Aerodromes have evolved into airports to accommodate the growing demand for commercial air travel. Landing areas at airports typically feature utility structures like control towers, hangars, and terminals for the upkeep and monitoring of aircraft. They are part of a larger open region accessible from the air.
Airport aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic control centers, passenger facilities like restaurants and lounges, and emergency services are possible at larger airports. Airports in the United States and other nations often have fixed-base operators that cater to general aviation.
Airport operations are notoriously complex due to the interconnected nature of the airport’s components (aircraft support services, passenger services, and air traffic control, to name a few).
Consequently, airports can be crucial as employment centers and tourist and transportation hubs. Airports are places where large machinery is operated, so many precautions have been taken to minimize potential harm. Read our full article on What is an Airport?
What Is An Airport?
Airports are particularly vulnerable to the environmental effects of aviation because they are both important sources of air pollution and noise pollution and also areas that experience these impacts much more than most other places.
Extreme weather, rising sea levels due to climate change, and other disasters threaten airport infrastructure. We will discuss this article What Is An Airport?, categories, definitions, and Features.
Categories Of Airports: A Definition
Product/Service Commerciale
- A public airport is owned by the government and serves as a hub for at least 2,500 passengers annually. Passenger boardings are any paid passengers who board an aircraft for transportation purposes, whether or not the flight is part of a regular schedule.
- Passengers continuing on an international flight that stops in any of the 50 United States for a reason other than passenger activity, such as refueling or aircraft maintenance, are also included in this definition. It’s also common to use the term “Enplanements” to refer to passenger boardings at airports that offer scheduled passenger service.
Market Commercial Service Airports
- These are defined as Commercial Service Airports with an annual passenger boarding volume between 2,500 and 10,000.
- Commercial Service Airports with more than 10,000 annual passenger boardings are considered Primary Airports. The percentage of domestic passenger boardings that an airport handled in the prior calendar year that ended before the beginning of the current fiscal year determines the hub category for that airport.
- For the 2016 fiscal year, for instance, data from 2014 are used because the fiscal year started nine months after the conclusion of that calendar year. Formulas for defining airport types, such as the Hub Type defined in 49 USC 47102, are shown in the preceding table, including citations to relevant sections of the law.
Transport Of Cargo Airports
- These are locations where planes exclusively convey cargo with a landed weight of more than 100 million pounds per year, in addition to any other air transportation services that may be offered. When referring to domestic, international, or international cargo flights, “landed weight” refers to the plane’s empty weight. An airport can serve as both a hub for commercial aviation and a hub for cargo.
- Congestion at Commercial Service Airports can be alleviated, and general aviation access to the community can be bolstered thanks to Reliever Airports, specifically designated airports that serve these purposes. These can be owned by the government or by individuals.
General Aviation Airports
- A public-use airport is considered a General Aviation Airport if it has yet to have scheduled service or fewer than 2,500 passenger boardings per year (49 USC 47102(8)). The vast majority (about 88%) of NPIAS airports serve general aviation.
Features
Size
It’s common for smaller or less-developed airports to have only one runway, which could be less than 1,000 meters long (3,300 feet). Most international airports with larger planes have paved runways that are at least 6,000 feet long (2,000 meters).
For lack of funds or space, many smaller airports use grass or gravel runways instead of more expensive asphalt or concrete.
The Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Landing And Takeoff Field Lengths establish the minimal specifications for dry, complex landing fields in the US. The margin of safety issues during landing and takeoff are among these. The runway length necessitated by heavier planes is usually greater.
The Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport runway in Russia’s Ulyanovsk city is the longest public runway in the world. It is 5,000 meters in length (16,404ft). It will have a width of 105 meters (344 feet), making it the most significant paved runway in the world.
Airport Structures
Landside and airside are the two main sections of an airport. Parking lots, bus stops, underground stations, tank farms, and roadways are all examples of landside locations. Runways, taxiways, and airplane ramps are considered part of the airside. Most airports strictly regulate who can enter and exit the airside from the landside.
