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An airport is an
aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a
landing area Landing area is an official designation of specialized Earth surface region by the international standard publication describing airfields and airports to aviators, the Aeronautical Information Publication. As such, it is directly translated into d ...
, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such as a
runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
for a
plane Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * Planes (gen ...
to take off and to land or a
helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...
, and often includes adjacent utility buildings such as control towers,
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
s and
terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...
s, to maintain and monitor aircraft. Larger airports may have
airport apron The airport apron, apron, flight line, ramp, or tarmac is the area of an airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled, boarded, or maintained. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehic ...
s,
taxiway bridge Aircraft bridges, including taxiway bridges and runway bridges, bring aircraft traffic over motorways, railways, and waterways. Construction Aircraft bridges must be designed to support the heaviest aircraft that may cross them, or that will cro ...
s, air traffic control centres, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and
emergency service Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while others deal wit ...
s. In some countries, the US in particular, airports also typically have one or more
fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...
s, serving general aviation. Operating airports is extremely complicated, with a complex system of aircraft support services, passenger services, and aircraft control services contained within the operation. Thus airports can be major employers, as well as important hubs for tourism and other kinds of transit. Because they are sites of operation for heavy machinery, a number of regulations and safety measures have been implemented in airports, in order to reduce hazards. Additionally, airports have major local environmental impacts, as both large sources of
air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
,
noise pollution Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is main ...
and other environmental impacts, making them sites that acutely experience the
environmental effects of aviation Like other emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion, aircraft engines produce gases, noise, and particulates, raising environmental concerns over their global effects and their effects on local air quality. Jet airliners contribute to ...
. Airports are also vulnerable infrastructure to
extreme weather Extreme weather or extreme climate events includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme events are based on a locat ...
, climate change caused sea level rise and other disasters.


Terminology

The terms ''
aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
'', ''
airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
'', and ''
airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
'' also refer to airports, and the terms ''heliport'', ''seaplane base'', and ''
STOLport A STOLport or STOLPORT was an airport designed with STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) operations in mind, usually for an aircraft class of certain weight and size. The term "STOLport" did not appear to be in common usage as of 2008, although was c ...
'' refer to airports dedicated exclusively to
helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
,
seaplanes A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
, and
short take-off and landing A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh condition ...
aircraft. In colloquial use in certain environments, the terms ''airport'' and ''aerodrome'' are often interchanged. However, in general, the term ''airport'' may imply or confer a certain stature upon the aviation facility that other
aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
s may not have achieved. In some jurisdictions, ''airport'' is a legal
term of art Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a particu ...
reserved exclusively for those aerodromes certified or licensed as airports by the relevant
civil aviation authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...
after meeting specified certification criteria or regulatory requirements. That is to say, all airports are aerodromes, but not all aerodromes are airports. In jurisdictions where there is no legal distinction between ''aerodrome'' and ''airport'', which term to use in the name of an aerodrome may be a commercial decision. In US technical/legal usage, ''landing area'' is used instead of ''aerodrome'', and ''airport'' means "a landing area used regularly by aircraft for receiving or discharging passengers or cargo".


Types of airports

An airport solely serving helicopters is called a
heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...
. An airport for use by
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s and
amphibious aircraft An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft (typically fixed-wing) that can take off and land on both solid ground and water, though amphibious helicopters do exist as well. Fixed-wing amphibious aircraft are seaplanes ( flying boats ...
is called a
seaplane base A seaplane base is a type of airport that is located in a body of water, usually a river, bay, harbor, or lake, where seaplanes and amphibious aircraft take-off and land. History Initially following the invention of the seaplane, traditional boat ...
. Such a base typically includes a stretch of open water for
takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a t ...
s and
landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
s, and seaplane docks for tying-up. An
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
has additional facilities for customs and
passport control Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
as well as incorporating all the aforementioned elements. Such airports rank among the most complex and largest of all built typologies, with 15 of the top 50 buildings by floor area being airport terminals.


Management

Smaller or less-developed airfields, which represent the vast majority, often have a single runway shorter than . Larger airports for airline flights generally have paved runways of or longer. Skyline Airport in
Inkom, Idaho Inkom is a city in Bannock County, Idaho. It is part of the Pocatello, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 854 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the home of the smallest airport in the world, Simko Field Airport 1ID9, ...
has a runway that is only long. In the United States, the minimum dimensions for dry, hard landing fields are defined by the FAR Landing And Takeoff Field Lengths. These include considerations for safety margins during landing and takeoff. The longest public-use runway in the world is at
Qamdo Bamda Airport Qamdo Bamda Airport , also known as Changdu Bangda Airport, is an airport serving Chamdo, Qamdo (Changdu), Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is located in the village of Bamda (Bangda). Background At an elevation of above sea level, Qamdo Airp ...
in China. It has a length of . The world's widest paved runway is at
Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport (sometimes referred to as Ul'yanovsk or Ulyanovsk Northeast) is an airport in Russia located northeast of Ulyanovsk in Russia. Its runway is tied with Shigatse Peace Airport in China as the longest public use runw ...
in Russia and is wide. , the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
stated that there were approximately 44,000 "airports or airfields recognizable from the air" around the world, including 15,095 in the US, the US having the most in the world.


Airport ownership and operation

Most of the world's large airports are owned by local, regional, or national government bodies who then lease the airport to private corporations who oversee the airport's operation. For example, in the UK the state-owned
British Airports Authority Heathrow Airport Holdings is the United Kingdom-based operator of Heathrow Airport. The company also operated Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport, Edinburgh Airport and several other UK airports, but was forced by the Competition Commission to s ...
originally operated eight of the nation's major commercial airports – it was subsequently privatized in the late 1980s, and following its takeover by the Spanish
Ferrovial Ferrovial, S.A. (), previously Grupo Ferrovial, is a Spanish multinational company involved in the design, construction, financing, operation (DBFO) and maintenance of transport infrastructure and urban services. It is a publicly traded company ...
consortium in 2006, has been further divested and downsized to operating just Heathrow. Germany's
Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
is managed by the quasi-private firm
Fraport Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide,GMR Group GMR Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in New Delhi. The group was founded in 1978 by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (G M Rao) and comprises several companies including GMR Infrastructure, GMR Energy, GMR Airports, GMR Ent ...
operates, through joint ventures,
Indira Gandhi International Airport Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of , is situated in Palam, Delhi, southwest of the New De ...
and
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) is an international airport that serves Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Shamshabad, about south of Hyderabad and it was opened on 23 March 2008 to replace B ...
.
Bengaluru International Airport Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, India. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by Bengaluru Inter ...
is controlled by Fairfax .
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic aft ...
,
Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport is an international airport serving Lucknow, the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located in the Amausi area of the city 14 km far from the city centre, and was earlier also ...
,
Mangalore International Airport Mangalore International Airport , is an international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India. It is one of the only two international airports in Karnataka, the other being Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore. Mangalore ...
,
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Thiruvananthapuram International Airport , is an international airport which serves Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala and fifth international airport of In ...
,
Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport , also known as Guwahati International Airport and formerly as 'Borjhar Airport', is an international airport serving Guwahati, the largest city of North-East India in Assam, India, and is also ...
,
Jaipur International Airport Jaipur International Airport is an international airport serving Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Jaipur International Airport has been declared as the 'World's Best Airport' in the category of 2 to 5 million passengers per annum for 2015 & ...
,
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) is an international airport serving the twin cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India. The airport is located in Hansol, north of Ahmedabad. It is named after Sardar Vallabh ...
are operated by
Adani Group Adani Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Ahmedabad. It was founded by Gautam Adani in 1988 as a commodity trading business, with the flagship company Adani Enterprises. The Group's diverse businesses include po ...
through a
Public Private Partnership In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
wherein
Adani Group Adani Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Ahmedabad. It was founded by Gautam Adani in 1988 as a commodity trading business, with the flagship company Adani Enterprises. The Group's diverse businesses include po ...
, the operator pays
Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastruct ...
, the owner of the airports, a predetermined sum of money based on the number of passengers handled by the airports. The rest of India's airports are managed by the
Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastruct ...
. In Pakistan nearly all civilian airports are owned and operated by the
Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) ( ur, ) is a state-owned autonomous body under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation, which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in Paki ...
except for
Sialkot International Airport Sialkot International Airport is situated 14 km (8.7 mi) west of Sialkot in the Sialkot District of Pakistan. It has the distinction of being the first privately owned airport in Pakistan. It was built by the business community of S ...
which has the distinction of being the first privately owned public airport in Pakistan and South Asia. In the US, commercial airports are generally operated directly by government entities or government-created
airport authorities An airport authority is an independent entity charged with the operation and oversight of an airport or group of airports. These authorities are often governed by a group of airport commissioners, who are appointed to lead the authority by a govern ...
(also known as
port authorities In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other t ...
), such as the
Los Angeles World Airports Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is the airport authority that owns and operates Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY) for the city of Los Angeles, California. LAWA also owns and manages aviation-related property n ...
authority that oversees several airports in the
Greater Los Angeles area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
, including
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
. In Canada, the federal authority, Transport Canada, divested itself of all but the remotest airports in 1999/2000. Now most airports in Canada are owned and operated by individual legal authorities or are municipally owned. Many US airports still lease part or all of their facilities to outside firms, who operate functions such as retail management and parking. All US commercial airport runways are certified by the FAA under the
Code of Federal Regulations In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the United States. ...
Title 14 Part 139, "Certification of Commercial Service Airports" but maintained by the local airport under the regulatory authority of the FAA. Despite the reluctance to privatize airports in the US (contrary to the
FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
sponsoring a privatization program since 1996), the government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) arrangement is the standard for the operation of commercial airports in the rest of the world.


