Right in Your Backyard- Regional Airports Are an Accessible and Underused Resource for Future Air Mobility⁠↗

Beyond these major hubs, about 36,000 regional airports, suitable for smaller aircraft, provide coverage for less traveled routes. Lacking the facilities and landing strips required for large aircraft, regional airports are typically underused, even during busy travel times. They nevertheless serve as essential links in the transportation chain and often provide other services—from flight training to recreational flying and aerial firefighting to skydiving.

In the United States, for example, 90 percent of the population lives within a 30-minute drive of a regional airport, with only 60 percent in the same proximity to a commercial airport (exhibit). In Europe, 50 percent of people live within a 30-minute drive of a regional airport, compared with only 41 percent for commercial airports.