Small Aircraft Transportation Systems: Effects on Accessibility to Commercial Air Transportation for Florida’s Suburban and Rural Population

Abstract

One of the primary goals of the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) program sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is to “create access to more communities in less time.” The program targets to improve accessibility to commercial air transportation to underserved suburban and rural communities. By implementing the latest technology communications and navigation systems at strategically located general aviation and light commercial airports, SATS hopes to bring enhanced levels of accessibility to these markets. Results are presented of a study conducted to identify the regions within the state of Florida where the implementation of SATS technology would be most beneficial in terms of providing accessible commercial air service to currently underserved suburban and rural communities. The study considers the current use of public-use airports within the state and correlates the availability of commercial air service to the state’s population density and transportation infrastructure characteristics to estimate the percentage of the state’s population that lives within “tolerably accessible” 30-min travel times to the airports that provide such service. It was found that less than 70% of Florida’s population lives within a 30-min drive of a commercial service airport. Several airports within the state are identified where, if commercial service capabilities were provided through SATS technology, accessibility to air transportation would increase to 95% of the population. The results of this study are currently being applied as part of a program led by the Southeast SATS Lab consortium to bring SATS to Florida and the southeastern United States.