Definition
An FAA-published plan that identifies airports in the United States considered significant to national air transportation, and estimates the airport development needed over a five-year period to meet civil aviation, national defense, and postal service requirements. Inclusion in the NPIAS makes an airport eligible for federal funding under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP).
Plain English
It is the FAA's master list of airports the country counts on, along with the funding needed over the next five years to keep them in good shape and ready to handle future demand.
Context Anchor
Seen in airport planning, airport funding, and FAA discussions of how airports fit into the national airport system.
Derivation
The name describes its function literally: a national-level plan covering an integrated (connected, working-together) system of airports — meaning the FAA looks at airports as a network rather than one-by-one.
Why Pilots Care
Determines which airports receive grants for runway, taxiway, and facility improvements that directly affect where pilots can land safely and reliably.
Intuition Check
Do not read “plan” here as a pilot’s flight plan. The NPIAS is a national airport planning and funding document, not a plan for one flight.
Example Sentence 1
The local airport manager applied for an AIP grant to repave the runway because the field is listed in the NPIAS.
Example Sentence 2
Planners use the NPIAS to decide which smaller fields will get new lighting and taxiway upgrades.