Airport - Wikipedia

12/23/2018 Airport - Wikipedia
Airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended
facilities, mostly for commercial air
transport.[1][2] Airports often have facilities to
store and maintain aircraft, and a control tower.
An airport consists of a landing area, which
comprises an aerially accessible open space
including at least one operationally active
surface such as a runway for a plane to take
off[3] or a helipad,[4] and often includes adjacent
utility buildings such as control towers,
hangars[5] and terminals. Larger airports may Sample infrastructure of a typical airport. Larger airports usually
have airport aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic contain more runways and terminals.
control centres, passenger facilities such as
restaurants and lounges, and emergency
services. In some countries, the US in particular,
they also typically have one or more fixed-base
operators, serving general aviation.
An airport solely serving helicopters is called a

heliport. An airport for use by seaplanes and
amphibious aircraft is called a seaplane base.
Such a base typically includes a stretch of open
water for takeoffs and landings, and seaplane
docks for tying-up.
Airport distribution in 2008
An international airport has additional facilities
for customs and passport control as well as
incorporating all of 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.
Contents
Terminology
Management Birds eye view of the Kolkata Airport
Airport ownership and operation Terminal 2
Landside and airside areas
Facilities
Airport security
Products and services
Premium and VIP services
Cargo and freight service
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport 1/18
Access and onward travel

Internal transport
Airport operations
Air traffic control
Ground control
Tower control
Traffic pattern
Navigational aids
Taxiway signs
Lighting Terminal 3 of the Dubai International
Weather observations Airport
Airport ground crew (ground handling)
Safety management
Environmental concerns and sustainability
Military air base
Airport designation and naming
History and development
Airports in entertainment
Filming at airports
Airport directories
See also Solar panels at the international
airport at Kochi, India, the world's
References
first airport to be fully powered by
Bibliography solar energy.
External links
Terminology
The terms aerodrome, airfield, and airstrip may also be used to refer to
airports, and the terms heliport, seaplane base, and STOLport refer to airports
dedicated exclusively to helicopters, seaplanes, or short take-off and landing
aircraft.
RGIA Airport, Hyderabad, India
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 aerodromes may
not have achieved. In some jurisdictions, airport is a legal term of art reserved
exclusively for those aerodromes certified or licensed as airports by the
relevant national aviation authority after meeting specified certification criteria
Commercial jets wait for the "7am
or regulatory requirements.[6]
hold" to pass before departing from
John Wayne Airport, Feb 14, 2015
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 United States 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".[7]
Management
Smaller or less-developed airfields,
which represent the vast majority,
often have a single runway shorter
than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Larger
airports for airline flights generally
have paved runways of 2,000 m
(6,600 ft) or longer. Skyline Airport
Air bridges at Oslo Airport from an
in Inkom, Idaho has a runway that
Icelandair Boeing 757-200
is only 122 m (400 ft) long.[8]
The passenger terminal buildings at
Incheon International Airport, In the United States, the minimum
Incheon, South Korea
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 in China. It has a length of 5,500 m (18,045 ft).
The world's widest paved runway is at Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport in Russia and is 105 m (344 ft) wide.
As of 2009, the CIA 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.[9][10]
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 United Kingdom the state-
owned British Airports Authority 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 consortium in 2006, has
been further divested and downsized to operating just Heathrow now.
The Berlin Brandenburg Airport is
Germany's Frankfurt Airport is managed by the quasi-private firm Fraport. publicly financed by the states of
While in India GMR Group operates, through joint ventures, Indira Gandhi Berlin and Brandenburg and the
International Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Bengaluru Federal Republic of Germany.
International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport are
controlled by GVK Group. The rest of India's airports are managed by the
Airports Authority of India. In Pakistan nearly all civilian airports are owned and operated by the Pakistan Civil Aviation
Authority except for Sialkot International Airport which has the distinction of being the first privately owned public
airport in Pakistan and South Asia.
In the United States commercial airports are generally operated directly by government entities or government-created
airport authorities (also known as port authorities), such as the Los Angeles World Airports authority that oversees several
airports in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Los Angeles International Airport.
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 U.S. airports still lease part or all of their facilities to outside firms, who operate functions such as retail
management and parking. In the U.S., all commercial airport runways are certified by the FAA[11] under the Code of
Federal Regulations Title 14 Part 139, "Certification of Commercial Service Airports"[12] but maintained by the local
airport under the regulatory authority of the FAA.
Despite the reluctance to privatize airports in the US (despite the FAA 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.
Landside and airside areas

