Airport

Sample infrastructure of a typical airport. Larger airports usually contain more runways and terminals.
Airport distribution as of 2008
El Salvador International Airport
Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport (DXB)

An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport.[1][2] Airports usually consist 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 and to land[3] or a helipad,[4] and often includes adjacent utility buildings such as control towers, hangars[5] and terminals, to maintain and monitor aircraft. Larger airports may have airport aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic control centres, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and emergency services. In some countries, the US in particular, airports also typically have one or more fixed-base operators, serving general aviation.

Airport operations are extremely complex, with a complicated 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, noise pollution and other environmental impacts, making them sites that acutely experience the environmental effects of aviation. Airports are also vulnerable infrastructure to extreme weather, climate change caused sea level rise and other disasters.

Commercial jets wait for the "7am hold" to pass before departing from John Wayne Airport in Orange County (Santa Ana), California, on February 14, 2015
  1. ^ Wragg, D.; Historical dictionary of aviation, History Press 2008.
  2. ^ "Airport – Definition of airport by Merriam-Webster". Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  3. ^ "Runway – Definition of runway by Merriam-Webster". Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "Helipad – Definition of helipad by Merriam-Webster". Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. ^ "Hangar – Definition of hangar by Merriam-Webster". Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.