Columbia Metro Airport
CAE · KCAE · Columbia, South Carolina · Lexington County · map
Columbia Metro Airport is a public-use airport, 5 miles southwest of Columbia, South Carolina, 236 feet above sea level. It has 3 runways; the longest, 11/29, is 8,601 feet of concrete. It has a control tower, fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 81 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 63,968 takeoffs and landings a year. About 640,322 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Columbia Metro Airport?
Its FAA code is CAE, and its ICAO code is KCAE.
Where is Columbia Metro Airport?
It is 5 miles southwest of Columbia, South Carolina, 236 feet above sea level.
How long is the longest runway at Columbia Metro Airport?
The longest of its 3 runways, 11/29, is 8,601 feet long.
Does Columbia Metro Airport have a control tower?
Yes, it has a control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Columbia Metro Airport?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A.
Where can you fly nonstop from Columbia Metro Airport?
Airline flights go to 8 airports, the busiest of them Charlotte/Douglas International, Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International, Laguardia, Chicago O'Hare International, Dallas-Fort Worth International. Every route
Are there flight schools at Columbia Metro Airport?
One flight school, flying club or college flight programme is based within about 15 miles of it: Eagle Aviation Columbia LLC. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Columbia Metro Airport?
5 pilot examiners and 6 aviation medical examiners work within 50 nautical miles. See them by name
Weather and planning now, the forecast, warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions
Fetching the weather now, the forecast, the warnings in force, pilot reports and the winds aloft for Columbia Metro Airport…
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
The airport facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA CAE · ICAO KCAE
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Elevation
- 236 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- A control tower with a TRACON · around the clock
- Attended
- around the clock
- Lights
- runway lights sunset to sunrise; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A; the services card below
- Notes
- certified for airline service (Part 139)
- On the chart
- Charlotte sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 7W
- In the FAA's files since
- June 1942
Runways 3
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/29 | 8,601 × 150 ft | Concrete, excellent | High-intensity lights |
| 05/23 | 8,001 × 150 ft | Asphalt and concrete, excellent | High-intensity lights |
| H1 | 50 × 50 ft | Concrete, fair | Perimeter lights |
- Runway 11: ILS with DME, PAPI, four lights on the left, approach lights with sequenced flashers (ALSF-2)
- Runway 29: ILS, PAPI, four lights on the left, medium-intensity approach lights with runway alignment lights (MALSR), 8,506 ft available for landing
- Runway 05: ILS, PAPI, four lights on the right, medium-intensity approach lights with runway alignment lights (MALSR), 7,001 ft available for landing
- Runway 23: PAPI, four lights on the left, threshold displaced 1,000 ft, 7,001 ft available for landing, tree 45 ft high 1,575 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| UNICOM | 122.95 | |
| ATIS (recorded airport information) | 120.15 | Columbia |
| Clearance delivery | 119.75 | Columbia |
| Clearance delivery | 124.4 | |
| Clearance delivery When augusta approach control closed | 126.075 | |
| Ground | 121.9 | Columbia |
| Tower | 119.5 | Columbia |
| Approach and departure · Class C airspace arriving from headings 110 to 289; When augusta approach control closed | 124.15 | Columbia |
| Approach and departure · Class C airspace arriving from headings 290 to 109 | 133.4 | Columbia |
| Emergency | 121.5 | Columbia |
Automated weather (ASOS), by phone 803-369-6879.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- hangars, tie-downs
- Oxygen
- bottled oxygen (high-pressure), bulk oxygen (high-pressure)
- Also here
- air freight, avionics, cargo handling, charter flights, flight instruction, aircraft rental, aircraft sales
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Jim Hamilton L B Owens Airport (6 nm east), Fairfield County (23 nm north), Orangeburg Municipal (32 nm southeast).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in South Carolina · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Airport existed prior to 1958.
- Fee for commercial aircraft over 15000 pounds.
- Airport dist.
- Runway 05 200 feet by 200 feet blast pad.
- Runway 11 220 feet by 400 feet blast pad; runway 29 220 feet by 400 feet blast pad.
- ALSF2 also opers as ssalr.
- Runway 05/23 cntr 75 feet is concrete, entire length of runway.
- Oprn of ultralight vehicles prohibited.
- Sports complex with nmrs flood lights approximately 6500 feet from approach end runway 11.
- Noise abatement procedure: no turns below 1000 feet for turbine eng aircraft unless dctd by air traffic control.
- Helipad H1 located north of taxilane east, east of taxiway E3.
- Due to proximity and runway alnmt aircrews have mistaken cub (runway 13/31) for cae (runway 11/29) which is 6 miles northeast.
Flights and activity in the air now, the airlines, based aircraft, takeoffs and landings
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
- Looking…
Arrivals and departures, last hour
- Looking…
From the volunteer receiver network, a few minutes behind at most; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out; no person is named. Open the live map here.
Scheduled and charter flights from here the DOT's airline reports · August 2025 to July 2026
Airlines reported 13,394 departures from CAE in those twelve months, carrying 689,222 passengers in 856,757 seats (80% filled), to 96 destinations (2 abroad) on 29 airlines.
