Airport minimum standards, decoded for the vendors who have to meet them
Every airport that takes federal grant money publishes rules for businesses that operate on the field. Here is how minimum standards work, how they differ from one airport to the next, and how the FBO's own rules sit on top.
Taxi route 7 sections
Who writes the rules on an airport
Most public-use airports in the US are owned by a city, a county or an airport authority, known as the sponsor. Airports that accept federal grants agree to a set of obligations, and the FAA encourages sponsors to publish minimum standards: the qualifications and conditions every business must meet to offer aeronautical services on the field. The goal is fairness. Everyone who wants to fuel, wash, repair or cater aircraft plays by the same published rules.
The result is that every airport writes its own. Two fields thirty miles apart can have completely different permits, insurance limits and fees.
The words you will see, translated
| Term | What it means for a vendor |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | The city, county or authority that owns and runs the airport |
| FBO | Fixed base operator, the full-service business that most transient aircraft use |
| SASO | Specialized aviation service operator: a business offering one service, such as maintenance, cleaning or catering |
| Minimum standards | The sponsor’s published conditions for operating a business on the field |
| Rules and regulations | Day-to-day rules for everyone: driving, fueling, washing, smoking, parking |
| Through-the-fence | Access to the airfield from off-airport property, often restricted or banned |
| AOA | Air operations area, the part of the airport where aircraft operate |
| Permit or operating agreement | The document that authorizes your business, often with its own insurance schedule |
Four things every vendor should find before the first job
1. Do I need my own permit, or do I work under someone else’s?
This varies more than anything else. At Scottsdale, mobile washers and mobile mechanics each need their own Aeronautical Business Permit from the city. At John Wayne, specialized operators work through a sublease with an FBO, and an FBO’s subcontractors need the Airport Director’s written approval. At Teterboro, any business activity needs the Port Authority’s consent. Get this wrong and the rest doesn’t matter.
2. What insurance, at what limits, naming whom?
Some sponsors publish a full insurance table. Lehigh Valley lists $5M general liability, $1M hangarkeepers and $1M auto for operators, with the authority named as additional insured. Many others say the limits are “as determined by the airport” and set them in each permit. Either way, the sponsor almost always wants to be named as additional insured and wants notice before cancellation. Our guide to additional insured and waiver of subrogation covers what those terms do.
3. How do my people and vehicles get access?
Badges, escorts, driver training and vehicle permits are often handled by a different office from the permit itself. Our guide to SIDA, AOA and GA badges explains the differences.
4. What fees apply?
Fees range from a flat application charge to a percentage of gross revenue earned on the field. Scottsdale charges the greater of $25 a month or 2.5% of gross sales for mobile washing, for example, while Miami-Dade’s general aviation permit carries an application fee and a refundable deposit. Build them into your pricing before you bid.
Then the FBO adds its own layer
The sponsor’s standards are a floor. The FBO you work through adds its lease requirements, its insurer’s requirements and its customers’ standards. A fractional or charter customer may add more again. That’s why a caterer serving three FBOs at two airports can face five different sets of requirements for the same van and the same crew.
The stricter rule always wins. If the airport asks for $1M in general liability and the FBO asks for $5M, the vendor needs $5M at that FBO.
Why the documents are hard to find
Sponsors publish minimum standards as PDFs on airport websites, sometimes scanned, sometimes behind a portal, sometimes years out of date. Some are adopted as city or county code. Several of the documents we reviewed for our library were more than a decade old, and some sections could not be read at all. When a page in our library says a limit is “set by agreement” or lists something under “what we could not confirm,” that is why.
Find your airport
The ClearedVendor requirements library summarizes published standards for the busiest business aviation airports in the US, with sources and review dates. Search for yours below. If it’s not listed, request it and it moves up the list.
Questions people ask
What are airport minimum standards?
They are the airport sponsor’s published qualifications and conditions for businesses that provide aeronautical services on the field, such as fueling, maintenance, cleaning and catering. They typically cover permits, insurance, training, vehicles, facilities and fees.
What is a SASO?
A specialized aviation service operator: a business that provides one or a few aviation services, such as maintenance, avionics, aircraft cleaning or flight training, rather than the full range an FBO offers.
Can a mobile vendor work at an airport without a permit?
It depends on the airport. Some require every vendor to hold its own permit, some allow vendors to work under an FBO or tenant with approval, and some restrict outside vendors entirely. Check the sponsor’s minimum standards and ask the FBO before the first job.
Requirements change. This guide is general information; always confirm with the airport sponsor and the FBO before relying on it.