Airport funding

The Airport & Airway Trust Fund ( AATF) was created by the Airport and Airway Development in 1970 which finances aviation programs in the United States.
Airport Improvement Program The Airport Improvement Program is a United States federal grant program that provides funds to public use airports to help improve safety and efficiency. Improvement projects relate to runways, taxiways, ramps, lighting, signage, weather stations, ...
(AIP), Facilities and Equipment (F&E), and Research, Engineering, and Development (RE&D) are the three major accounts of
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
which are financed by the AATF, as well as pays for the FAA's Operation and Maintenance (O&M) account. The funding of these accounts are dependent on the taxes the airports generate of revenues. Passenger tickets,
fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
, and
cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...
tax are the taxes that are paid by the passengers and airlines help fund these accounts.


Airport revenue

Airports revenues are divided into three major parts:
aeronautical Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
revenue, non-aeronautical revenue, and non-operating revenue. Aeronautical revenue makes up 56%, non-aeronautical revenue makes up 40%, and non-operating revenue makes up 4% of the total revenue of airports.


Aeronautical revenue

Aeronautical revenue are generated through airline rents and landing, passenger service, parking, and hangar fees. Landing fees are charged per aircraft for landing an airplane in the airport property.
Landing fee A landing fee is a charge paid by an aircraft operator to an airport company for landing at a particular airport. Landing fees can vary greatly between airports, with congested airports, ones where most of the landing slots are held by airlines ...
s are calculated through the landing weight and the size of the aircraft which varies but most of the airports have a fixed rate and a charge extra for extra weight. Passenger service fees are charges per passengers for the facilities used on a flight like water, food,
wifi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...
and shows which is paid while paying for an
airline ticket An airline ticket is a document or electronic record, issued by an airline or a travel agency, that confirms that an individual is entitled to a seat on a flight on an aircraft. The airline ticket may be one of two types: a ''paper ticket'', whi ...
. Aircraft parking is also a major revenue source for airports. Aircraft are parked for a certain amount of time before or after takeoff and have to pay to park there. Every airport has its own rates of parking, for example,
John F Kennedy airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...
in New York City charges $45 per hour for a plane of 100,000 pounds and the price increases with weight.


Non-aeronautical revenue

Non-aeronautical revenue is gained through things other than aircraft operations. It includes lease revenue from compatible land-use development, non-aeronautical building leases, retail and concession sales, rental car operations, parking and in-airport advertising. Concession revenue is one big part of non-aeronautical revenue airports makes through
duty free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who ...
, bookstores, restaurants and money exchange. Car parking is a growing source of revenue for airports, as more people use the
parking facilities Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' ...
of the airport.
O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...
in Chicago charges $2 per hour for every car.


Landside and airside areas

Airports are divided into landside and airside zones. The landside is subject to fewer special laws and is part of the public realm, while access to the airside zone is tightly controlled. Landside facilities may include publicly accessible
airport check-in Airport check-in is the process whereby an airline approves airplane passengers to board an airplane for a flight. Airlines typically use service counters found at airports for this process, and the check-in is normally handled by an airline ...
desks, shops and ground transportation facilities. The airside area includes all parts of the airport around the aircraft, and the parts of the buildings that are restricted to staff, and sections of these extended to travelling, airside shopping, dining, or waiting passengers. Depending on the airport, passengers and staff must be checked by
security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
or
border control Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
before being permitted to enter the airside zone. Conversely, passengers arriving from an international flight must pass through
border control Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...
and customs to access the landside area, in which they exit, unless in airside transit. Most multi-terminal airports have (variously termed) flight/passenger/air connections buses,
moving walkway A moving walkway, also known as an autowalk, moving pavement, moving sidewalk, people-mover, travolator, or travelator, is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane over a short to medium distan ...
s and/or
people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...
s for inter-terminal airside transit. Their airlines can arrange for baggage to be routed directly to the passenger's destination. Most major airports issue a secure
keycard A keycard lock is a lock operated by a keycard, a flat, rectangular plastic card. The card typically, but not always, has identical dimensions to that of a credit card or American and EU driver's license. The card stores a physical or digital ...
, an
airside pass An airside pass is a type of secure keycard issued by the authorities of a specific airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which ...
to employees, to assist in their reliable, standardized and efficient verification of identity.


Facilities

A
terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...
is a building with passenger facilities. Small airports have one terminal. Large ones often have multiple terminals, though some large airports like
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...
still have one terminal. The terminal has a series of
gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadde ...
, which provide passengers with access to the plane. The following facilities are essential for departing passengers: * Check-in facilities, including a baggage drop-off * Security clearance gates *Passport control (for some international flights) *
Gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadde ...
*Waiting areas The following facilities are essential for arriving passengers: *Passport control (international arrivals only) *Baggage reclaim facilities, often in the form of a
carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
*Customs (international arrivals only) *A landside meeting place For both sets of passengers, there must be a link between the passenger facilities and the aircraft, such as
jet bridge A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...
s or
airstair An airstair is a set of steps built into an aircraft so that passengers may board and alight the aircraft. The stairs are often built into a clamshell-style door on the aircraft. Airstairs eliminate the need for passengers to use a mobile st ...
s. There also needs to be a
baggage handling system A baggage handling system (BHS) is a type of conveyor system installed in airports that transports checked luggage from ticket counters to areas where the bags can be loaded onto airplanes. A BHS also transports checked baggage coming from airplan ...
, to transport baggage from the baggage drop-off to departing planes, and from arriving planes to the baggage reclaim. The area where the aircraft parks to load passengers and baggage is known as an ''apron'' or ''ramp'' (or incorrectly, "the tarmac"). Airports with international flights have customs and immigration facilities. However, as some countries have agreements that allow travel between them without customs and immigrations, such facilities are not a definitive need for an international airport. International flights often require a higher level of physical security, although in recent years, many countries have adopted the same level of security for international and domestic travel. "
Floating airport A floating airport is an airport built and situated on a very large floating structure (VLFS) located many miles out at sea utilizing a flotation type of device or devices such as pneumatic stabilized platform (PSP) technology. As the populat ...
s" are being designed which could be located out at sea and which would use designs such as
pneumatic stabilized platform A Pneumatic stabilized platform (PSP) is a technology used to float a very large floating structure (VLFS). PSP utilizes indirect displacement, in which a platform rests on trapped air that displaces the water. The primary buoyancy force is provid ...
technology.