Airports are divided into landside and airside areas. The landside area is open to the public, while access to the airside
area is tightly controlled. The airside area includes all parts of the airport around the aircraft, and the parts of the
buildings that are only accessible to passengers and staff. Passengers and staff must be checked by security before being
permitted to enter the airside area. Conversely, passengers arriving from an international flight must pass through border
control and customs to access the landside area, where they can exit the airport. Many major airports will issue a secure
keycard called an airside pass to employees, as some roles require employees to frequently move back and forth between
landside and airside as part of their duties.
Facilities
A terminal 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 still have one terminal. The terminal has a
series of gates, 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) Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra
Gates Bose International Airport Terminal 2
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
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 bridges or airstairs. There also needs to be Terminal structures at
a baggage handling system, to transport baggage from the baggage drop-off to Sheremetyevo International Airport
departing planes, and from arriving planes to the baggage reclaim.
The area where the aircraft park 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
Terminal 2 at Mumbai's Chattrapati
for an international airport.
Shivaji International Airport.
The apron from the top floor International flights often require a
observation room, Halifax
higher level of physical security,
International Airport, Canada
although in recent years, many countries have adopted the same level of
security for international and domestic travel.
"Floating airports" are being designed which could be located out at sea and which would use designs such as pneumatic
stabilized platform 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 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
Baggage is scanned using X-ray
commercial outlets for products machines as passengers walk
and services. Most of these through metal detectors
companies, many of which are
internationally known brands, are
located within the departure areas.
These include clothing boutiques
Food court and shops, Halifax and restaurants and in the US
Stanfield International Airport, amounted to $4.2 billion in
Canada 2015.[13] 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 Duty-free shop at Suvarnabhumi
to "street prices". This term is misleading as prices often match the International Airport in Bangkok,
manufacturers' suggested retail price (MSRP) but are almost never discounted. Thailand
Apart from major fast food chains, some airport restaurants offer regional
cuisine specialties for those in transit so that they may sample local food or culture without leaving the airport.[14]
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 popular in Japan. A slightly larger variety is known as a sleep
box. 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 and dedicated check-in counters. These
services are usually reserved for First and Business class 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.
Shahjalal International Airport's VIP

Sometimes these premium services will be offered to a non-premium
Terminal, Dhaka, Bangladesh
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, showers, quiet areas, televisions, computer, Wi-Fi 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 airlines 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 on 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, for instance Frankfurt Airport,
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, London Heathrow Airport, Tokyo Haneda
Airport, Tokyo Narita Airport, London Gatwick Airport and London Stansted
Airport. It is also common to connect an airport and a city with rapid transit, Recife International Airport in
light rail lines or other non-road public transport systems. Some examples of Recife, Brazil.
this would include the AirTrain JFK at John F. Kennedy International Airport
in New York, Link Light Rail that runs from the heart of downtown Seattle to
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, and the Silver Line T at Boston's Logan
International Airport by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
(MBTA). Such a connection lowers risk of missed flights due to traffic
congestion. Large airports usually have access also through controlled-access
highways ('freeways' or 'motorways') from which motor vehicles enter either
the departure loop or the arrival loop.
Internal transport The New Delhi International Airport

is accessible via Delhi Metro's
The distances passengers need to move within a large airport can be
Airport Express.
substantial. It is common for airports to provide moving walkways, buses, and
rail transport systems. Some airports like Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta
International Airport and London Stansted Airport 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, Mexico City International Airport and London Gatwick Airport.
Airport operations
There are three types of surface that aircraft operate on:
Runways, for takeoff and landing

