Definition
A publicly owned airport that receives scheduled passenger service from certificated air carriers and enplanes at least 2,500 passengers per year. Commercial service airports are part of the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) and are eligible for federal airport development funding.
Plain English
An airport open to the public that has scheduled airline flights and boards at least 2,500 paying passengers a year.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists, airport classification material, and documents that describe the type of service an airport provides.
Derivation
Commercial comes from Latin commercium, meaning trade or business dealings. The label distinguishes airports that serve paying airline passengers from those that primarily serve general aviation or military traffic.
Why Pilots Care
Determines whether an airport offers scheduled airline service, affecting fuel availability, security procedures, and flight planning options.
Intuition Check
Commercial service does not mean any airport where money changes hands. In this FAA use, it specifically means a public airport with scheduled passenger flights and at least 2,500 passenger boardings per year.
Example Sentence 1
The cross-country route ends at a commercial service airport, so expect airline traffic and follow tower instructions carefully on arrival.
Example Sentence 2
Because it was a CM airport, additional security screening was required before departure.