Airport security

Airport security normally requires baggage checks, metal screenings of individual persons, and rules against any object that could be used as a weapon. Since the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
and the Real ID Act of 2005, airport security has dramatically increased and got tighter and stricter than ever before.


Products and services

Most major airports provide commercial outlets for products and services. Most of these companies, many of which are internationally known brands, are located within the departure areas. These include clothing boutiques and restaurants and in the US amounted to $4.2 billion in 2015. Prices charged for items sold at these outlets are generally higher than those outside the airport. However, some airports now regulate costs to keep them comparable to "street prices". This term is misleading as prices often match the manufacturers'
suggested retail price The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...
(MSRP) but are almost never discounted. Many new airports include walkthrough duty-free stores that require air passengers to enter a retail store upon exiting security. Airport planners sometimes incorporate winding routes within these stores such that passengers encounter more goods as they walk towards their gate. Planners also install artworks next to the airport's shops in order to draw passengers into the stores. Apart from major fast food chains, some airport restaurants offer regional cuisine specialties for those in transit so that they may sample local food without leaving the airport. Some airport structures include on-site hotels built within or attached to a terminal building. Airport hotels have grown popular due to their convenience for transient passengers and easy accessibility to the airport terminal. Many airport hotels also have agreements with airlines to provide overnight lodging for displaced passengers. Major airports in such countries as Russia and Japan offer miniature sleeping units within the airport that are available for rent by the hour. The smallest type is the
capsule hotel Capsule hotel ( ja, カプセルホテル, kapuseru hoteru), also known in the Western world as a pod hotel, is a type of hotel developed in Japan that features many small bed-sized rooms known as capsules. Capsule hotels provide cheap, basic ...
popular in Japan. A slightly larger variety is known as a
sleep box Sleepbox is a brand offering a bed and associated facilities in a limited space. It is a larger version of a capsule hotel.
. An even larger type is provided by the company YOTEL.


Premium and VIP services

Airports may also contain premium and VIP services. The premium and VIP services may include express
check-in Check-in is the process whereby people announce their arrival at an office, hotel, airport, hospital, seaport or event. Office check-in Many offices have a reception or front office area near the entrance to greet or assist visitors arriving to a ...
and dedicated check-in counters. These services are usually reserved for
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
business class Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary, by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between ...
passengers, premium frequent flyers, and members of the airline's clubs. Premium services may sometimes be open to passengers who are members of a different airline's frequent flyer program. This can sometimes be part of a reciprocal deal, as when multiple airlines are part of the same alliance, or as a ploy to attract premium customers away from rival airlines. Sometimes these premium services will be offered to a non-premium passenger if the airline has made a mistake in handling of the passenger, such as unreasonable delays or mishandling of checked baggage. Airline lounges frequently offer free or reduced cost food, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Lounges themselves typically have
seating Seating may refer to: General plans: * Seating plan In theaters or stadiums: * Bleacher seating * Chanin's seating plan * Club seating * Continental seating * Festival seating * General seating * Home theater seating * Movable seating * Reserve ...
, showers, quiet areas, televisions, computer,
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
and Internet access, and power outlets that passengers may use for their electronic equipment. Some airline lounges employ baristas, bartenders and gourmet chefs. Airlines sometimes operate multiple lounges within the one airport terminal allowing ultra-premium customers, such as first class customers, additional services, which are not available to other premium customers. Multiple lounges may also prevent overcrowding of the lounge facilities.


Cargo and freight service

In addition to people, airports move cargo around the clock.
Cargo airline Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airline cargo traf ...
s often have their own on-site and adjacent infrastructure to transfer parcels between ground and air. Cargo Terminal Facilities are areas where international airports export cargo has to be stored after customs clearance and prior to loading the aircraft. Similarly, import cargo that is offloaded needs to be in bond before the consignee decides to take delivery. Areas have to be kept aside for examination of export and import cargo by the airport authorities. Designated areas or sheds may be given to airlines or freight forward ring agencies. Every cargo terminal has a landside and an airside. The landside is where the exporters and importers through either their agents or by themselves deliver or collect shipments while the airside is where loads are moved to or from the aircraft. In addition, cargo terminals are divided into distinct areas – export, import, and interline or transshipment.


Access and onward travel

Airports require parking lots, for passengers who may leave the cars at the airport for a long period of time. Large airports will also have car-rental firms, taxi ranks, bus stops and sometimes a train station. Many large airports are located near railway trunk routes for seamless connection of
multimodal transport Multimodal transport (also known as combined transport) is the transportation of goods under a single contract, but performed with at least two different modes of transport; the carrier is liable (in a legal sense) for the entire carriage, even th ...
, for instance
Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
,
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...
,
London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the Airports of London, London airport sys ...
,
Tokyo Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...
,
Tokyo Narita Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, wikt:成田国際空港, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other ...
,
London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...
and
London Stansted Airport London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...
. It is also common to connect an airport and a city with
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
, light rail lines or other non-road public transport systems. Some examples of this would include the
AirTrain JFK AirTrain JFK is an elevated people mover system and airport rail link serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in New York City. The driverless system operates 24/7 and consists of three lines and nine stations within the ...
at
John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Ne ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
,
Link light rail Link light rail is a light rail rapid transit system serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is managed by Sound Transit in partnership with local transit providers, and consists of two non-connected lines: t ...
that runs from the heart of downtown
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
to
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , branded as SEA Airport and also referred to as Sea–Tac (), is the primary commercial airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which ...
, and the Silver Line T at
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
's
Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...
by the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
(MBTA). Such a connection lowers risk of missed flights due to
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
. Large airports usually have access also through
controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
s ('freeways' or 'motorways') from which motor vehicles enter either the departure loop or the arrival loop.


Internal transport

The distances passengers need to move within a large airport can be substantial. It is common for airports to provide
moving walkway A moving walkway, also known as an autowalk, moving pavement, moving sidewalk, people-mover, travolator, or travelator, is a slow-moving conveyor mechanism that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane over a short to medium distan ...
s, buses, and rail transport systems. Some airports like
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , also known as Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield, Hartsfield–Jackson and, formerly, as the Atlanta Municipal Airport, is the primary internatio ...
and
London Stansted Airport London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...
have a transit system that connects some of the gates to a main terminal. Airports with more than one terminal have a transit system to connect the terminals together, such as
John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Ne ...
,
Mexico City International Airport Mexico City International Airport ( es, link=yes, Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México, AICM); officially ''Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez'' (Benito Juárez International Airport) is the main international airport serving ...
and
London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...
.


Airport operations

There are three types of surface that aircraft operate on: *Runways, for takeoff and landing *
Taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...
s, where planes "taxi" (transfer to and from a runway) *
Apron An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...
or ramp: a surface where planes are parked, loaded, unloaded or refuelled.


