviation (GA) encompasses activities ranging from corporate aviation and taxi operations to aerial spraying, sightseeing, flight instruction, and aerial firefighting. In the United States more than 5,100 public use airports (PUAs) serve urban and suburban areas but also medium-sized cities, small towns, and rural communities. Although modest in size compared to major airline hubs, PUAs are often a source of controversy because of noise or proposals to convert airport properties to residential or commercial uses. Airport advocacy groups including organizations representing GA pilots have raised awareness about the loss of PUAs as business and community resources. Indeed, the rate at which new PUAs have been established has not kept pace with U.S. population growth. Given pressure from developers and others to close PUAs as well as efforts by GA advocacy groups to keep airports open, this article seeks to determine if recent airport closures have impacted accessibility and how urbanization, economic development, and other socioeconomic factors might be associated with airport closures. This article explores two related research questions. First, we examine how accessible PUAs are to most Americans and how airport closures between 1991 and 2011 have affected that accessibility. We then look for relationships between the loss of a PUA and basic demographic and economic indicators. Changes in overall population, per-capita income, poverty, and unemployment rates serve as proxies for the changes in communities that either led to or resulted from a PUA closure.