Definition
An FAA Advisory Circular titled 'Airport Design,' which provides standards and recommendations for the geometric layout and engineering design of airports, including runways, taxiways, aprons, and related facilities. It is the primary reference document used by airport designers and the FAA to determine dimensional standards based on the aircraft expected to use the airport.
Plain English
It is the FAA's official rulebook for how to design an airport — how wide runways should be, how far apart taxiways should sit, how much clearance areas need, and so on. When the FAA refers to airport design standards, this is the document they mean.
Context Anchor
Seen in AIM glossary references, airport planning documents, and discussions about runway, taxiway, and airport clear-area design standards.
Derivation
An Advisory Circular (AC) is the FAA's standard format for non-regulatory guidance. The number 150/5300-13 is a filing code: the 150 series covers airports, 5300 is the airport design subseries, and 13 is the specific document number in that series.
Why Pilots Care
Airports built or modified to these standards provide consistent safety margins for takeoff, landing, and ground movement, directly affecting runway length, obstacle clearance, and emergency response areas pilots rely on.
Intuition Check
AC here does not mean alternating current or air conditioning. In this FAA reference, AC means Advisory Circular, which is an FAA guidance document.
Example Sentence 1
The runway separation at the new regional airport was laid out according to AC 150/5300-13.
Example Sentence 2
Pilots notice wider safety areas on runways that were recently updated under AC 150/5300-13 standards.