Passengers on commercial flights go through terminals to access airside facilities, where they can buy tickets, go through security, check or claim luggage, and board aircraft through gates.
Concourses are the waiting spaces that lead to the gates where passengers board planes, while the term terminal is more commonly used.
To load passengers and luggage, planes must park in a particular location called a “ramp” close to the terminal (or, to the media and uninitiated, “the tarmac”).
Aprons are typically used to refer to locations where planes can park separately from terminals.
Depending on the volume of traffic and the airport’s budget, towers are optional for small airports and are an option for larger ones. Most major international airports have air traffic control centers because of their large capacities and heavy traffic.
Customs and immigration offices can be found at airports that foreign service aircraft. Although customs and immigration services are typically part of an international airport, certain nations have agreements that make them unnecessary for intercountry travel.
Although several countries have recently adopted the same degree of security for international and domestic travel, foreign flights typically require a superior level of physical security.
Using innovative technologies like Float Incorporated’s Pneumatic Stabilized Platform (PSP), engineers and architects are working on concepts for “floating airports” that might be positioned many miles out to sea.
Retail And Food Service
There are shops and food courts at most major airports. Pre-flight catering services often provide passengers with light meals and beverages.
Due to the high volume of hungry travelers using large airports, many well-known chain restaurants have set up shop there. Travelers can save money on customs costs by shopping at a duty-free store in an international zone.
Duty-free shopping is available to international passengers at London’s Heathrow Airport, which features a Harrods department store and a Hamleys toy shop. To cater to their most valuable customers, many larger airlines have created exclusive lounges for their first-class passengers.
Because airports have a limited number of customers who can leave at any given time, the cost of meals there is typically higher than in a more remote location.
On the other hand, several airports have implemented price controls on food to maintain levels that are “street pricing” equivalent. The services of airports like the Subic Bay International Airport are not free of charge for passengers.
Quality, Exclusive, And Priority Attendance
A number of medium- to large-sized airports also offer premium passenger services. Long-haul (or international) first- and business-class passengers, paid members, and elite-level frequent travelers in the United States are the traditional target demographic for these lounges (regardless of their class).
The lounges are not for sale in the rest of the world but are open to all first-class passengers and the best frequent travelers.
The amenities provided by some lounges are more essential than others, with some merely providing a quiet area to sit and work, while others go so far as to provide full meals and massages.
Freight And Cargo Services
Airports are responsible for the continuous, round-the-clock transportation of passengers and substantial amounts of cargo. Cargo carriers typically have their own onsite and neighboring infrastructure to switch packages from ground to air quickly.
Read Also: What To Do At The Airport?
Services To Help Those In Need
A fixed base operator (FBO) typically offers aircraft maintenance, pilot services, aircraft rental, and hangar rental (FBO). Larger airports, especially hub airports, may have their facilities for airline support staff.
Long runways are available at some airports, generally military airbases, in case of an emergency. Rotary Hydraulic Arrestor Gear is arresting equipment commonly seen at airbases.
It consists of a sturdy cable hanging directly above the runway and connected to a hydraulic reduction gear mechanism. It’s utilized with the landing plane’s arresting hook when braking has little or no effect.
Reaching The Airport
Frankfurt International Airport, Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, and London Stansted Airport are just a few examples of the many major airports across the world that are situated adjacent to or even over train trunk routes.
Local train lines, rapid transit, light rail lines, or other mass transit systems are available at many airports providing local access, such as the AirTrain JFK at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Typically, these setups have a hardwired connection to the hub hubs.
There are often two access routes that connect to significant airports through motorways, laid out as loops on top of each other. Passengers arriving or departing different use floors. The Los Angeles airport was the first to use this road design.
Read Also: Best 13 Things To Do Near Albany Airport
Conclusion
An airport, sometimes a terminal, aerodrome, or airfield, is a specialized building or area where planes can take off and land. A terminal for passengers and freight, an airport typically features paved runways and maintenance facilities. We hope we have answered all your questions. Thanks for stopping by. We hope you now know everything about, What is an Airport?