Taxiways, where planes "taxi" (transfer to and from a runway)
Apron or ramp: a surface where planes are parked, loaded, unloaded or refuelled.
Air traffic control

Air traffic control (ATC) is the task of managing aircraft movements and making sure they are safe, orderly and free of
delays. 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 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 (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 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 (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 Airport tower.
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 stop short of the runway, at which point 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 immediately surrounding the
airport. Tower controllers may use radar to locate an aircraft's position in three-dimensional 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 in order to be sure that they remain clear of other traffic.
Traffic pattern
At all airports the use of a traffic pattern (often
called a traffic circuit outside the U.S.) 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, 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 800 or 1,000 ft (244 or 305 m) above
ground level (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.
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 available to pilots, both visual and electronic,
though not all airports are equipped with them. A visual approach slope
indicator (VASI) helps pilots fly the approach for landing. Some airports are
equipped with a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) to help pilots find the
direction to the airport. VORs are often accompanied by a distance measuring
equipment (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 (ILS) to find the
Standard visual approach slope runway and fly the correct approach, even if they cannot see the ground. The
indicator number of instrument approaches based on the use of the Global Positioning
System (GPS) is rapidly increasing and may eventually become the primary
means for instrument landings.
Larger airports sometimes offer precision approach radar (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. 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 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 edge.
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, or ALS). Low-traffic airports may use
pilot controlled lighting to save electricity and staffing costs.
Along taxiways, blue lights indicate the taxiway's edge, and some airports have Airport lighting.
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, whether an AWOS,
ASOS, or AWSS, a human observer or a combination of the two. These weather
observations, predominantly in the METAR format, are available over the
radio, through automatic terminal information service (ATIS), via the ATC or
the flight service station.
Planes take-off and land into the wind in order to achieve maximum
An automated weather system.
performance. Because pilots need instantaneous information during landing, a
windsock 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.[15]
Airport ground crew (ground handling)

Most airports have groundcrew
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

Ground operations at Berlin Tegel airliner on the ground are:
Airport
A tow tractor to move the aircraft in
and out of the berth.
A jet bridge (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.
An aircraft tow tractor moving a KLM
A catering service to deliver food and drinks for a flight. Boeing 777
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".
Airlines pay great attention to minimizing turnaround times in an effort to keep aircraft utilization (flying time) high, with
times scheduled as low as 25 minutes for jet aircraft operated by low-cost carriers on narrow-body aircraft.
Safety management
Air safety 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 crews are equipped for dealing with airfield
accidents, crew and passenger extractions, and the hazards of highly
flammable aviation fuel. The crews are also trained to deal with situations such
as bomb threats, hijacking, 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
"FLF Panther" airport crash tender
maintenance is airfield rubber removal which helps maintain friction levels.
in Germany
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 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 fluids on the wings.
Many airports are built near open fields or wetlands. These tend to attract bird
populations, which can pose a hazard to aircraft in the form of bird strikes.
Airport crews often need to discourage birds from taking up residence.
Road crossing of (Shetland) A970
Some airports are located next to parks, golf courses, or other low-density uses with Sumburgh airport's runway. The
of land. Other airports are located near densely populated urban or suburban movable barrier closes when aircraft
areas. land or take off.
An airport can have areas where collisions between aircraft on the ground tend
to occur. Records are kept of any incursions 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, such as Delta Air Lines Flight 191. 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, 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
tenders.
Environmental concerns and sustainability

Aircraft noise is a major cause of noise disturbance to residents living near
airports. Sleep can be affected if the airports operate night and early morning
flights. Aircraft noise not only occurs from take-off and landings, but also
ground operations including maintenance and testing of aircraft. Noise can
have other noise health effects. Other noise and environmental concerns are
vehicle traffic causing noise and pollution on roads leading the airport.
The construction of new airports or addition of runways to existing airports, is

