Definition
The total count of passengers boarding aircraft at a given airport over a specified period, used by the FAA as a primary measure of an airport's traffic volume and a factor in airspace and airport classification.
Plain English
The number of people getting on planes at an airport during a set time, usually counted per year. It's how busy an airport is measured by passengers boarding.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA airspace and airport discussions when describing how busy an airport is and why certain controlled airspace may be established around it.
Derivation
From 'enplane,' built on the model of 'embark' -- the prefix 'en-' meaning 'to put into or onto,' plus 'plane.' So an enplanement is literally the act of putting a passenger onto a plane. Knowing this makes the term less bureaucratic: it just means a boarding.
Why Pilots Care
Enplanement totals help set airspace class boundaries that affect required pilot ratings, equipment, and ATC services.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as total airport visitors or total airline traffic. Passenger enplanements count passengers boarding aircraft at that airport.
Example Sentence 1
Class B airspace is generally established around the nation's busiest airports in terms of passenger enplanements.
Example Sentence 2
Reviewing annual passenger enplanements helps pilots anticipate the level of ATC coverage and traffic density near major terminals.