Airports

The Delaware Valley’s extensive aviation system is made up of the following components:

  • Commercial airports
  • Reliever airports
  • General aviation airports
  • Military airports
  • Heliports

Aviation system planning activities are conducted for a twelve-county, four-state Philadelphia metropolitan aviation planning area. In addition to DVRPC’s traditional nine counties, Salem County, New Jersey, New Castle County, Delaware, and Cecil County, Maryland are also included.

The bulk of aircraft activity most directly linked to freight shipments and corporate travel occurs at commercial and reliever airports. While the region’s general aviation airports are numerous, air cargo shipments at these facilities are not considered significant.

Air freight shipments tend to be small in size and lightweight, but extremely high in value. It is one of the fastest growing subsets of freight traffic in the U.S. as indicated by the Federal Highway Administration’s Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) version 3. According to the FAF, the value of air freight shipments through the Philadelphia Consolidated Statistical Area (CSA) is expected to grow by 260% though the year 2040. This is partially due to increases in sales via the Internet, many of which are shipped by air as part of their trip to the consumer’s front door.

Commercial airports provide scheduled air carrier and general aviation services, and link to domestic and international destinations. The DVRPC region has two commercial airports: Philadelphia International Airport and Trenton-Mercer Airport.

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) handles the most significant volumes of air cargo in the region. PHL has four runways and most of the freight-only operations occur at night in order to avoid congestion caused by passenger planes during the day.

PHL is home to the second largest UPS air hub in the country and a large FedEx facility. A large percentage of PHL air freight is handled through these facilities. “Belly cargo” is also found as a component of many domestic and international passenger flights.

Due to the prominence of major corporations in the Princeton-Hamilton area, the Mercer-Trenton Airport is regularly used by corporate jets. The Trenton-Mercer Airport has two runways and three helicopter landing pads. It is located near the state capital of New Jersey (i.e., Trenton), so it is also used for official state business and by the New Jersey State Police.

Notes about this layer:

  • Individual airport icons can be clicked on to display additional information about that airport. As a user zooms in towards an individual airport, the land associated with the airport will also be highlighted. A user may click on the highlighted land to display the same information as clicking on the airport icon.
  • Within the airport information window, two links may appear. One links to more detailed information about the airport; the other provides a link to a DVRPC Freight Center profile (if applicable).

Reliever Airports are designated by the Federal Aviation Administration to relieve congestion at Commercial Airports and to provide improved general aviation access to the overall community. Most reliever airports only have one runway. These airports primarily service the general aviation community, which has a wide variety of users such as corporate jets, non-scheduled charter flights, flight training, and private aircrafts.

One benefit these airports provide in terms of air cargo is that their support of corporate, charter, and general aviation activities helps relieve PHL of some of the traffic which otherwise might occur there.

The designated Reliever Airports in the DVRPC region are:

  • Chester County
  • New Garden
  • Brandywine
  • Pottstown-Limerick
  • Wings Field
  • Doylestown
  • Northeast Philadelphia
  • Cross Keys
  • South Jersey Regional
  • Trenton-Robbinsville

Notes about this layer:

  • Individual airport icons can be clicked on to display additional information about that airport. As a user zooms in towards an individual airport, the land associated with the airport will also be highlighted. A user may click on the highlighted land to display the same information as clicking on the airport icon.
  • Within the airport information window, two links may appear. One links to more detailed information about the airport; the other provides a link to a DVRPC Freight Center profile (if applicable).

Heliports may be linked to some freight shipments and business travel. A heliport is actually a form of an airport. It may contain one or more helipads and offer other services and facilities such as fueling and storage hangars.

The Delaware Valley currently has only one operational heliport located off the premises of other airports, and it is located at Penn's Landing.

Notes about this layer:

  • Individual heliport icons can be clicked on to display additional information about that heliport. As a user zooms in towards an individual heliport, the land associated with the heliport will also be highlighted. A user may click on the highlighted land to display the same information as clicking on the heliport icon.
  • Within the heliport information window, two links may appear. One links to more detailed information about the heliport; the other provides a link to a DVRPC Freight Center profile (if applicable).