1. (1) Any person desiring to construct a proposed new landing area must first be granted permission to do so from the Aeronautics Bureau. Before the Bureau will consider an application for a proposed new landing area, the applicant must receive a determination of no objection from the FAA. To obtain such a determination, the applicant must complete and submit FAA Form 7480-1 (“Notice of Construction, Alteration and Deactivation of Airports”) to the appropriate FAA office. Copies of FAA Form 7480-1 may be obtained from the Bureau or the FAA.
2. (2) An application to construct a new landing area is initiated by a letter addressed to the Chief of Aeronautics Bureau's address. Upon receipt of such letter, the Bureau will furnish the applicant with a booklet entitled “Registration Procedures for Landing Areas in Alabama”. This booklet will contain a “State of Alabama Landing Area Registration Form” that must be completed and returned to the Bureau before any construction of the proposed landing area begins. The “State of Alabama Landing Area Registration Form” will constitute a formal application for the proposed new landing area. The application will not be considered without a determination of no objection issued by the FAA.
3. (3) A drawing depicting the proposed development, property boundaries, and a location map must be submitted to the Bureau with the completed State of Alabama Landing Area Registration Form. The drawing must show the proposed runway location and orientation on the property. All adjacent property owners by name and address must be included on the drawing. Documentation evidencing that local zoning requirements have been met and approval received from the appropriate government agency must be included with the submittal. In the event that no zoning ordinances exist for the proposed location, a written statement of fact from the appropriate government agency must be submitted.
4. (4) The Bureau will assign an Airport Inspector to visit the proposed site to determine if an airport can be constructed at the location and, if constructed, will conform to standards set forth in this chapter.  The site inspection will take into consideration the amount of land available for construction of the runway and the present use of the land contained in the approach and departure paths, primary surface and runway safety area.  Other considerations are the type of activities to be conducted at the airport and what obstructions must be removed.  The airport owner must control, by ownership or legal contract with the legal owner, the area of land on which the airport is to be constructed and the land described as the approach and departure path for each runway end.  (Ref. 450-9-3-.12 (1))
5. (5) The Airport Inspector will file a report with the Chief of the Aeronautics Bureau after the site visit and recommend that a site approval certificate be issued or denied.  A copy of the report will also be forwarded to the applicant of the airport.  A recommendation of denial will be accompanied by an explanation of the circumstances that justify this decision.  If there are items that can be corrected to meet the requirements for issuance, these will be included in the explanatory statement of denial. If the Chief issues the certificate for approval of the site all adjacent property owners identified on the application will be mailed a Notice of Intent form.

Author: William F. Patty, Chief Counsel

Statutory Authority: Code of Alabama 1975, 23-1-357(c), 23-1-359.

Editor’s Note: Alabama Department of Aeronautics has been moved to the Alabama Department of Transportation pursuant to the Code of Ala. 1975, §23-1-359, Act No. 2000-220, S. 404.

History: New Rule: Filed January 28, 1998; effective March 4, 1998. Amended: Published April 30, 2026; effective June 14, 2026.