Kentucky Airports Full Review — Maps and Travel Information

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)

Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF)

How Many Airports are There in Kentucky?

There are 52 public-use general aviation, 92 private, 2 military, 111 heliports, one drone port, and 6 commercial airports on the Kentucky airports map. The commercial ones contribute around $9.6 billion to the state’s economy. Flights within the state are provided by general aviation airports. Business, corporate flyers, freight suppliers, the agriculture community, and air ambulances in the state also depend on general aviation.

In terms of overall air cargo shipments, Kentucky ranks third in the United States. The state also houses three major air freight logistics companies that ship goods worldwide.

There are three international airports in the state. The biggest of them is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) that has around 4.2 M passengers per year. It has a high on-time arrival rate of 78.91% (compared to an average of 79.99% in the U.S.). The percentage of on-time departures is 80.84% (average 81.56% in the USA). The smallest one is Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport (OWB), with around 19 thousand people.

The total passenger count from all Kentucky airports is 6.8 M (contribute 0.7% to the U.S. air traffic).

Top 5 Airports in Kentucky

1. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). It provides non-stop flights to more than 50 destinations and handles a great number of cargo flights every day (both domestic and international), ranking 8th in the U.S. in terms of air traffic busyness.
2. Blue Grass Airport (LEX). This public-use airport has over 1.3 million people annually. Four major airlines operate there. It contributes around $370 million to the state’s budget each year.
3. Louisville International Airport (SDF). This civil-military airport handles around 4.2 M passengers and 5.7 billion pounds of cargo every year. It’s the second busiest airport among all the airports in Kentucky and the fourth busiest in the world. It has more than 10 thousand passenger enplanements each year.
4. Owensboro–Daviess County Regional Airport (OWB). The airport is classified as a primary commercial service and is mainly used for general aviation. In 2018, it handled nearly 20 thousand aircraft operations (around 55 each day).
5. Barkley Regional Airport (PAH). This general aviation airport is served by only one airline—United Express. It offers 19 flights to Chicago every week. From August 2020 to July 2020, it had 24 thousand travelers.

Airlines

The following airlines fly from major airports in Kentucky:

1. American Airlines
2. Delta Airlines
3. United Express
4. Southwest Airlines
5. US Airways Express

Destinations

The following are the most popular destinations in Kentucky airports:

1. Louisville (67% of all online queries in Kentucky)
2. Lexington (31%)
3. Paducah (1%)
4. Owensboro (1%)

Aviation Museum of Kentucky

The aviation museum at Blue Grass Airport (Lexington) distinguishes it from other airports in Kentucky. It was founded in 1995 and includes more than 20,000 sq ft of exhibit space. Apart from the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame, there are also a library, an aircraft restoration, and a repair shop.

The museum demonstrates numerous military and civilian airplanes, sailplanes, aircraft engines, satellites, and different aviation-related photos. Many of them were donated by members of the Kentucky Aviation History Roundtable—a group of aviators that support the idea of establishing the museum at Blue Grass Airport.