Airport Elevation

Airport Elevation is the officially published height of the highest point of the landing area above mean sea level (MSL). It is critical for altimeter setting, approach minima calculations, and performance computations.

• Published in the AIP, charts, and airport databases
• Used to calculate field elevation for approach procedures
• Higher elevation = lower air density = degraded aircraft performance
• Affects takeoff and landing distance, climb gradient, and engine thrust
• Not to be confused with Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP) which is a geographic coordinate