Exclusive study analyzes disparities in airport access across America

Passengers checked in for a flight to Beijing at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday. In an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the United States has imposed new travel restrictions on people arriving from China.Credit...Mark Ralston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Image

Before Americans can take to the skies, they need to arrive at the airport. But, in some parts of the country that can require an arduous trek. A new study by the team at Upgraded Points analyzes FAA data of cities across the U.S. with 50K or more residents to track their proximity to airports of all sizes.

Some findings:

• For 60% of cities, the closest small-sized airport is over 75 miles away, with an average drive of 3 hours away
• 29 states don’t have a large hub airport within their state.
• Additionally, 17.7% of the continental U.S. landmass is not within 100 miles of a commercial airport
• There are huge disparities in air travel access, which has big implications for states' business and leisure tourism economies. Your readers may be curious about the challenges of air travel across America and if their city tops the list for worst airport access in our interactive.