Definition
The officially surveyed highest point of an airport's usable runways, expressed in feet above mean sea level (MSL).
Plain English
How high the airport sits above sea level, measured at the highest point of its runways.
Context Anchor
Seen on airport charts, airport data pages, flight planning tools, and weather reports for an airport.
Derivation
"Field" is an older term for an airport, dating from when airports were literally grass fields. "Elevation" comes from the Latin elevare, meaning "to lift up" — here, how far the ground is lifted above sea level.
Why Pilots Care
Accurate field elevation is essential for setting the correct altimeter and calculating takeoff and landing performance, especially at high-density altitude airports.
Intuition Check
Do not read “field elevation” as the average height of the whole airport. In FAA use, it is specifically the height of the highest point on any runway.
Example Sentence 1
Before taxiing, the pilot checked the airport diagram and confirmed field elevation was 1,288 feet MSL.
Example Sentence 2
High field elevation reduces engine and wing performance, so the pilot computed density altitude before takeoff.