Runway in Congonhas-São Paulo
often resisted by local residents because of the effect on countryside, historical
Airport in Brazil.
sites, 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.[16]
Some of the airport administrations prepare and publish annual environmental reports in order 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 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 growing number of airports are installing solar photovoltaic arrays to offset their electricity use.[17][18] The National
Renewable Energy Lab has shown this can be done safely.[19]
The world's first airport to be fully powered by solar energy is located at Kochi, India. Another airport known for
considering environmental parameters is the Seymour Airport at Galapagos Islands.
Military air base

An airbase, sometimes referred to as an air station or airfield, provides basing
and support of military aircraft. Some airbases, known as military airports,
provide facilities similar to their civilian counterparts. For example, RAF Brize
Norton in the UK has a terminal which caters to passengers for the Royal Air
Force's scheduled TriStar flights to the Falkland Islands. 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 Air Station in Norway and Pune
Fighter aircraft at an airbase in
Airport in India are examples of this.
Lithuania
An aircraft carrier is a warship that functions as a mobile airbase. Aircraft
carriers allow a naval force to project air power 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

Airports are uniquely represented by their IATA airport code and ICAO airport code.
Most airport names include the location. Many airport names honour a public figure, commonly a politician (e.g., Charles
de Gaulle Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport), a monarch (e.g.
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, King Abdulaziz International Airport), a cultural leader (e.g. Liverpool John
Lennon Airport, Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport) or a
prominent figure in aviation history of the region (e.g. Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport), sometimes even famous writers
(e.g. Allama Iqbal International Airport) and explorers (e.g. Venice Marco Polo Airport).
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. Albany International Airport).
History and development

The earliest aircraft takeoff and landing sites were grassy fields.[20] 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 only functioned well in dry conditions. Later, concrete surfaces
would allow landings regardless of meteorological conditions.
The title of "world's oldest airport" is disputed, but College Park Airport in
Maryland, US, established in 1909 by Wilbur Wright, is generally agreed to be
the world's oldest continually operating airfield,[21] although it serves only
general aviation traffic. Bisbee-Douglas International Airport in Arizona was
declared "the first international airport of the Americas" by US president
Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943. Pearson Field Airport in Vancouver,
Washington, had a dirigible land in 1905 and planes in 1911 and is still in use.
The Kharkiv Airport in Sokolniki,
Hamburg Airport opened in January 1911, making it the oldest commercial Ukraine (1924).
airport in the world which is still in operation. Bremen Airport opened in 1913
and remains in use, although it served as an American military field between
1945 and 1949. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol opened on September 16, 1916, as a military airfield, but only accepted civil
aircraft from December 17, 1920, allowing Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia—which started operations in January 1920
—to claim to be one of the world's oldest continually operating commercial airports.[22] Minneapolis-Saint Paul
International Airport in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, 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 meter) runway. Of the airports constructed during this early period in aviation, it is one of the largest and
busiest that is still currently operating. Rome Ciampino Airport, opened 1916, is also a contender, as well as the Don
Mueang International Airport near Bangkok, Thailand, which opened in 1914. 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 at Le Bourget, near Paris. The first airport to operate scheduled international
commercial services was Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in August 1919, but it was closed and supplanted by Croydon
Airport in March 1920.[23] In 1922, the first permanent airport and commercial
terminal solely for commercial aviation was opened at Flughafen Devau near
what was then Königsberg, 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
The New Orleans International
became standardized under the International Civil Aviation Organization
Airport passenger terminal building
in New Orleans (1960s). (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. Additional lights indicated incorrect altitude and
direction.
After World War II, 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 water in rainy conditions that could build
up in front of the plane's wheels. The Bender Qassim International
Airport in Bosaso, Somalia (2007).
Airport construction boomed during the 1960s with the increase in jet aircraft
traffic. Runways were extended out to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The fields were
constructed out of reinforced concrete using a slip-form machine that produces a continual 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.
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, 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, Airplane!, Airport (1970), Die Hard 2, Soul Plane, Jackie Brown, Get
Shorty, Home Alone, Liar Liar, Passenger 57, Final Destination (2000), Washington Dulles International
Unaccompanied Minors, Catch Me If You Can, Rendition and The Langoliers. Airport, ostensibly the setting for Die
Hard 2; the movie was actually
They have also played important parts in television series like Lost, The
filmed at Los Angeles International
Amazing Race, America's Next Top Model, Cycle 10 which have significant
Airport
parts of their story set within airports. In other programmes and films, airports
are merely indicative of journeys, e.g. Good Will Hunting.
Several computer simulation games put the player in charge of an airport. These include the Airport Tycoon series,
SimAirport and Airport CEO.
Filming at airports
Most airports welcome filming on site, although it must be agreed in advance and may be subject to a fee. Landside,
filming can take place in all public areas. However airside, filming is sometimes heavily restricted. To film in an airside
location, all visitors must go through security, the same as passengers, and be accompanied by a full airside pass holder
and have photographic identification with them at all times. Filming is strictly prohibited in security,
immigration/customs and baggage reclaim.
Airport directories
Each national aviation authority has 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)[24] which is
published by Airservices Australia, 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 (CFS) and the Water Aerodrome Supplement,
published by NAV CANADA under the authority of Transport Canada provides equivalent
information.
Europe
The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) provides an
Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), aeronautical charts and NOTAM services for multiple
European countries.
Germany
Provided by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Office for Civil Aviation of Germany).
France
Aviation Generale Delage edited by Delville and published by Breitling.
The United Kingdom and Ireland
The information is found in Pooley's Flight Guide, a publication compiled with the assistance of
the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Pooley's also contains information on some
continental European airports that are close to Great Britain. National Air Traffic Services, the
UK's Air Navigation Service Provider, a public–private partnership also publishes an online AIP
for the UK.
The United States
The U.S. uses the Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD), published in seven volumes. DAFIF also
includes extensive airport data but has been unavailable to the public at large since 2006.
Japan
Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)[25] is provided by Japan Aeronautical Information

