Newsletter
ES
Sign in

Aviation glossary

Airport elevation

Also: aerodrome elevation, field elevation, high-altitude airport

Airports

Height above mean sea level of the highest point of an aerodrome's landing area, given in feet and metres.

What it is

Elevation appears on aerodrome charts and in published aerodrome data, and pilots use it constantly: to set the altimeter, to calculate procedure heights and, above all, to work out aircraft performance. The higher the airport, the thinner the air, and in thinner air an aircraft needs a higher ground speed to take off while its engines produce less thrust.

High-altitude airports therefore tend to have long runways and, on hot days, may force operators to reduce payload. El Alto, which serves La Paz, lies at around 4,000 metres; Bogotá El Dorado at about 2,550 metres; and Mexico City at about 2,230 metres. Some aircraft models are offered with specific equipment for regular operations at very high airports.

On Vuelopedia

On Vuelopedia, an airport page shows its elevation among the general details, where it is known.

Related terms

RunwayRectangular surface at an aerodrome prepared for aircraft to take off and land, identified by its magnetic orientation. Take-off distanceDistance an aircraft needs from the start of its take-off run until it reaches a reference height above the runway, normally 35 feet for transport aircraft. PayloadWeight of everything that earns revenue on a flight, namely passengers and their baggage, cargo and mail, excluding the aircraft, crew and fuel. FootImperial unit of length equal to 0.3048 metres, in which civil aviation expresses altitude across most of the world. MTOWMaximum weight at which an aircraft is certified to begin its take-off, including structure, crew, passengers, cargo and fuel.
Whole glossary

Cite

To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.

This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Airport elevation. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airport-elevation

MLA

“Airport elevation.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airport-elevation. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Airport elevation.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airport-elevation.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Airport elevation. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airport-elevation (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_airport_elevation,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Airport elevation}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airport-elevation},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airport-elevation}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airport-elevation |title=Airport elevation |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}

Explore the encyclopedia

Homethe record of every aircraftAirlinesdocumented fleetsModelsfrom the Airbus A220 to the Boeing 747Compareup to three aircraft, side by sideManufacturerswho builds the aircraft, and their enginesIVCA Rankingair quality, from 0 to 100Newsthe latest from the recordsOn this dayaviation, day by dayVideosone aviation story a day, on videoAirportsthe world's leading onesAccidentswhat every accident changedTimelinethe whole century, 1903 to todayPeoplewho made all of this possibleOn Screenwhen the airliner was the plotTriviaa daily aviation challengeMemoriesa name in an aircraft's historyPresspress releases and Vuelopedia in the mediaYour profilesign in or create your accountAboutwhat Vuelopedia is and who makes it