Minnesota is home to a diverse network of 133 publicly owned, public-use commercial service and general aviation (GA) airports. These airports are supported by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Office of Aeronautics (Aeronautics). The 2022 Minnesota State Aviation System Plan (MnSASP or 2022 MnSASP) is MnDOT Aeronautics’ long-term strategic plan, designed to provide a description and assessment of the system’s current performance, as well as guidance for future development. The MnSASP is part of MnDOT’s Family of Plans, which stem from the Minnesota GO 50-year Vision. The Vision outlines what Minnesotans desire from the state’s transportation system and identifies key guiding principles MnDOT strives to achieve.
As part of the system planning effort, the 2022 MnSASP developed the MnSASP Hub as an interactive web application to maintain and report all data collected during the plan to support various MnDOT Aeronautics’ functions. The data presented in the MnSASP Hub include all performance measures and indicators defined in the 2022 MnSASP (refer to Chapter 2 for more information), economic impact, FAA-filed flight plans, NAVAIDs and weather stations, airfield pavement condition, and airport safety areas (MnDOT clear zones, FAA Part 77 surfaces, runway protection zones [RPZs]). All the tabular and spatial data summarized above are organized and presented in the MnSASP Hub in a combination of interactive Dashboards and mapping applications. You can access the MnSASP Hub here.
2022 MnSASP Final Deliverables
The 2022 Minnesota State Aviation System Plan (MnSASP) has been finalized and officially approved! The plan further strengthens the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s commitment to providing an air transportation system that realizes the MnSASP objectives, while ensuring air transportation is equitable, sustainable, resilient, and healthy for all.
- Attachment 1. Through-the-Fence Operations Introduction and MnDOT Guidance
- Attachment 2. Hangar Availability and Funding Recommendations
- Attachment 3. State Aviation System Exit and Airport Closure Guidance Statement
- Attachment 4. State Aviation System Airport Entry Guidance Statement
- Attachment 5. Crosswind Runway Guidance Statement
- Attachment 6. Clear Zone Guidance Statement
- Attachment 7. Last-mile Connectivity and Courtesy Car Recommendations
MnSASP Implementation Meeting Presentation
The MnSASP update process began in 2017 and consisted of two phases.
- Phase I: Established the MnSASP framework, aligning it with the Minnesota GO 50-year vision for Minnesota’s transportation network. This framework is published as whitepapers linked below. Phase I also evaluated trends impacting the Minnesota airport system and published these findings as trend papers linked below.
- Phase II: Validated the MnSASP framework and conducted a series of evaluations used to develop forward-looking recommendations for MnDOT Aeronautics.
- Public input: Both Phase I and Phase II relied on continuous public input to ensure alignment with the needs of all Minnesota aviation stakeholders, with a final public comment period of the draft MnSASP that was from June 12, 2023 to July 12, 2023.
- Moving forward: The MnSASP collected a wide range of airport data to complete the performance assessment and inform recommendations. As a result, the MnSASP Hub was created and serves as a central data and reporting tool. This allows MnDOT and aviation stakeholders to engage in continuous system and airport planning.