14,000 American Airports You’ll Never Find on Expedia

Private Airport Identifiers: The FAA Location IDs That Don’t Show Up on Expedia

Thousands of airports exist in the United States that you’ll never find on commercial booking sites. Private airports, restricted airfields, and small strips serve general aviation, agricultural operations, and industrial facilities with their own identification systems. Understanding these IDs reveals an aviation infrastructure invisible to commercial travelers.

The Private Airport Landscape

The FAA maintains data on approximately 19,000 airports in the United States. Roughly 5,000 are public-use facilities; the remaining 14,000+ are private. These private airports range from single grass strips on ranches to corporate facilities rivaling commercial airports in capability.

Types of private airports:

• Personal/residential strips serving individual homes
• Corporate airports owned by companies for employee travel
• Agricultural strips for crop dusting operations
• Industrial airports serving manufacturing or mining facilities
• Hospital heliports for emergency medical services
• Military and government restricted fields

How Private Airport IDs Work

Private airports receive FAA Location Identifiers that follow specific conventions:

Alphanumeric format: Many private airports use identifiers mixing letters and numbers, like 2IS7 or 9NC8. The leading number and two-letter state code indicate FAA region and state. The final number or letter sequences within that state.

Letter-only IDs: Some older private airports have letter-only identifiers similar to public airports. These were often assigned before current conventions and grandfathered in.

Temporary and permanent: New private airports receive temporary IDs during approval process, then permanent IDs once certified. Temporary IDs may change, so verify current information before use.

Finding Private Airport Information

FAA Airport Data: The FAA’s Airport/Facility Directory (now called Chart Supplement) includes private airports with basic information. Updated every 56 days.

AirNav.com: Comprehensive database including private fields with owner contact information, when available. Useful for requesting landing permission.

ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot: Aviation apps include private airports with varying levels of detail. Accuracy depends on data currency.

Sectional charts: Private airports appear on aeronautical charts with specific symbology distinguishing them from public facilities. “Pvt” notation indicates private status.

Restrictions and Access

Private airports are exactly that—private property with restricted access:

Prior Permission Required (PPR): Most private airports require advance permission before landing. Contact owners through published phone numbers or management companies.

Emergency use: Pilots may use any airport during emergencies regardless of private status. This legal provision doesn’t create ongoing access rights.

Insurance requirements: Many private airport owners require landing pilots to provide proof of liability insurance before approving access.

Access agreements: Some private airports allow use through membership programs, associations, or reciprocal agreements with other airports.

Corporate Airport Examples

Major corporations maintain impressive private aviation facilities:

Walmart (4AR5 – Rogers, AR): One of the busiest corporate airports in the country, serving Walmart’s executive travel needs from near headquarters.

Various oil company strips: Energy companies maintain airports at remote drilling and refinery locations. These facilities often appear and disappear with production activity.

Tech company facilities: Silicon Valley companies maintain private aviation capabilities, though often through management companies rather than owned airports.

Residential Airparks

Residential airparks combine aviation access with home ownership:

How they work: Homeowners in airparks have hangars attached to or near homes, with runway access for personal aircraft. The community owns and maintains the airport.

Identification: Airpark runways receive standard FAA identifiers. Individual homes don’t have separate IDs—all traffic uses the community runway.

Access restrictions: Even within airparks, transient aircraft typically need permission. The runway serves residents, not general traffic.

Notable examples: Spruce Creek (7FL6) in Florida is perhaps the most famous, with over 1,300 homes and 700+ based aircraft.

Agricultural Aviation Identifiers

Crop dusting operations maintain thousands of small strips:

Characteristics: Often unpaved, short, and without facilities. May be active only during spraying season. Frequently located adjacent to the farms they serve.

Identification challenges: Many agricultural strips operate informally without FAA certification. Those that are certified have standard identifiers but minimal published information.

Seasonal activity: Unlike permanent airports, agricultural strips may be active only during planting or harvest. Off-season conditions may not support operations.

Heliports and Helistops

Helicopter-only facilities form another category of private airports:

Hospital heliports: Medical facilities with emergency helicopter access receive FAA identifiers. These are essential for air ambulance operations but rarely serve other traffic.

Corporate rooftop facilities: High-rise buildings in major cities maintain rooftop heliports for executive transportation. Access is strictly controlled.

Identifier format: Heliports use the same alphanumeric system as conventional airports. Nothing in the identifier specifically indicates helicopter-only status—that information appears in the facility data.

Why Private Airport Data Matters

Emergency planning: Pilots planning cross-country flights identify potential emergency landing sites, including private airports along the route.

Real estate: Properties near private airports may face noise or traffic impacts. Understanding nearby aviation infrastructure matters for purchases.

Community planning: Local governments and residents benefit from knowing what private aviation facilities exist in their areas.

Aviation business: Service providers, fuel suppliers, and maintenance shops use private airport data to identify potential customers.

The Future of Private Airports

Several trends affect private airport development:

Urban encroachment: Development pressure converts private airports to other uses. Many small strips near growing cities have closed in recent decades.

Advanced Air Mobility: Electric vertical takeoff vehicles (eVTOL) may create new demand for small landing facilities, potentially reversing decline trends.

Regulatory changes: FAA and local regulations continue evolving, affecting private airport establishment and operation.

Private airports represent aviation’s hidden infrastructure—thousands of facilities serving purposes that commercial aviation never touches. Their identifiers unlock a parallel aviation system that keeps aircraft operating far from airline routes and commercial terminals.