Service Center, under the authority of Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, 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.
See also
Airports portal
Airport terminal
Domestic airport
Environmental impact of aviation
Model airport
NIMBY
World's busiest airport
Lists:
Index of aviation articles

List of cities with more than one airport
List of countries without an airport
List of hub airports
References
1. Wragg, D.; Historical dictionary of aviation, History Press 2008.
2. "Airport – Definition of airport by Merriam-Webster" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airport). Retrieved
1 September 2015.
3. "Runway – Definition of runway by Merriam-Webster" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/runway?show=0&t
=1422938979). Retrieved 1 September 2015.
4. "Helipad – Definition of helipad by Merriam-Webster" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/helipad). Retrieved
1 September 2015.
5. "Hangar – Definition of hangar by Merriam-Webster" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hangars). Retrieved
1 September 2015.
6. Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 8 November 2018 to 0901Z 3 January 2019.
7. 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a) (2012)
8. "AirNav: 1ID9 - Skyline Airport" (http://www.airnav.com/airport/1ID9). www.airnav.com. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
9. "The World Factbook" (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2053.html). Retrieved
1 September 2015.
10. "The World Factbook" (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2053rank.html).

Retrieved 1 September 2015.
11. "FAA" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faa). Retrieved 1 September 2015.
12. "Part 139 Airport Certification" (http://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/part139_cert/). FAA. 2009-06-19. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20100729055419/http://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/part139_cert/) from the
original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
13. Gross, Daniel (7 September 2017). "Your Misery at the Airport Is Great for Business" (http://www.slate.com/articles/bu
siness/metropolis/2017/09/why_airport_retail_is_booming.html). Slate. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
14. USA Today newspaper, Oct. 17, 2006, p. 2D
15. "Why do airports have windsocks?" (http://www.piggottsflagsandbranding.co.uk/updates/interesting-facts-industrial-wi
ndsocks/). Piggotts Flags And Branding. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
16. Sherry, Lance (2009). "Introduction to Airports Design and Operations" (http://catsr.ite.gmu.edu/SYST460/IntroAirport
sWorkbook.pdf) (PDF). George Mason University Center for Air Transportation Systems Research.
17. Anurag et al. General Design Procedures for Airport-Based Solar Photovoltaic Systems (http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1
073/10/8/1194). Energies 2017, 10(8), 1194; doi:10.3390/en10081194
18. "7 cool solar installations at U.S. airports" (https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2016/03/7-cool-solar-installations-
at-u-s-airports/). www.solarpowerworldonline.com.
19. A. Kandt and R. Romero . Implementing Solar Technologies at Airports. NREL Report. Available:
https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/62349.pdf
20. Thomas, Andrew R. (2011). Soft Landing: Airline Industry Strategy, Service, and Safety (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=m1JcWmb9Ik8C&pg=PA154). Apress. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-4302-3677-1.
21. "College Park Airport" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090531180243/http://pgparks.com/places/historic/cpairport.htm
l). Pgparks.com. Archived from the original (http://www.pgparks.com/places/historic/cpairport.html) on May 31, 2009.
Retrieved 2010-07-20.