Air traffic control

Air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
(ATC) is the task of managing aircraft movements and making sure they are safe, orderly and expeditious. At the largest airports, air traffic control is a series of highly complex operations that requires managing frequent traffic that moves in all three dimensions. A "towered" or "controlled" airport has a
control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...
where the air traffic controllers are based. Pilots are required to maintain two-way radio communication with the controllers, and to acknowledge and comply with their instructions. A " non-towered" airport has no operating control tower and therefore two-way radio communications are not required, though it is good operating practice for pilots to transmit their intentions on the airport's
common traffic advisory frequency Common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) is the name given to the VHF radio frequency used for air-to-air communication at United States, Canadian and Australian non-towered airports. Many towered airports close their towers overnight, keeping ...
(CTAF) for the benefit of other aircraft in the area. The CTAF may be a Universal Integrated Community (UNICOM), MULTICOM, Flight Service Station (FSS), or tower frequency. The majority of the world's airports are small facilities without a tower. Not all towered airports have
24/7 In commerce and industry, 24/7 or 24-7 service (usually pronounced "twenty-four seven") is service that is available at any time and usually, every day. An alternate orthography for the numerical part includes 24×7 (usually pronounced "twenty ...
ATC operations. In those cases, non-towered procedures apply when the tower is not in use, such as at night. Non-towered airports come under area (en-route) control.
Remote and virtual tower Remote and virtual tower (RVT) is a modern concept where the air traffic service (ATS) at an airport is performed somewhere other than in the local control tower. Although it was initially developed for airports with low traffic levels, in 2021 it ...
(RVT) is a system in which ATC is handled by controllers who are not present at the airport itself. Air traffic control responsibilities at airports are usually divided into at least two main areas: ''ground'' and ''tower'', though a single controller may work both stations. The busiest airports may subdivide responsibilities further, with ''clearance delivery'', ''apron control'', and/or other specialized ATC stations.


Ground control

Ground control is responsible for directing all ground traffic in designated " movement areas", except the traffic on runways. This includes planes, baggage trains, snowplows, grass cutters, fuel trucks, stair trucks, airline food trucks, conveyor belt vehicles and other vehicles. Ground Control will instruct these vehicles on which taxiways to use, which runway they will use (in the case of planes), where they will park, and when it is safe to cross runways. When a plane is ready to takeoff it will be turned over to tower control. Conversely, after a plane has landed it will depart the runway and be "handed over" from Tower to Ground Control.


Tower control

Tower control is responsible for aircraft on the runway and in the
controlled airspace Controlled airspace is airspace of defined dimensions within which air traffic control (ATC) services are provided. The level of control varies with different classes of airspace. Controlled airspace usually imposes higher weather minimums tha ...
immediately surrounding the airport. Tower controllers may use radar to locate an aircraft's position in 3D space, or they may rely on pilot position reports and visual observation. They coordinate the sequencing of aircraft in the traffic pattern and direct aircraft on how to safely join and leave the circuit. Aircraft which are only passing through the airspace must also contact tower control to be sure they remain clear of other traffic.


Traffic pattern

At all airports the use of a traffic pattern (often called a ''traffic circuit'' outside the US) is possible. They may help to assure smooth traffic flow between departing and arriving aircraft. There is no technical need within modern commercial aviation for performing this pattern, ''provided there is no queue''. And due to the so-called SLOT-times, the overall traffic planning tend to assure landing queues are avoided. If for instance an aircraft approaches runway 17 (which has a heading of approx. 170 degrees) from the north (coming from 360/0 degrees heading towards 180 degrees), the aircraft will land as fast as possible by just turning 10 degrees and follow the
glidepath Instrument landing system glide path, commonly referred to as a glide path (G/P) or glide slope (G/S), is "a system of vertical guidance embodied in the instrument landing system which indicates the vertical deviation of the aircraft from its o ...
, without orbit the runway for visual reasons, whenever this is possible. For smaller piston engined airplanes at smaller airfields without ILS equipment, things are very different though. Generally, this pattern is a circuit consisting of five "legs" that form a rectangle (two legs and the runway form one side, with the remaining legs forming three more sides). Each leg is named (see diagram), and ATC directs pilots on how to join and leave the circuit. Traffic patterns are flown at one specific altitude, usually
above ground level In aviation, atmospheric sciences and broadcasting, a height above ground level (AGL or HAGL) is a height measured with respect to the underlying ground surface. This is as opposed to height above mean sea level (AMSL or HAMSL), height above elli ...
(AGL). Standard traffic patterns are ''left-handed'', meaning all turns are made to the left. One of the main reason for this is that pilots sit on the left side of the airplane, and a Left-hand patterns improves their visibility of the airport and pattern. Right-handed patterns do exist, usually because of obstacles such as a mountain, or to reduce noise for local residents. The predetermined circuit helps traffic flow smoothly because all pilots know what to expect, and helps reduce the chance of a
mid-air collision In aviation, a mid-air collision is an aviation accident, accident in which two or more aircraft come into unplanned contact during flight. Owing to the relatively high velocities involved and the likelihood of subsequent impact with the ground o ...
. At controlled airports, a circuit can be in place but is not normally used. Rather, aircraft (usually only commercial with long routes) request approach clearance while they are still hours away from the airport; the destination airport can then plan a queue of arrivals, and planes will be guided into one queue per active runway for a "straight-in" approach. While this system keeps the airspace free and is simpler for pilots, it requires detailed knowledge of how aircraft are planning to use the airport ahead of time and is therefore only possible with large commercial airliners on pre-scheduled flights. The system has recently become so advanced that controllers can predict whether an aircraft will be delayed on landing before it even takes off; that aircraft can then be delayed on the ground, rather than wasting expensive fuel waiting in the air.


Navigational aids

There are a number of aids, both visual and electronic, though not at all airports. A
visual approach slope indicator The visual approach slope indicator (VASI) is a system of lights on the side of an airport runway threshold that provides visual descent guidance information during approach. These lights may be visible from up to during the day and up to or mor ...
(VASI) helps pilots fly the approach for landing. Some airports are equipped with a
VHF omnidirectional range Very high frequency omnirange station (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network ...
(VOR) to help pilots find the direction to the airport. VORs are often accompanied by a
distance measuring equipment In aviation, distance measuring equipment (DME) is a radio navigation technology that measures the slant range (distance) between an aircraft and a ground station by timing the propagation delay of radio signals in the frequency band between 9 ...
(DME) to determine the distance to the VOR. VORs are also located off airports, where they serve to provide airways for aircraft to navigate upon. In poor weather, pilots will use an
instrument landing system In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...
(ILS) to find the runway and fly the correct approach, even if they cannot see the ground. The number of instrument approaches based on the use of the
Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
(GPS) is rapidly increasing and may eventually become the primary means for instrument landings. Larger airports sometimes offer
precision approach radar Precision approach radar (PAR) is a type of radar guidance system designed to provide lateral and vertical guidance to an aircraft pilot for landing, until the landing threshold is reached. Controllers monitoring the PAR displays observe each airc ...
(PAR), but these systems are more common at military air bases than civilian airports. The aircraft's horizontal and vertical movement is tracked via radar, and the controller tells the pilot his position relative to the
approach slope An airfield traffic pattern is a standard path followed by aircraft when taking off or landing while maintaining visual contact with the airfield. At an airport, the pattern (or circuit) is a standard path for coordinating air traffic. It differ ...
. Once the pilots can see the runway lights, they may continue with a visual landing.


Taxiway signs

Airport guidance signs provide direction and information to taxiing aircraft and airport vehicles. Smaller aerodromes may have few or no signs, relying instead on diagrams and charts.


Lighting

Many airports have
lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...
that help guide planes using the runways and taxiways at night or in rain or fog. On runways, green lights indicate the beginning of the runway for landing, while red lights indicate the end of the runway. Runway edge lighting consists of white lights spaced out on both sides of the runway, indicating the edges. Some airports have more complicated lighting on the runways including lights that run down the centerline of the runway and lights that help indicate the approach (an
approach lighting system An approach lighting system (ALS) is a lighting system installed on the approach end of an airport runway and consisting of a series of lightbars, strobe lights, or a combination of the two that extends outward from the runway end. ALS usually ...
, or ALS). Low-traffic airports may use
pilot-controlled lighting Pilot-controlled lighting (PCL), also known as aircraft radio control of aerodrome lighting (ARCAL) or pilot-activated lighting (PAL), is a system that allows aircraft pilots to control the lighting of an airport or airfield's approach lights, runw ...
to save electricity and staffing costs. Along taxiways, blue lights indicate the taxiway's edge, and some airports have embedded green lights that indicate the centerline.