All 96 destinations, the airlines and the aircraft, month by month
From the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' T-100 table: every segment an airline reported flying, three months in arrears. Private, business and training flights are not in it; the live picture is in the activity card.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 44 |
| multi-engine | 13 |
| jets | 14 |
| helicopters | 5 |
| other | 5 |
The FAA's count is the general-aviation aircraft kept on the field (singles, twins, business jets, helicopters) from its Terminal Area Forecast, the latest year with an actual count; airline fleets are never counted as based anywhere, so a big airline airport shows a small number. The register section below shows how many aircraft are registered to owners in town, a different measure again.
Takeoffs and landings a year about 63,968, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| airline | 15,863 |
| air taxi and commuter | 15,112 |
| general aviation, travelling | 20,296 |
| general aviation, local | 7,391 |
| military | 5,306 |
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates. How this compares nationally: Airports by the numbers.
Who flies and works here aircraft registered in town, the companies, the examiners nearby
Aircraft registered in Columbia from the FAA register
93 aircraft are registered to owners in Columbia, South Carolina: 69 piston singles, 7 piston twins, 5 helicopters, 5 business jets, 3 turboprops. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Companies and organisations in town with two or more aircraft:
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in South Carolina.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles:
- Eagle Aviation Columbia LLC 4 aircraft · West Columbia, 4 miles away Eagle Aviation is a full-service aviation company based in West Columbia, South Carolina, operating from two locations: Columbia Metropolitan Airport and Jim Hamilton - LB Owens Airport.
Repair stations in Columbia:
Companies in the same town as this airport, and schools within about 15 miles of it (each placed at the main public airport of its town, or at the town's centre); not every one of them works from this field. All operators · all repair stations · all flight schools · all FBOs.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
5 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 5 for private pilot, 4 for commercial and instrument, 1 for airline transport pilot, 4 for flight instructor, 2 for sport pilot, 1 for type ratings; 5 for airplanes, 2 for multi-engine airplanes, 1 for gliders. Also nearby: 6 aviation medical examiners, 3 airworthiness representatives (maintenance).
- William Porcher Dubose private pilot, commercial and instrument; airplanes · Hamilton-Owens Columbia Downtown Airport · Columbia, SC (0 nm) · (803) 256-3544 · [email protected]
- Timothy Wayne Mitchell private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, type ratings, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Lexington, SC (8 nm) · (803) 920-9859 · [email protected]
- Jeanette Renee Hibpshman private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor; airplanes · Lexington County Airport, Terminal Building · Pelion, SC (11 nm) · (803) 298-9175 · [email protected]
- Timothy Standard private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, sport pilot; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · FBO · Aiken, SC (33 nm) · (706) 836-0442 · [email protected]
- Franklin Robert Burbank private pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, commercial pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, gliders · Camden FBO · Camden, SC (34 nm) · (352) 223-2883 · [email protected]
All 14 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DAR-T: Designated Airworthiness Representative, maintenance: issues airworthiness certificates and approvals for aircraft in service.
Designees are listed with the name and contact details the FAA publishes for them on its designee locator (read October 10, 2026): the FAA lists them so that pilots, mechanics and companies can find them. Private individuals are not named, the site's policy at this time. A designee who would rather not appear here can ask us through the contact address on the About page. Each designee is placed at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists (or the nearest one to its zip code), so "nearby" means the town, not an exact address. All examiners by state.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 37 since 1982, 8 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Columbia 93 aircraft · 69 piston singles, 7 piston twins, 5 helicopters
- Usda Forest Service Fepp 7 aircraft in town
- South Carolina Law Enforcement Division 3 aircraft in town
- University of South Carolina 2 aircraft in town
- South Carolina Forestry Commission 2 aircraft in town
- Eagle Aviation Columbia LLC 4 aircraft · flight school
- Aircraft Maintenance Services INC · repair station
- Charlotte/Douglas International (CLT) 2,833 flights in twelve months · Piedmont Airlines, PSA Airlines Inc.
- Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) 2,596 flights in twelve months · Delta Air Lines Inc., Endeavor Air Inc.
- Laguardia (LGA) 1,196 flights in twelve months · Endeavor Air Inc., Republic Airline
- Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) 1,161 flights in twelve months · GoJet Airlines LLC d/b/a United Express, SkyWest Airlines Inc.
- Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) 1,116 flights in twelve months · Envoy Air, PSA Airlines Inc.
- Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl (DCA) 1,036 flights in twelve months · PSA Airlines Inc., Republic Airline
- Washington Dulles International (IAD) 886 flights in twelve months · CommuteAir LLC dba CommuteAir, GoJet Airlines LLC d/b/a United Express
- Philadelphia International (PHL) 666 flights in twelve months · Piedmont Airlines, United Parcel Service
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 37 since 1982 · 8 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in South Carolina 1,035 since 1982 · 172 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in South Carolina 67 landing places
- South Carolina 3,115 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/CAE.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 29, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 28, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.