The East West Gateway Coordinating Council is responsible for aviation planning within the St. Louis metropolitan area. The metropolitan area includes the City of St. Louis and surrounding counties in Illinois and Missouri. There are 13 public use airports located within the region. Of this total, two (Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and MidAmerica Airport) are commercial service facilities, and 11 are general aviation facilities.

The East West Gateway Coordinating Council has been active in aviation system analysis and planning since 1984. Aviation staff monitors regional aviation activity, forecasts future activity, and sets capital improvement priorities at metropolitan general aviation airports.

Several publications have resulted from this regional aviation analysis:

• The “Zoning Guide for Airport Sponsors” provides information on protecting airports and airspace through zoning.
• The “General Aviation Economic Impact Study for the St. Louis Region” provides the economic impacts of general aviation for the year 1995.
• The “General Aviation System Plan” (1997) provides information on current and forecast aviation activity, funding, and long term aviation policy and priorities.
• The (1998) “Amendment to the General Aviation System Plan” is part of the annual process of updating forecasts and figures to determine the continued validity of the Plan.
• The “Gateway Aviator,” our newsletter, provides aviation information to the general public.
• Quarterly and annual aircraft operation estimates at public use general aviation airports.

Aviation staff also provides technical assistance to airport sponsors, local governments and interested citizens. The staff reports to the Regional Aviation Technical Advisory Committee (RATAC) and the East West Gateway Coordinating Council Board of Directors.

The RATAC consists of representatives from each of the system’s public use airports, Air Traffic Control, the Regional Commerce and Growth Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and aviation officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) - Central Region, Illinois Dept. of Transportation and Missouri Dept. of Transportation. RATAC provides a practitioner’s forum for identifying, researching, and discussing pertinent aviation issues affecting transportation in the St. Louis Region.

Please click the links below to learn more about aviation in the St. Louis Metropolitan Region. For further information contact us at aviation@.ewgateway.org or call us at (314) 421-4220