Weather observations

Weather observations at the airport are crucial to safe takeoffs and landings. In the US and Canada, the vast majority of airports, large and small, will either have some form of
automated airport weather station Airport weather stations are automated sensor suites which are designed to serve aviation and meteorological operations, weather forecasting and climatology. Automated airport weather stations have become part of the backbone of weather observi ...
, whether an AWOS, ASOS, or AWSS, a human observer or a combination of the two. These weather observations, predominantly in the
METAR METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by aircraft pilots, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting. Raw METAR is the most common form ...
format, are available over the radio, through
automatic terminal information service Automatic terminal information service, or ATIS, is a continuous broadcast of recorded aeronautical information in busier terminal areas, i.e. airports and their immediate surroundings. ATIS broadcasts contain essential information, such as current ...
(ATIS), via the ATC or the
flight service station A flight service station (FSS) is an air traffic facility that provides information and services to aircraft pilots before, during, and after flights, but unlike air traffic control (ATC), is not responsible for giving instructions or clearances or ...
. Planes take-off and land ''into'' the wind to achieve maximum performance. Because pilots need instantaneous information during landing, a
windsock A windsock (also called a wind cone) is a conical textile tube that resembles a giant sock. It can be used as a basic indicator of wind speed and direction, or as decoration. They are typically used at airports to show the direction and strength ...
can also be kept in view of the runway. Aviation windsocks are made with lightweight material, withstand strong winds and some are lit up after dark or in foggy weather. Because visibility of windsocks is limited, often multiple glow-orange windsocks are placed on both sides of the runway.


Airport ground crew (ground handling)

Most airports have
groundcrew In all forms of aviation, ground crew (also known as ground operations in civilian aviation) are personnel that service aircraft while on the ground, during routine turn-around; as opposed to aircrew, who operate all aspects of an aircraft whilst ...
handling the loading and unloading of passengers, crew, baggage and other services. Some groundcrew are linked to specific airlines operating at the airport. Among the vehicles that serve an airliner on the ground are: *A tow tractor to move the aircraft in and out of the berth. *A
jet bridge A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...
(in some airports) or stairs unit to allow passengers to embark and disembark. *A ground power unit for supplying electricity. As the engines will be switched off, they will not be generating electricity as they do in flight. *A cleaning service. *A catering service to deliver food and drinks for a flight. *A toilet waste truck to empty the tank which holds the waste from the toilets in the aircraft. *A water truck to fill the water tanks of the aircraft. *A refueling vehicle. The fuel may come from a tanker, or from underground fuel tanks. *A conveyor belt unit for loading and unloading luggage. *A vehicle to transport luggage to and from the terminal. The length of time an aircraft remains on the ground in between consecutive flights is known as "
turnaround time Turnaround time (TAT) is the amount of time taken to complete a process or fulfill a request. The concept thus overlaps with lead time and can be contrasted with cycle time. Meaning in computing In computing, turnaround time is the total time t ...
". Airlines pay great attention to minimizing turnaround times in an effort to keep aircraft use (flying time) high, with times scheduled as low as 25 minutes for jet aircraft operated by low-cost carriers on narrow-body aircraft.


Maintenance management

Like industrial equipment or facility management, airports require tailor-made maintenance management due to their complexity. With many tangible assets spread over a large area in different environments, these infrastructures must therefore effectively monitor these assets and store spare parts to maintain them at an optimal level of service. To manage these airport assets, several solutions are competing for the market: CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) predominate, and mainly enable a company's maintenance activity to be monitored, planned, recorded and rationalized.


Safety management

Aviation safety Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of airc ...
is an important concern in the operation of an airport, and almost every airfield includes equipment and procedures for handling emergency situations.
Airport crash tender An airport crash tender (known in some countries as an airport fire appliance) is a specialised fire engine designed for use in aircraft rescue and firefighting at aerodromes, airports, and military air bases. Description Airport crash tenders ...
crews are equipped for dealing with airfield accidents, crew and passenger extractions, and the hazards of highly flammable
aviation fuel Aviation fuels are petroleum-based fuels, or petroleum and synthetic fuel blends, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground use, such as heating and road transport, and contain additives to enhanc ...
. The crews are also trained to deal with situations such as bomb threats,
hijacking Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...
, and terrorist activities. Hazards to aircraft include debris, nesting birds, and reduced friction levels due to environmental conditions such as ice, snow, or rain. Part of runway maintenance is
airfield rubber removal Airfield rubber removal, also known as runway rubber removal, is the use of high pressure water, abrasives, chemicals and other mechanical means to remove the rubber from tires that builds up on airport runways. In the United States, the Federal A ...
which helps maintain friction levels. The fields must be kept clear of debris using cleaning equipment so that loose material does not become a projectile and enter an engine duct (see
foreign object damage In aviation and aerospace, foreign object debris (FOD), is any particle or substance, alien to an aircraft or system, which could potentially cause damage. External FOD hazards include bird strikes, hail, ice, sandstorms, ash-clouds or obje ...
). In adverse weather conditions, ice and snow clearing equipment can be used to improve traction on the landing strip. For waiting aircraft, equipment is used to spray special
deicing Deicing is the process of removing snow, ice or frost from a surface. Anti-icing is the application of chemicals that not only deice but also remain on a surface and continue to delay the reformation of ice for a certain period of time, or preve ...
fluids on the wings. Many airports are built near open fields or
wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s. These tend to attract bird populations, which can pose a hazard to aircraft in the form of
bird strike A bird strike—sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)—is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a moving vehicle, usually an aircraft. The term ...
s. Airport crews often need to discourage birds from taking up residence. Some airports are located next to parks, golf courses, or other low-density uses of land. Other airports are located near densely populated urban or suburban areas. An airport can have areas where collisions between aircraft on the ground tend to occur. Records are kept of any
incursions ''Incursion'' is a science fiction roleplaying game created by Richard Tucholka and published by Tri Tac Games in 1992. Overview The player characters are humans abducted by alien slave traders. Together, with other extraterrestrial slaves, ...
where aircraft or vehicles are in an inappropriate location, allowing these "hot spots" to be identified. These locations then undergo special attention by transportation authorities (such as the FAA in the US) and airport administrators. During the 1980s, a phenomenon known as microburst became a growing concern due to aircraft accidents caused by microburst
wind shear Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal ...
, such as
Delta Air Lines Flight 191 Delta Air Lines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled Delta Air Lines domestic service from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Los Angeles with an intermediate stop at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). On August 2, 1985, the Lockhee ...
. Microburst radar was developed as an aid to safety during landing, giving two to five minutes' warning to aircraft in the vicinity of the field of a microburst event. Some airfields now have a special surface known as soft concrete at the end of the runway ( stopway or blastpad) that behaves somewhat like
styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), commonly called "Blue Board", manufactured as foam continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and water barrie ...
, bringing the plane to a relatively rapid halt as the material disintegrates. These surfaces are useful when the runway is located next to a body of water or other hazard, and prevent the planes from overrunning the end of the field. Airports often have on-site firefighters to respond to emergencies. These use specialized vehicles, known as
airport crash tender An airport crash tender (known in some countries as an airport fire appliance) is a specialised fire engine designed for use in aircraft rescue and firefighting at aerodromes, airports, and military air bases. Description Airport crash tenders ...
s. Most civil aviation authorities have required levels of on-site emergency response capabilities based on an airport's traffic. At airports where civil and military operations share a common set of runways and infrastructure, emergency response is often managed by the relevant military unit as part of their base's operations.