22. "Sydney Airport history" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090401043447/http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/NR/rdonlyre
s/353DC91E-A259-449B-8B68-C8E88CB58691/0/FactSheetHistory1.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (http://ww
w.sydneyairport.com.au/NR/rdonlyres/353DC91E-A259-449B-8B68-C8E88CB58691/0/FactSheetHistory1.pdf) (PDF)
on 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
23. Bluffield (2009)
24. "En route Supplement Australia (ERSA)" (http://www.airservices.gov.au/publications/aip.asp?pg=10).
Airservices.gov.au. 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
25. "Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), NOTAMs in Japan" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110722105350/https://
aisjapan.mlit.go.jp/Login.do). Japan Civil Aviation Bureau. Archived from the original (https://aisjapan.mlit.go.jp/Login.
do) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
Bibliography
Bluffield, Robert. 2009. Imperial Airways – The Birth of the British Airline Industry 1914–1940. Ian Allan ISBN 978-1-
906537-07-4
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.
Lopez, Donald S. "The inside Story Airports." Flight. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1995. 36–37. Print.
External links
Airport Safety Challenges related to Ground Operations (http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Category:Ground_Opera
tions)
"Conquest of Fog" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p-IDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA210) Popular Mechanics, February
1930, illustration and article on a modern airport in the 1930s
Airport Distance Calculator (http://www.transtats.bts.gov/Distance.asp?pn=0) – Research and Innovative Technology

Administration (RITA) in U.S. Department of Transportation
Map of worldwide airports (https://flightconnections.com)
Airport Visualizer (https://maththinking.com/airportvisualizer/) Worldwide airports visualized on 30+ maps
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Airport&oldid=874332207"
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12/23/2018 Airport - Wikipedia

An airport solely serving helicopters is called a

Access and onward travel

Airport ownership and operation

Landside and airside areas

The following facilities are essential for departing passengers:

Check-in facilities, including a baggage drop-off

Passport control (international arrivals only)

Airports with international flights

Products and services

Premium and VIP services

Shahjalal International Airport's VIP

Cargo and freight service

Access and onward travel

Internal transport The New Delhi International Airport

Runways, for takeoff and landing

Air traffic control

Airport ground crew (ground handling)

Among the vehicles that serve an

Environmental concerns and sustainability

The construction of new airports or addition of runways to existing airports, is

Military air base

Airport designation and naming

History and development

An improvement in the landing field was the introduction of grooves in the

Provided by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Office for Civil Aviation of Germany).

Aviation Generale Delage edited by Delville and published by Breitling.

The United Kingdom and Ireland

The United States

Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)[25] is provided by Japan Aeronautical Information

Index of aviation articles

10. "The World Factbook" (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2053rank.html).

Airport Distance Calculator (http://www.transtats.bts.gov/Distance.asp?pn=0) – Research and Innovative Technology

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Airport&oldid=874332207"

This page was last edited on 18 December 2018, at 16:07 (UTC).

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