Every charted right traffic pattern in the US, mapped
We parsed the FAA's airport database so you don't have to: 3,185 runway ends at 2,563 airports turn right instead of left, including 7 in 10 public airports in California.
About 1 in 5 US airports has at least one runway end with charted right traffic: 2,563 of the 12,588 with runway data in the FAA's NASR database.
Student pilots learn "all turns left" on day one; 14 CFR 91.126 makes left traffic the legal default. The exceptions are supposed to be just that: exceptions. So we read the FAA's National Airspace System Resource (NASR) record for every US airport and pulled the right traffic flag for every runway end. The exceptions turn out to be a fifth of the country.
The map
Every dot is an airport. The country outline below is nothing but the 12,588 airports themselves. Blue dots have at least one runway end with charted right traffic. Hover for the runway ends; click through to any airport's live page, where the pattern is drawn on its charted side.
Loading airports…
Zoom with the buttons, a pinch, or a double click, then drag to pan. Click a blue dot to open that airport's page.
Alaska and Hawaii are inset. Like most US airport maps, the westernmost Aleutian islands clip at the frame edge.
Where right traffic lives
California has the most right traffic airports: 178 public fields, 71% of the state's public airports. The West leads the country, with California, Arizona, and Washington all above 45%.
| State | Airports with right traffic | Public use airports | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 178 | 252 | 71% |
| TX | 123 | 481 | 26% |
| AK | 85 | 368 | 23% |
| WA | 68 | 146 | 47% |
| FL | 50 | 148 | 34% |
| AZ | 47 | 85 | 55% |
| KS | 40 | 175 | 23% |
| MO | 39 | 151 | 26% |
| OK | 36 | 172 | 21% |
| CO | 35 | 97 | 36% |
| OR | 33 | 115 | 29% |
| ID | 33 | 137 | 24% |
| TN | 29 | 101 | 29% |
| PA | 27 | 135 | 20% |
| OH | 24 | 161 | 15% |
Top 15 states by count, public use airports only. All 50 states and DC are in the CSV below.
Why would a pattern turn right?
Right traffic exists to keep the pattern away from something: terrain, a neighborhood that complains about noise, an obstruction, or the opposite side of a parallel runway.
- Terrain. A ridge on the downwind side leaves nowhere to fly the pattern except the other way. This is much of the mountain West's share.
- Parallel runways. At fields with parallels, one side flies left and the other right so the two patterns never cross. That is why the count of 3,185 ends is larger than 2,563 airports.
- Noise abatement. Keeping the downwind off the town is the polite reason, and the one most likely to be enforced by an airport letter.
- Obstructions and airspace. Towers, restricted areas, or a neighboring airport's final can all push a pattern to the far side.
Whatever the reason, flying it wrong points you straight at everyone flying it right. Right traffic is marked "RP" on VFR sectionals and listed for each runway in the Chart Supplement, and every SkyReady airport page draws the pattern on its charted side automatically. New to pattern entries? Start with our guide to the 45° entry.
Methodology & data
Source: FAA National Airspace System Resource (NASR) subscription
data, cycle of June 19, 2026, the per runway end RIGHT_HAND_TRAFFIC_PAT_FLAG.
Population: 12,588 facilities with runway records in
the 50 states and DC (5,540 public use), excluding heliports
and helipad surfaces; US territories are not covered. Seaplane bases are included.
State shares use public use airports only.
Limitations: the NASR flag is boolean per runway end, so it doesn't
distinguish full time from part time right traffic (sectionals mark the latter
"RP*"), and it can lag recent airport letters. The Chart Supplement is authoritative
for any specific field.
Download the dataset: right-traffic-airports.csv (2,563 rows: ident, name, city, state, coordinates, public or private, facility type, right traffic runway ends). Licensed CC BY 4.0: free to reuse and republish with a link to this page. Journalists: the numbers regenerate with each FAA data cycle; the figures above are current as of June 19, 2026.
Sources: FAA NASR subscriber files (APT_BASE / APT_RWY_END); 14 CFR 91.126; FAA AC 90-66C. Analysis and map by SkyReady. Questions or corrections: support@skyready.app.