Environmental concerns and sustainability

Aircraft noise Aircraft noise pollution refers to noise produced by aircraft in flight that has been associated with several negative stress-mediated health effects, from sleep disorders to cardiovascular ones. Governments have enacted extensive controls that a ...
is a major cause of
noise disturbance Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mai ...
to residents living near airports. Sleep can be affected if the airports operate night and early morning flights. Aircraft noise occurs not only from take-offs and landings but also from ground operations including maintenance and testing of aircraft. Noise can have other health effects as well. Other noises and environmental concerns are vehicle traffic causing noise and pollution on roads leading to the airport. The construction of new airports or addition of runways to existing airports, is often resisted by local residents because of the effect on countryside, historical sites, and local flora and fauna. Due to the risk of collision between birds and aircraft, large airports undertake population control programs where they frighten or shoot birds. The construction of airports has been known to change local weather patterns. For example, because they often flatten out large areas, they can be susceptible to fog in areas where fog rarely forms. In addition, they generally replace trees and grass with pavement, they often change drainage patterns in agricultural areas, leading to more flooding, run-off and erosion in the surrounding land. Airports are often built on low-lying coastal land, globally 269 airports are at risk of
coastal flooding Coastal flooding normally occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged by seawater. The range of a coastal flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coastal land ...
now. A temperature rise of 2oC – consistent with the
Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...
- would lead to 100 airports being below mean sea level and 364 airports at risk of flooding. If global mean temperature rise exceeds this then as many as 572 airports will be at risk by 2100, leading to major disruptions without appropriate adaptation. Some of the airport administrations prepare and publish annual environmental reports to show how they consider these environmental concerns in airport management issues and how they protect environment from airport operations. These reports contain all
environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...
measures performed by airport administration in terms of water, air, soil and noise pollution, resource conservation and protection of natural life around the airport. A 2019 report from the Cooperative Research Programs of the US
Transportation Research Board The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is a division of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, formerly the National Research Council of the United States, which serves as an independent adviser to the President of the Unite ...
showed all airports have a role to play in advancing greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction initiatives. Small airports have demonstrated leadership by using their less complex organizational structure to implement newer technologies and to serve as a proving ground for their feasibility. Large airports have the economic stability and staff resources necessary to grow in-house expertise and fund comprehensive new programs. A growing number of airports are installing solar
photovoltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
arrays to offset their electricity use. The
National Renewable Energy Lab The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and d ...
has shown this can be done safely. This can also be done on the roofs of the airports and it has been found that the solar panels on these buildings work more effectively when compared to residential panels. The world's first airport to be fully powered by solar energy is located at
Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
, India. Another airport known for considering environmental concerns is
Seymour Airport Seymour Galapagos Ecological Airport (Spanish: ''Aeropuerto Ecológico Galápagos Seymour'') is an airport serving the island of Baltra, one of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. Facilities The airport became the world's first "green" airp ...
in the Galapagos Islands.


Military air base

An airbase, sometimes referred to as an ''air station'' or ''airfield'', provides basing and support of
military aircraft A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equipm ...
. Some airbases, known as ''military airports'', provide facilities similar to their civilian counterparts. For example,
RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The station ...
in the UK has a terminal that caters to passengers for the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
's scheduled flights to the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
. Some airbases are co-located with civilian airports, sharing the same ATC facilities, runways, taxiways and emergency services, but with separate terminals, parking areas and hangars.
Bardufoss Airport Bardufoss Airport ( no, Bardufoss lufthavn; ) is a primary airport situated at Bardufoss in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The airport, which is the civilian sector of the Royal Norwegian Air Force's (RNoAF) Bardufoss ...
,
Bardufoss Air Station Bardufoss Air Station ( no, Bardufoss flystasjon) is a military air station located at Bardufoss in Målselv Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in Northern Norway. It is the location of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) 139 Air Wing and ...
in Norway and
Pune Airport Pune Airport is a customs airport located approximately northeast of the historic centre of Pune in the state of Maharashtra, India. The airport is a civil enclave operated by the Airports Authority of India at the western side of Lohagaon ...
in India are examples of this. An
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
is a warship that functions as a mobile airbase. Aircraft carriers allow a
naval force A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inc ...
to project
air power Airpower or air power consists of the application of military aviation, military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare and close air support. Airpower began in the advent of powered flight early in the 20th century. Airpo ...
without having to depend on local bases for land-based aircraft. After their development in World War I, aircraft carriers replaced the battleship as the centrepiece of a modern fleet during World War II.


Airport designation and naming

Most airports in the United States are designated "private-use airports" meaning that, whether publicly- or privately owned, the airport is not open or available for use by the public (although use of the airport may be made available by invitation of the owner or manager). Airports are uniquely represented by their
IATA airport code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a three-character alphanumeric geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the ...
and
ICAO airport code The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-letter code designating aerodromes around the world. These codes, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization and published in ICAO Document 7910: ''Location Indicators'', ...
. Most airport names include the location. Many airport names honour a public figure, commonly a politician (e.g.,
Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
,
George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 ...
,
Lennart Meri Airport Tallinn Airport ( et, Tallinna lennujaam, ) or Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport ( et, Lennart Meri Tallinna lennujaam) is the largest airport in Estonia, which serves as a hub for the national airline Nordica, as well as the secondary hub for Air ...
,
O.R. Tambo International Airport O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng, Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and since 2020, ...
,
Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Soekarno–Hatta International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Soekarno–Hatta) , abbreviated SHIA or Soetta, formerly legally called Jakarta Cengkareng Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Jakarta Cengkareng) (hence the IATA designator "CGK" ...
), a monarch (e.g.
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic aft ...
,
King Shaka International Airport King Shaka International Airport , abbreviated KSIA, is the primary international airport serving Durban, South Africa. Located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately north of the city centre of Durban. The airport opened its doors to passen ...
), a cultural leader (e.g.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport in Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are operated fr ...
,
Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist, ...
,
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (French language, French: ''Aéroport international Louis Armstrong de La Nouvelle-Orléans'') is an international airport under Airspace class (United States), Class B airspace in Kenner, Loui ...
) or a prominent figure in aviation history of the region (e.g.
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
), sometimes even famous writers (e.g.
Allama Iqbal International Airport Allama Iqbal International Airport ( ur, , ) is the third largest civilian airport by traffic in Pakistan, after Jinnah International Airport, Karachi and Islamabad International Airport. It serves Lahore, capital of Punjab and second-larges ...
) and explorers (e.g.
Venice Marco Polo Airport Venice Marco Polo Airport is the international airport of Venice, Italy. It is located on the mainland near the village of Tessera, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Venice located about east of Mestre (on the mainland) and around the same ...
). Some airports have unofficial names, possibly so widely circulated that its official name is little used or even known. Some airport names include the word "International" to indicate their ability to handle international air traffic. This includes some airports that do not have scheduled international airline services (e.g.
Port Elizabeth International Airport Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport is an airport serving Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), a city in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. It was formerly known as H. F. Verwoerd Airport and Port Elizabeth International Airport. The a ...
).


