What Is a 'Reliever' Field?

FAA assigns the designation for facilities able to relieve congestion at a commercial service airport.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, March 12, 2025 at 09:09 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Kimberly Johnson

A reliever airport is a facility designated by the FAA to relieve congestion at a commercial service airport. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

FAA-designated reliever airports are primarily intended to relieve congestion at commercial service airports by providing increased general aviation (GA) access.
An airliner's ability to use a reliever airport depends on the specific runway's length, its weight-bearing capacity, and the airline's operational procedures, rather than the "reliever" designation itself.

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Question: When an airport is designated a “reliever” by the FAA, does that mean it can be used by airliners? I keep hearing this term applied by an anti-airport community group as if it means overflow parking when the airlines can’t get into the regular hub airports.

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Answer: Per 49 USC § 47102(23), a reliever airport is a facility designated by the FAAto relieve congestion at a commercial service airport (where the airlines are) by providing more GA access to the community.

A reliever can be towered or nontowered and will likely have an eclectic mix of corporate jets, light piston twins, and training aircraft.