About and methodology
DiscoverAirports is an independent guide to US airports. We combine live government data with hand-checked airport details so you can see what is happening and plan what to do next.
Where the data comes from
- FAA National Airspace System status: ground stops, ground delay programs and closures, refreshed every few minutes.
- NOAA Aviation Weather Center: METAR observations and TAF forecasts.
- National Weather Service: forecasts and active weather alerts near each airport.
- Bureau of Transportation Statistics: on-time performance and cancellations by airport and airline, published monthly with a lag of about two months.
- FAA enplanement data: the list of commercial service airports and annual passenger boardings.
- OurAirports (public domain): airport coordinates, runways and radio frequencies.
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): nearby hotels and car rental locations.
- Traveler reports: anonymous security wait and Wi-Fi speed reports, moderated before they appear.
What we check by hand
Terminal layouts, ground transportation, parking types, Wi-Fi and lounges are reviewed against official airport websites. Each section shows the date it was reviewed. When we cannot confirm something we leave it out and say so instead of guessing.
Limits you should know about
- We do not show flight-by-flight status. Use your airline or the airport for that.
- The TSA does not publish open wait-time data, so security times come from traveler reports and may be empty for quiet airports.
- Government feeds can be late or unavailable. When a feed is stale we show how old the data is.
Corrections
If something is wrong or out of date, tell us on the contact page or use the report form on the airport page. We review every correction. Contact us