History and development

The earliest aircraft takeoff and landing sites were grassy fields. The plane could approach at any angle that provided a favorable wind direction. A slight improvement was the dirt-only field, which eliminated the drag from grass. However, these functioned well only in dry conditions. Later, concrete surfaces would allow landings regardless of meteorological conditions. The title of "world's oldest airport" is disputed.
Toussus-le-Noble airport Toussus-le-Noble Airport is a regional airport in France . It supports general aviation with no commercial airline service scheduled. French governmental aircraft are hangared and maintained at the airport. It is one of the most active airfield ...
near Paris, France was established in 1907 and has been operating since.
College Park Airport College Park Airport is a public airport located in the City of College Park, in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is the world's oldest continuously operated airport. The airport is located south of Paint Branch and Lake Art ...
in Maryland, US, established in 1909 by Wilbur Wright serves only
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
traffic.
Beijing Nanyuan Airport Beijing Nanyuan Airport was a military airbase and a secondary commercial airport of Beijing. Located in Fengtai District, south of the 4th Ring Road and from Tiananmen Square, Nanyuan Airport was first opened in 1910, making it the olde ...
in China, which was built to accommodate planes in 1904, and airships in 1907, opened in 1910. It was in operation until September 2019.
Pearson Field Airport Pearson Field also once known as Pearson Airpark, is a city-owned municipal airport located one mile (2 km) southeast of the central business district of Vancouver, a city in Clark County, Washington, United States. Pearson Field is the ...
in
Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
, United States, was built to accommodate planes in 1905 and airships in 1911, and is still in use as of January 2022.
Hamburg Airport Hamburg Airport , known in German as ''Flughafen Hamburg'', is a major international airport in Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany. Since November 2016 the airport has been christened after the former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt. ...
opened in January 1911, making it the oldest commercial airport in the world which is still in operation.
Bremen Airport Bremen Airport (German: ''Flughafen Bremen'', ) is the international airport of the city and state of Bremen in Northern Germany. It is located south of the city and handled 2.66 million passengers in 2015. It mainly features flights to Europea ...
opened in 1913 and remains in use, although it served as an American military field between 1945 and 1949.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...
opened on September 16, 1916, as a military airfield, but has accepted
civil aircraft Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...
only since December 17, 1920, allowing
Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
—which started operations in January 1920—to claim to be one of the world's oldest continuously operating commercial airports. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in the US opened in 1920 and has been in continuous commercial service since. It serves about 35,000,000 passengers each year and continues to expand, recently opening a new 11,000-foot (3,355 m) runway. Of the airports constructed during this early period in aviation, it is one of the largest and busiest that is still currently operating.
Don Mueang International Airport Don Mueang International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานดอนเมือง, , , or colloquially as , ) is one of two international airports serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, the other one being Suvarnabhumi Airp ...
near Bangkok, Thailand, opened 1914, is also a contender, as well as the
Rome Ciampino Airport , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, which opened in 1916. Increased aircraft traffic during World War I led to the construction of landing fields. Aircraft had to approach these from certain directions and this led to the development of aids for directing the approach and landing slope. Following the war, some of these military airfields added civil facilities for handling passenger traffic. One of the earliest such fields was
Paris – Le Bourget Airport Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
at
Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris. The commune features Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hos ...
, near Paris. The first airport to operate scheduled international commercial services was
Hounslow Heath Aerodrome Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914–1920. It was in the London borough of Hounslow, and hosted the British Empire's first scheduled daily international commercial flights, in 1919. The site today includes the main r ...
in August 1919, but it was closed and supplanted by
Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...
in March 1920. In 1922, the first permanent airport and commercial terminal solely for commercial aviation was opened at Flughafen Devau near what was then
Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
, East Prussia. The airports of this era used a paved "apron", which permitted night flying as well as landing heavier aircraft. The first lighting used on an airport was during the latter part of the 1920s; in the 1930s approach lighting came into use. These indicated the proper direction and angle of descent. The colours and flash intervals of these lights became standardized under the
International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sc ...
(ICAO). In the 1940s, the slope-line approach system was introduced. This consisted of two rows of lights that formed a funnel indicating an aircraft's position on the
glideslope Instrument landing system glide path, commonly referred to as a glide path (G/P) or glide slope (G/S), is "a system of vertical guidance embodied in the instrument landing system which indicates the vertical deviation of the aircraft from its o ...
. Additional lights indicated incorrect altitude and direction. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, airport design became more sophisticated. Passenger buildings were being grouped together in an island, with runways arranged in groups about the terminal. This arrangement permitted expansion of the facilities. But it also meant that passengers had to travel further to reach their plane. An improvement in the landing field was the introduction of grooves in the concrete surface. These run perpendicular to the direction of the landing aircraft and serve to draw off excess rainwater that could build up in front of the plane's wheels. Airport construction boomed during the 1960s with the increase in
jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines. Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...
traffic. Runways were extended out to . The fields were constructed out of
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
using a slip-form machine that produces a continuous slab with no disruptions along the length. The early 1960s also saw the introduction of jet bridge systems to modern airport terminals, an innovation which eliminated outdoor passenger boarding. These systems became commonplace in the United States by the 1970s. The malicious use of UAVs has led to the deployment of
counter unmanned air system An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
(C-UAS) technologies such as the Aaronia AARTOS which have been installed on major international airports.


Airports in entertainment

Airports have played major roles in films and television programs due to their very nature as a transport and international hub, and sometimes because of distinctive architectural features of particular airports. One such example of this is ''
The Terminal ''The Terminal'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci. The film is about an Eastern European man who is stuck in New York's John F. Kennedy ...
'', a film about a man who becomes permanently grounded in an airport terminal and must survive only on the food and shelter provided by the airport. They are also one of the major elements in movies such as '' The V.I.P.s'', ''
Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
'', ''
Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hay ...
'', ''
Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
'' (1970), ''
Die Hard 2 ''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many rele ...
'', ''
Soul Plane ''Soul Plane'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Jessy Terrero (in his feature film directorial debut). The film stars Tom Arnold, Kevin Hart, Method Man and Snoop Dogg. Supporting actors include Mo'Nique, Loni Love, K.D. Aubert, D.L. ...
'', ''
Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel ''Rum Punch.'' It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who is caught smuggling money. Samuel L. Ja ...
'', ''
Get Shorty ''Get Shorty'' is a 1990 novel by American novelist Elmore Leonard. In 1995, the novel was adapted into a film of the same name, and in 2017 it was adapted into a television series of the same name. Plot summary The story centers on Ernest ...
'', ''
Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hear ...
'' (1990), '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992), ''
Liar Liar ''Liar Liar'' is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac, and written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur. It stars Jim Carrey as a lawyer who built his entire career on lying, but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth for a singl ...
'', ''
Passenger 57 ''Passenger 57'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Kevin Hooks. The film stars Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne, with Snipes portraying a security consultant who finds himself forced to foil a plot to free a captive terrorist during ...
'', ''
Final Destination ''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes five films, two comic books, and nine novels. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for ''The X-Files'' television series, and was d ...
'' (2000), ''
Unaccompanied Minors ''Unaccompanied Minors'' (also known as ''Grounded'' in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a 2006 Christmas film, Christmas comedy film directed by Paul Feig and starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan ...
'', ''
Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American biographical crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams and James ...
'', '' Rendition'' and ''
The Langoliers ''Four Past Midnight'' is a collection of novellas written by Stephen King in 1988 and 1989 and published in August 1990. It is his second book of this type, the first one being ''Different Seasons''. The collection won the Bram Stoker Award in 1 ...
''. They have also played important parts in television series like ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'', ''
The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...
'', ''
America's Next Top Model (season 10) The tenth cycle of ''America's Next Top Model'' was the fourth season of the series to be aired on The CW network. The promotional catchphrase of the cycle is "New Faces, New Attitude, New York." The promotional song was " Feedback" by Janet ...
'', ''
90 Day Fiancé ''90 Day Fiancé'' is an American reality television series on TLC that follows couples who have applied for or received a K-1 visa, available uniquely to foreign fiancés of U.S. citizens, and therefore have 90 days to marry each other. The seri ...
'', ''
Air Crash Investigation ''Mayday'', entitled ''Air Crash Investigation'' in Canada (alternatively known as ''Air Crash Investigations'' on Seven Network), New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom (alternatively known as ''Air Crash: Disaster Revealed'' on 5Selec ...
'' which have significant parts of their story set within airports. In other programmes and films, airports are merely indicative of journeys, e.g. ''
Good Will Hunting ''Good Will Hunting'' is a 1997 American psychological drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film received positive r ...
''. Several computer simulation games put the player in charge of an airport. These include the
Airport Tycoon ''Airport Tycoon'' is a business simulation game released for Windows 95/98 in 2000. It was developed in the United Kingdom by Krisalis Software (now defunct). In ''Airport Tycoon'', the player must successfully build and manage an airport wit ...
series, SimAirport and Airport CEO.


