AC 150/5220-20A for Edge Buyers: What It Says on Cutting Edges

Standard in brief: FAA Advisory Circular 150/5220-20A, Airport Snow and Ice Control Equipment, gives guidance to airport operators on procuring snow and ice control equipment. Why it matters for an edge buyer: if you supply or specify cutting edges for airport plows, this document names edge types and one firm rule about pavement lighting. I read the circular text on 24 October 2026. This is a summary, not a substitute for the document, and it may have been amended, so check the current version with the FAA.

What the circular says

This is what the circular actually says, in its own terms, so you can test a supplier claim against the text rather than against a summary.

• Purpose and status: issued 24 September 2014, to assist airport operators in procuring snow and ice control equipment. The FAA’s document page lists it as active and mentions an errata sheet dated 2016, which I did not read.
• Where it applies: the FAA recommends its standards for purchasing snow removal and ice control equipment; in general, use of the circular is not mandatory, but it is mandatory for projects funded through the Airport Improvement Program or the Passenger Facility Charge program.
• Link to planning: it says its information should be used to develop a Snow and Ice Control Plan under 14 CFR Part 139.313.
• Standards used: it references industry consensus specifications by the SAE G15 committee instead of FAA-written specifications.
• Cutting edge length: a worked method selects the actual cutting edge length from the effective length needed. It adds that selecting a cutting edge is “not an exact science” and manufacturers may suggest other approaches.
• Edge types: its specification table lists options for the type of cutting edge: tungsten carbide, rubber, polyurethane, high carbon steel, rubber section blades with carbide inserts and reverse-angle style. Notes beside the table say carbide and high carbon steel are not allowed with in-pavement lighting, and rubber and polyurethane edges must have in-pavement lights.
• Lighting rule: for federally funded purchases, “only non-metal cutting edges may be used on pavements having in-pavement lighting.”

What it means for a supplier or buyer

The circular is a specification and a selection aid, and reading it as a ranking leads to the wrong purchase. Three points matter most for buyers.

• Check for in-pavement lighting before choosing a carbide edge. The circular treats that pavement as a case where a harder edge can damage the installation.
• Treat the listed edge types as choices, not grades. The document sets out options an airport may select among; it does not order them by service life.
• Use the length method for sizing, not for wear material. The calculation sizes equipment to the pavement; it says nothing about which edge lasts longer.

What it does not say

• It gives no wear-life figures, carbide grades, hardness values or spare-edge quantities for edges.
• It does not rank edge materials or say one is better.

Boundary: Summary of the circular as read on 24 October 2026; check the current version and any errata with the FAA, and note that it is mandatory only for AIP or PFC funded projects.