U.S. Airspace Management: History, Current Status, Trends, and Insights

LI Chengzhi

doi:10.3724/j.issn.1674-4969.20250165

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U.S. Airspace Management: History, Current Status, Trends, and Insights

更新时间：2026-09-24

- U.S. Airspace Management: History, Current Status, Trends, and Insights
- Journal of Engineering Studies Pages: 1-17(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  北京航空航天大学人文与社会科学高等研究院，北京100191
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：10.3724/j.issn.1674-4969.20250165
  CLC： V355;F560
- CSTR：32282.14.JES.20250165
- Received：29 November 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-01-10，
  
  Online First：25 September 2026，
- 稿件说明：
移动端阅览
李成智.美国空域管理——历史、现状、趋势与启示[J].工程研究——跨学科视野中的工程,

LI Chengzhi.U.S. Airspace Management: History, Current Status, Trends, and Insights[J].Journal of Engineering Studies,
李成智.美国空域管理——历史、现状、趋势与启示[J].工程研究——跨学科视野中的工程, DOI：10.3724/j.issn.1674-4969.20250165. CSTR： 32282.14.JES.20250165.

LI Chengzhi.U.S. Airspace Management: History, Current Status, Trends, and Insights[J].Journal of Engineering Studies, DOI：10.3724/j.issn.1674-4969.20250165. CSTR： 32282.14.JES.20250165.

摘要

空域开放是发展通用航空与低空经济的前提和必由之路。为对中国空域开放与低空经济发展提供借鉴，本文系统考察美国空域管理的航行权立法进程、空域结构演变与无人机监管趋势。研究表明：美国通过1926年《商业航空法》和1938年《民用航空法》确立了美国联邦政府对空域的统一监管权，形成联邦统一监管与州政府协同的双轨体制；现行空域依据国际民航组织（ICAO）建议划分为A、B、C、D、E类管制空域与G类非管制空域及特殊用途空域，实际管制范围有限，体现了公共通行权优先、政府管制最小化的核心理念；无人机监管经历了从严格管控到适度监管的转向，以技术成熟度为依据动态调整监管力度，2025年108部法规提案（NPRM）推动超视距飞行常态化运行。据此，本文从核心理念、法规标准、技术保障三个层面对中国空域开放提出建议。

Abstract

The United States is currently the world's most advanced country in civil aviation and general aviation

one of the key reasons being its highly open national airspace system. As China is vigorously developing general aviation and the low-altitude economy

one of the major bottlenecks it faces is the insufficient opening of low-altitude airspace. Therefore

studying the historical experience of the U.S. airspace management and airspace openness has important implications and reference value for China.

This paper employs methods including literature analysis

historical research

policy analysis

and case studies to systematically examine the history

current status

experience

and trends of U.S. airspace management. The study finds that in 1922

the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws approved the

Uniform State Law for Aeronautics

which initially reconciled the conflict between aerial navigation and the common law doctrine “

Cuius est solum

eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos

” through the concept of an aviation “easement”. Subsequently

the U.S. Congress enacted a series of laws

including the

Air Mail Act of 1925

the

Air Commerce Act of 1926

and the

Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938

establishing the principle that the federal government has exclusive sovereignty of U.S. airspace

while any citizen has a public right of freedom of transit in air commerce activities through navigable airspace. These laws greatly promoted innovation and development in the U.S. military aviation

civil air transport

and general aviation

whi

le also driving national defense construction and socio-economic development.

From the end of World War Ⅱ through the 1990s

the U.S. government and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continuously optimized and refined the National Airspace System through classification-based management

forming a series of concepts and measures conducive to the efficient utilization of low-altitude airspace. Controlled airspace occupies only a small proportion of the national territory

generally about 10%. As a result

U.S. general aviation has achieved remarkable development

generating substantial socio-economic benefits in disaster relief

emergency medical services

aerial tourism

cargo transportation

agricultural operations

geological surveying

and remote sensing

contributing nearly 1% of GDP. These achievements are largely attributable to the highly open airspace system.

U.S. airspace classification and control practices reflect the following principles and characteristics: (1) U.S. citizens possess a public right of transit through navigable airspace;(2) airspace utilization efficiency is maximized to realize its economic and social value;(3) strictly controlled airspace occupies as little public airspace as possible;(4) flexible use of airspace is emphasized

transcending rigid boundaries between military and civilian airspace;(5) controlled airspace is

in many cases

also accessible to the public; and (6) airspace suitable for general aviation operations is vast

continuous

and well connected

facilitating flight activities.

The explosive growth of civil unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has introduced new challenges to airspace management. After years of exploration

research

and localized trials

the U.S. Department of Transportation announced on August 5

2025

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(NPRM) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. The key elements of the NPRM includ

e: permitting BVLOS operations; relaxing UAS weight limits; easing airspace restrictions on UAS; reducing certification requirements; loosening restrictions on operations over people; proposing the development of a distributed unmanned traffic management (UTM) system; advocating the use of strategic conflict resolution to enhance flight safety; emphasizing the development of safety-enhancing components

systems and autonomous operating system software; and promoting the full utilization of societal resources.

In February 2021

China explicitly proposed the development of the low-altitude economy for the first time at the national level. During the 2024 and 2025 annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)

the low-altitude economy was included in the Government Work Report. However

the pilot regions currently have a limited number of designated navigable low-altitude airspaces

characterized by small areas

few routes

poor connectivity

and severe fragmentation

which significantly constrains the development of the low-altitude economy. To address these issues

this paper proposes further airspace openness policy suggestions

including: establishing the principle that airspace transit rights belong to the people; highlighting the strategic role of general aviation and the low-altitude economy; removing institutional barriers to their development (such as reducing the size of military-controlled airspace); accelerating military–civilian airspace sharing with a greater tilt toward civil use; fully opening Class G and W airspace and

where feasible

further opening Class D or E airspace; implementing layered and segmented airspace management; and allowing emergency and rescue general aviation aircraft to operate in any airspace where needed. While progressively opening low-altitude airspace

it is also necessary to strengthen research and development on the safety and reliability of UAS and components

thereby providing technological support for enhancing low-altitude flight safety.

关键词

Keywords

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