Airport directories

Each civil aviation authority provides a source of information about airports in their country. This will contain information on airport elevation, airport lighting, runway information, communications facilities and frequencies, hours of operation, nearby NAVAIDs and contact information where prior arrangement for landing is necessary. ;Australia :Information can be found on-line in the ''En route Supplement Australia'' (ERSA) which is published by
Airservices Australia Airservices Australia is an Australian Government owned corporation, responsible for providing safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible services to the aviation industry within the Australian Flight Information Region (FIR). S ...
, a government owned corporation charged with managing Australian ATC. ;Brazil Infraero is responsible for the airports in Brazil ;Canada :Two publications, the ''
Canada Flight Supplement The Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) (french: link=no, Supplément de vol Canada) is a joint civil/military publication and is a supplement of the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP Canada). It is the nation's official airport directory. It ...
'' (CFS) and the ''Water Aerodrome Supplement'', published by
Nav Canada Nav Canada (styled as NAV CANADA) is a privately run, not-for-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system (ANS). It was established in accordance with the ''Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act' ...
under the authority of
Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...
provides equivalent information. ;Europe :The
European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol (stylised ''EUROCONTROL''), is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eur ...
(EUROCONTROL) provides an
Aeronautical Information Publication In aviation, an Aeronautical Information Publication (or AIP) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization as a publication issued by or with the authority of a state and containing aeronautical information of a lasting character e ...
(AIP),
aeronautical chart An aeronautical chart is a map designed to assist in the navigation of aircraft, much as nautical chart A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show ...
s and
NOTAM A Notice to Airmen/Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM), is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight. NOTAMs are unclassified notices or ...
services for multiple European countries. ;Germany :Provided by the
Luftfahrt-Bundesamt The ''Luftfahrt-Bundesamt'' (LBA, "Federal Aviation Office") is the national civil aviation authority of Germany headquartered in Braunschweig.United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the United Kingdom. Its areas of responsibility include: * Supervising the issuing of pilots' licences, testing of e ...
(CAA). Pooley's also contains information on some continental European airports that are close to Great Britain.
National Air Traffic Services NATS Holdings, formerly National Air Traffic Services and commonly referred to as NATS, is the main air navigation service provider in the United Kingdom. It inherited the traditions of UK air traffic control, which (founded over Croydon Airp ...
, the UK's
Air Navigation Service Provider An air navigation service provider (ANSP) is a public or a private legal entity providing Air Navigation Services. It manages air traffic on behalf of a company, region or country. Depending on the specific mandate an ANSP provides one or more o ...
, a
public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Administ ...
also publishes an online AIP for the UK. ;The United States :The US uses the ''
Airport/Facility Directory The ''Airport/Facility Directory'' (abbreviated ''A/FD''), now identified as Chart Supplement in the U.S., is a pilot's manual that provides comprehensive information on airports, large and small, and other aviation facilities and procedures. Des ...
'' (A/FD) (now officially termed the Chart Supplement) published in seven volumes.
DAFIF DAFIF () or the ''Digital Aeronautical Flight Information File'' is a comprehensive database of up-to-date aeronautical data, including information on airports, airways, airspaces, navigation data, and other facts relevant to flying in the entire ...
also includes extensive airport data but has been unavailable to the public at large since 2006. ;Japan :''Aeronautical Information Publication'' (AIP) is provided by Japan Aeronautical Information Service Center, under the authority of
Japan Civil Aviation Bureau The is the civil aviation authority of Japan and a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Its head office is in the MLIT building in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is the Japanese equivalent of the U.S. ...
, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan. ''A comprehensive, consumer/business directory of commercial airports in the world (primarily for airports as businesses, rather than for pilots) is organized by the trade group
Airports Council International Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of airport authorities aimed at unifying industry practices for airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its members ...
.''


See also

*
Airpark A residential airpark (also spelled air park) is also referred to as a "fly-in community". The word can also refer to a community specifically designed around an airport where the residents each would own their own airplane which they park in thei ...
*
Altiport An altiport is an aerodrome for small airplanes and helicopters, situated on or within mountainous terrain. The term is generally confined to describing small mountainous aerodromes in the French Alps.''Flying Magazine'', November 1975, page 5 Altip ...
*
Environmental impact of aviation Like other emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion, aircraft engines produce gases, noise, and particulates, raising environmental concerns over their global effects and their effects on local air quality. Jet airliners contribute to ...
*
Model airport A model airport is a scale model of an airport. While airport models have been around, in a way, since airfields were open to the public, early model airports were basically restricted to public showcases about the airport and its surroundings to ...
*
World's busiest airports The definition of world's busiest airport has been specified by the Airports Council International in Montreal, Canada. The ACI defines and measures the following three types of airport traffic: *Passenger traffic: total passengers emplaned and de ...
*
Seaplane base A seaplane base is a type of airport that is located in a body of water, usually a river, bay, harbor, or lake, where seaplanes and amphibious aircraft take-off and land. History Initially following the invention of the seaplane, traditional boat ...
Lists: *
Index of aviation articles Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Articles related to aviation include: A Aviation accidents and incidents – ADF – Adverse yaw – Aerobatics – Aerodrom ...
*
List of cities with more than one commercial airport Many cities are served by more than one airport, typically to avoid congestion, and where there may be factors preventing expansion of existing airports. In other cities, multiple airports may be built to cater for different uses, such as internati ...
*
List of countries without an airport This is a list of countries ( sovereign states) and territories without an airport. Sovereign states Of the world's independent states, only five of the six European microstates have no airport within their boundaries, though all have at least on ...
*
List of defunct international airports The following is a list of airports that have had commercial/civil and international air service in the past and no longer have scheduled commercial/passenger operations. Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America ...
*
List of hub airports A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...


References


Bibliography

* Ashford, Norman J., Saleh Mumayiz, and Paul H. Wright. (2011) ''Airport engineering: planning, design, and development of 21st century airports'' (John Wiley & Sons, 2011). * Bluffield, Robert. (2009). ''Imperial Airways – The Birth of the British Airline Industry 1914–1940'' ( Ian Allan * * Burghouwt, Guillaume. (2012) ''Airline network development in Europe and its implications for airport planning'' (Ashgate, 2012). * * Gordon, Alastair. (2008) ''Naked Airport: A Cultural History of the World's Most Revolutionary Structure'' (University of Chicago Press, 2008). * Halpern, Nigel, and Anne Graham. (2013) ''Airport marketing'' (Routledge, 2013). * Horonjeff, Robert, Francis X. McKelvey, William J. Sproule, and Seth B. Young. (2010) ''Planning and Design of Airports'' 5th ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2010). * Hubregtse, Menno. (2020) ''Wayfinding, Consumption, and Air Terminal Design'' (Routledge, 2020). * * Pearman, Hugh. (2004) ''Airports: A Century of Architecture'' (Harry N. Abrams, 2004). * Salter, Mark. 2008. ''Politics at the Airport'' (University of Minnesota Press). This book brings together leading scholars to examine how airports both shape and are shaped by current political, social, and economic conditions. * Sheard, Nicholas. (2019) "Airport size and urban growth." ''Economica'' 86.342 (2019): 300–335; In USA, airport size has a positive effect on local employment, with an elasticity of 0.04. *


External links


ICAO Aviation Data service
(ICAO official site)
World Airport and Runway Map
(ICAO official site)
Airport Safety Challenges related to Ground Operations

"Conquest of Fog"
''Popular Mechanics'', February 1930, illustration and article on a modern airport in the 1930s
Airport Distance Calculator
– Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) in U.S. Department of Transportation
Map of worldwide airports

Airport Visualizer
Worldwide airports visualized on 30+ maps {{Authority control Articles containing video clips Public transport Aviation industry