Can an airport with only a GPS approach be used as an alternate?

So you can file with the destination or the alternate having only a GPS approach, but not both. WAAS-equipped aircraft can file for destinations and alternates having only GPS approaches. In both cases, the weather at the time of arrival must satisfy the LNAV or circling minimums or higher if noted.



Yes, but with specific caveats defined by the FAA and international aviation authorities. In 2026, aircraft equipped with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) or those with TSO-C145/146 receivers can plan to use an airport with only a GPS (RNAV/GNSS) approach as an alternate. However, for flight planning purposes, pilots must apply higher weather minimums—typically 800-2 (ceiling and visibility) for non-precision or 600-2 for precision-like LPV approaches. The rule ensures that if the GPS signal were to degrade or the primary system fails, the pilot has a higher safety margin for a visual landing. Furthermore, some operators are still required to have at least one functional non-GPS approach available at either the destination or the alternate to provide a "failsafe" in the event of widespread GPS interference.

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The point of the special rules using GPS as an alternate has to do with the fact that non-WAAS GPS is supplementary navigation. So you can file with the destination or the alternate having only a GPS approach, but not both. WAAS-equipped aircraft can file for destinations and alternates having only GPS approaches.

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An airport may not be qualified for alternate use if the airport NAVAID is unmonitored, is Global Positioning System (GPS) based, or if it does not have weather reporting capabilities.

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Airports with alternate minimums that are not authorized are denoted on the approach chart with the “ ” designation and are not listed in this section. NA - means alternate minimums are not authorized due to unmonitored facility, absence of weather reporting service, or lack of adequate navigation coverage.

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It's called the 3-2-1 rule, and it's the easiest way to remember the regulation. To recap, if the weather at your destination isn't at least 3 SM of visibility and 2000' AGL ceilings from 1 hour before to 1 hour after your ETA, you need to file an alternate.

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Not more than one hour from the departure airport at normal cruising speed in still air with one engine inoperative. (2) Aircraft having three or more engines. Not more than two hours from the departure airport at normal cruising speed in still air with one engine inoperative.

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According to the FAA, if you're using an airport with LPV only (no ILS or other ground-based navaid approach) as your alternate airport, you need weather minimums that meet the LNAV or circling MDA, or the LNAV/VNAV DA if you're equipped to fly it.

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What this means practically is that a pilot may utilize their GPS RNAV system to actually fly along a VOR approach beyond the final approach fix as long as they can “monitor” the VOR (or TACAN or NDB) on a secondary radio and ensure that the GPS is navigating along the appropriate NAVAID course for the approach.

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