Regulatory Alert: FAA Releases Updated Guidance on Airport Design

April 4, 2022

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released the long-awaited updated guidance that contains the agency's airport design standards for airside development projects, including runways, taxiways, taxilanes, aprons, and other airfield systems and facilities on April 4. The guidance document, Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5300-13B, “Airport Design,“ is the culmination of nearly four years of efforts by the FAA Office of Airports, including the adjudication of approximately 2,700 comments from both agency personnel and industry stakeholders.

You can view the new FAA guidance on airport design here.&nbsp;

Background. Over the past several years one of the major goals in the FAA Office of Airports has been to update AC 150/5300-13A, “Airport Design,“ which was published in 2012. In December 2019, FAA hosted an in-person industry day to facilitate dialogue and feedback on revisions to the guidance. In July 2020, FAA released draft AC 150/5300-13B for public comment. AAAE, along with many airports and organizations in the industry, submitted feedback for FAA's consideration. About 2,700 comments were provided to FAA. Airports have been anxiously awaiting a final version of AC 150/5300-13B, which contains mandatory standards for projects funded under the Airport Improvement Program and by the Passenger Facility Charge program.&nbsp;

Overview of Updated Guidance. With the updates, FAA significantly restructured the document; explained the meaning of various terms used; added graphics to make concepts more understandable; clarified runway and taxiway intersection guidance; and updated the standards on taxiway separations, taxiway design, approach and departure surfaces, among other things. The document also addresses airport accommodation of a diverse range of aeronautical activities, including new paragraphs on parachute operations, aircraft operations in unpaved runway safety areas (RSAs), and gliders. Many of the changes are designed to improve safety, including addressing an increased number of wrong surface events.&nbsp;

FAA Resources for Airports. As part of the rollout of the new guidance, FAA also released a series of materials to help airports understand the changes and design standards, including the following:&nbsp;

• FAA's Runway Design Matrix Tool&nbsp;
• Airport Design Tools, Videos and Drawings for AC 150/5300-13B&nbsp;
• Crosswalk Between ACs 150/5300-13A and -13B (Comparison Document)&nbsp;

FAA informed AAAE that the agency will continue to publish and update its design videos and tools in the future to help educate the community.

What's Next? Airports are encouraged to review the new guidance and design standards and the associated training and planning materials that were also released today by FAA. These standards are also expected to become mandatory for any applicable projects funded with the $20 billion that will be made available through the Airport Infrastructure Grant program and the Airport Terminal Program over the next five years.&nbsp;