Proposal:Seaplane Bases
| Seaplane Bases | |
|---|---|
| Proposal status: | Proposed (under way) |
| Proposed by: | Telegram Sam |
| Tagging: | |
| Applies to: |  
|
| Definition: | An aerodrome serving only sea aircraft. |
| Statistics: |
|
| Draft started: | 2026-11-07 |
| RFC start: | 2026-11-07 |
Proposal
Tag seaplane bases as aeroway=seaplane_base instead of the more general aeroway=aerodrome.
A seaplane base is an aerodrome that can only serve sea aircraft, i.e. only has water landing areas.
Landing areas should use seamark:type=seaplane_landing_area and not aeroway=runway.
Rationale
Seaplane bases are practically and materially very different from a land aerodrome. In fact, they have more in common with a boat port.
They have no runway or taxiways, instead using the water body they are located on for taxiing and taking off. The biggest bases might mark landing surfaces using buoys.
They have no aprons to park on or jetbridges, instead using piers to dock the seaplanes and connect passengers. They biggest ones might have a terminal building and fuel station near the piers.
Seaplanes themselves are a very niche mode of travel. They can land on any body of water, but this limits them to serving coastal communities. This capability requires extra equipment and training, making them inefficient compared to land planes. Before WW2 land aerodromes were rare making seaplanes a good choice, but in the modern era land planes are almost always the best answer. Nowadays they are mostly used in underdeveloped and isolated areas of the world.
They are in a way comparable to heliports, currently mapped as aeroway=heliport. Like seaplanes, helicopters are inefficient compared to aeroplanes, but unlike them, helicopters can land almost anywhere, giving them a niche. Heliports have no runway, only helipads, and can be made very compact.
Tagging
Draw an area around the land facilities of the seaplane base or place a node in the middle of the facilities and tag it as aeroway=seaplane_base.
Secondary tags common with aeroway=aerodrome can be added.
Water runways should be tagged using seamark:type=seaplane_landing_area and not aeroway=runway as the landing area is not a physical object but a virtual area drawn on the water basin.
Examples
Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre
Impact on Data Consumers
Any seaplane bases currently mapped as aeroway=aerodrome will disappear from consumer's maps if they are changed to aeroway=seaplane_base.
This can be mitigated by adding landuse=industrial + industrial=port + port=seaplane to them since they are also ports.
The larger seaplane bases can also be left as aeroway=aerodrome until the tag becomes more common. There are hundreds of tiny seaplane bases in remote areas which can act as early adopters.
Features/Pages affected
Pages created:
aeroway=seaplane_base
Pages modified:
aeroway=aerodrome
aeroway=runway
seamark:type=seaplane_landing_area
Comments
Please comment on the forum post or the discussion page.