Every Aircraft on Your Ramp Is Worth More Than Your Building.
Protecting FBOs, ground handlers, fuelers, and aircraft service businesses
Airport service businesses keep aviation moving on the ground — fixed-base operators (FBOs) that fuel, hangar, and handle aircraft, plus ground handlers, line-service crews, aircraft detailers, and maintenance and avionics shops. The defining feature is that these businesses take custody of extremely high-value aircraft that belong to others, and handle fuel and ground equipment around them, so a single mistake — a fueling error, a tow into a wingtip, a hangar fire — can damage aircraft worth far more than the business itself. That hangarkeepers-and-fueling exposure is what sets an airport service business apart. It needs coverage built around hangarkeepers liability for aircraft in its care, fueling and ground-handling operations, and the premises, products, and pollution of an airport operation. This is part of the broader aviation insurance market, tailored to the ground business.
Properly structured coverage protects the operator, the aircraft in its care, and the airport it works on.
The Airport Service Business's Signature Exposures
The defining exposure is hangarkeepers liability: aircraft stored, serviced, fueled, moved, or handled are in the operator's care, custody, or control, and damage to them — a tow accident, a hangar fire, a fuel spill into an engine — is a bailee loss standard property forms exclude, at values that can reach into the millions per aircraft. Fueling adds a serious pollution and products exposure (misfueling, contamination, spills), ground handling adds tow and equipment-contact risk, and premises liability covers the ramp, terminal, and public areas. Aircraft products and completed-operations liability applies to maintenance, avionics, and parts work, and airport lease agreements impose strict insurance requirements.
Key Risks in Airport Service Operations
Airport service businesses face exposure related to:
Damage to a customer's aircraft while stored, towed, fueled, or handled
A hangar fire damaging multiple aircraft at once
A misfueling or fuel-contamination event affecting an engine
A fuel spill triggering pollution cleanup and liability
A ground-handling or tow accident striking a wingtip or gear
A maintenance or avionics error blamed after the aircraft returns to service
An injury on the ramp, in the terminal, or to line staff
Every aircraft on your ramp being worth more than your building is what most defines the class.
Core Coverages for Airport Service Businesses
A properly built airport-service program typically includes:
Hangarkeepers Liability (Care, Custody & Control) — Covers damage to others' aircraft in the operator's care — the core bailee exposure — at limits that reflect aircraft values.
Airport / Premises Liability — Covers third-party injury and damage on the ramp, terminal, and premises.
Products & Completed Operations Liability — Covers maintenance, avionics, fueling, and parts work after the aircraft leaves.
Fueling / Pollution Liability — Covers spills, misfueling, and contamination from fuel operations.
Commercial Property & Equipment Breakdown — Cover hangars, shops, ground equipment, and fuel systems.
Workers' Compensation & Umbrella — Cover line and shop staff and add limits over a large aircraft-damage claim.
Business Income & Non-Owned/Auto (as needed) — Replace income after a loss and cover ground vehicles and tugs.
What's Commonly Overlooked
Airport service programs are most often weakened by:
Hangarkeepers limits below the value of aircraft actually in the operator's care
Fueling pollution and misfueling exposure left uncovered or too narrow
Products-completed-operations gaps on maintenance and avionics work
Liability limits and additional-insured status below airport-lease requirements
Ground-handling and tow exposure underestimated
The gaps that hurt most are undersized hangarkeepers limits and unaddressed fueling exposure.
Real-World Claim Examples
A tug tow strikes and damages a customer's aircraft
A hangar fire damages several stored aircraft
A misfueling event contaminates an engine
A fuel spill on the ramp triggers cleanup and pollution liability
A maintenance error is blamed after the aircraft returns to service
Any one of these can be catastrophic, and the hangarkeepers and fueling claims are the most distinctive.
Regulatory & Licensing Context
Airport service businesses operate under FAA rules for maintenance (Part 145 repair stations), fueling and ramp safety, and airport operating standards, plus the airport sponsor's minimum-standards and lease agreements, which impose specific hangarkeepers, liability, and additional-insured requirements. Fueling is subject to EPA and state spill-prevention (SPCC) and environmental rules, OSHA governs ramp and shop safety, and security requirements apply on the airfield. Meeting the airport lease's exact insurance terms is a condition of operating.
Why Proper Placement Matters
Underwriters weigh the services offered (fueling, hangaring, handling, maintenance), the number and value of aircraft in care at peak, hangar construction and fire protection, fuel operations and spill controls, maintenance and repair-station status, lease requirements, and loss history. Because aircraft values and bailee severity are high, airport service businesses are placed through the aviation market, and hangarkeepers limits must reflect real accumulation. Setting hangarkeepers limits to peak aircraft values, covering fueling pollution, and meeting lease requirements are the essential steps.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we insure airport service businesses through the aviation market — placing hangarkeepers liability at limits that reflect the aircraft in your care, fueling and pollution coverage for your line operations, products-completed-operations for your shop work, and the premises limits and additional-insured status your airport lease demands. We also serve aircraft owners and flight schools, and place the broader aviation program.
Every aircraft on your ramp is worth more than your building, which makes an airport service business a distinct risk — we build the coverage to match it, hangarkeepers and fueling liability included.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
See the coverages an airport service business business may carry — core, prevalent, and situational — plus the gap most often missed, in the Airport Service Business Coverage Checklist.
Download the fillable Airport Service Business Supplemental to start your submission, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get airport service business insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate airport service business insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
What drives the cost of airport service business insurance?
It depends on your exposure. Airport service business insurance is priced on factors like your industry, size, prior claims, and the limits and deductibles you select — so two businesses rarely pay the same. We shop your account across competing carriers and present the trade-offs in plain English.
Do I need airport service business insurance?
It depends on your situation. Some coverage is required by law; more often, airport service business insurance is required by a contract, lease, lender, or client before they will do business with you — and even when it is not mandated, it guards against exposures that can be severe. We review your operations and obligations and tell you plainly what you need and why.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
Available in all 50 states. See how requirements differ in California, Texas, Florida, New York, or choose your state.