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An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters , and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airpo rt. An airport consists of at least one surface such as a runway for a plane to take off and land, a helipad, or water for takeoffs and landings, and often incl udes buildings such as control towers, hangars and terminal buildings. Larger airports may have fixed base operator services, seaplane docks and ramps, air traffic control, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and emergency services. A military airport is known as an airbase or air station. A water airport is a water aerodrome (an area of open water used regularly by se aplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off), usually with passeng er facilities on adjacent land, which acts as an airport. Contents [hide] 1 Terminology 2 Infrastructure 2.1 Airport ownership and operation 2.2 Airport structures 2.3 Products and services 2.4 Premium and VIP services 2.5 Cargo and freight services 2.6 Support services 2.7 Airport access 2.8 Internal transport 2.9 History and development 3 Airport designation and naming 4 Airport security 5 Airport operations 5.1 Air traffic control 5.2 Traffic pattern 5.3 Navigational aids 5.4 Taxiway signs 5.5 Lighting 5.6 Weather observations 5.7 Safety management 6 Airport ground crew 7 Environmental concerns 8 Military airbase 9 Airports in entertainment 10 Airstrip 11 Airport directories 12 See also 13 Notes 14 Bibliography 15 External links [edit]Terminology
The apron area and jet bridges of Tallinn Airport, Estonia The terms aerodrome, airfield, and airstrip may also be used to refer to airport s, and the terms heliport, seaplane base, and STOLport refer to airports dedicat ed exclusively to helicopters, seaplanes, or short take-off and landing aircraft . In colloquial use, the terms airport and aerodrome are often interchanged. Howev er, in general, the term airport may imply or confer a certain stature upon the aviation facility that an aerodrome may not have achieved. In some jurisdictions , airport is a legal term of art reserved exclusively for those aerodromes certi fied or licensed as airports by the relevant national aviation authority after m eeting specified certification criteria or regulatory requirements.[1] 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 air
port, which term to use in the name of an aerodrome may be a commercial decision . [edit]Infrastructure
The passenger terminal buildings at Incheon International Airport, Incheon, Sout h Korea Smaller or less-developed airports which represent the vast majority often have a si ngle runway shorter than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Larger airports for airline flights generally have paved runways 2,000 m (6,600 ft) or longer. Many small airports have dirt, grass, or gravel runways, rather than asphalt or concrete. In the United States, the minimum dimensions for dry, hard landing fields are de fined by the FAR Landing And Takeoff Field Lengths. These include considerations for safety margins during landing and takeoff. Heavier aircraft require longer runways. The longest public-use runway in the world is at Qamdo Bangda Airport in China. It has a length of 5,500 m (18,045 ft). The world's widest paved runway is at Ul yanovsk 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.[2][3] [edit]Airport ownership and operation The Berlin Brandenburg Airport is publicly financed by the states of Berlin and Brandenburg and the Federal Republic of Germany. Most of the world's airports are owned by local, regional, or national governmen t bodies who then lease the airport to private corporations who oversee the airp ort's operation. For example, in the United Kingdom the state-owned British Airp orts Authority originally operated eight of the nation's major commercial airpor ts - it was subsequently privatized in the late 1980s, and following its takeove r by the Spanish Ferrovial consortium in 2006, has been further divested and dow nsized to operating just five. Germany's Frankfurt Airport is managed by the qua si-private firm Fraport. While in India GMR Group operates, through joint ventur es, Indira Gandhi International Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Bengaluru International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport ar e controlled by GVK Group. The rest of India's airports are managed by the Airpo rts Authority of India. In the United States commercial airports are generally operated directly by gove rnment entities or government-created airport authorities (also known as port au thorities), such as the Los Angeles World Airports authority that oversees sever al airports in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Los Angeles International Airport. In Canada, the federal authority, Transport Canada, divested itself of all but t he remotest airports in 1999/2000. Now most airports in Canada are owned and ope rated by individual legal authorities or are municipally owned. Many US airports still lease part or all of their facilities to outside firms, w ho operate functions such as retail management and parking. In the US, all comme rcial airport runways are certified by the FAA under the Code of Federal Regulat ions Title 14 Part 139, "Certification of Commercial Service Airports"[4] but ma intained by the local airport under the regulatory authority of the FAA. Despite the reluctance to privatize airports in the US (despite the FAA sponsori ng a privatization program since 1996), the government-owned, contractor-operate d (GOCO) arrangement is the standard for the operation of commercial airports in the rest of the world. [edit]Airport structures View of the East Atrium at Orlando International Airport, with a Hyatt Regency h
otel within the terminal structure Airports are divided into landside and airside areas. Landside areas include par king lots, public transportation train stations and access roads. Airside areas include all areas accessible to aircraft, including runways, taxiways and ramps. Access from landside areas to airside areas is tightly controlled at most airpo rts. Passengers on commercial flights access airside areas through terminals, wh ere they can purchase tickets, clear security check, or claim luggage and board aircraft through gates. The waiting areas which provide passenger access to airc raft are typically called concourses, although this term is often used interchan geably with terminal. The apron from the top floor observation room, Halifax International Airport, Ca nada The area where aircraft park next to a terminal to load passengers and baggage i s known as a ramp (or "the tarmac"). Parking areas for aircraft away from termin als are called aprons. Airports can be towered or non-towered, depending on air traffic density and ava ilable funds. Due to their high capacity and busy airspace, many international a irports have air traffic control located on site. Airports with international flights have customs and immigration facilities. How ever, as some countries have agreements that allow travel between them without c ustoms and immigrations, such facilities are not a definitive need for an intern ational airport. International flights often require a higher level of physical security, although in recent years, many countries have adopted the same level o f security for international and domestic travel. Some airport structures include on-site hotels built within or attached to a ter minal building. Airport hotels have grown popular due to their convenience for t ransient passengers and easy accessibility to the airport terminal. Many airport hotels also have agreements with airlines to provide overnight lodging for disp laced passengers. "Floating airports" are being designed which could be located out at sea and whi ch would use designs such as pneumatic stabilized platform technology. [edit]Products and services Food court and shops, Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Canada Duty free shop at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand Most major airports provide commercial outlets for products and services. Most o f these companies, many of which are internationally known brands, are located w ithin the departure areas. These include clothing boutiques and restaurants. Pri ces charged for items sold at these outlets are generally higher than those outs ide the airport. However, some airports now regulate costs to keep them comparab le to "street prices". This term is misleading as prices often match the manufac turers' suggested retail price (MSRP) but are almost never discounted.[citation needed] Apart from major fast food chains, some airport restaurants offer regional cuisi ne specialties for those in transit so that they may sample local food or cultur e without leaving the airport.[5] Major airports in such countries as Russia and Japan offer miniature sleeping un its within the airport that are available for rent by the hour. The smallest typ e 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. [edit]Premium and VIP services Shahjalal International Airport's VIP Terminal, Dhaka, Bangladesh
The waiting hall at the international departure lounge, Chennai International Ai rport, Chennai, India Airports may also contain premium and VIP services. The premium and VIP services may include express check-in, dedicated check-in counters, separate departures and/or arrivals lounge, priority boarding, separate air bridges, and priority ba ggage handling. These services are usually reserved for First and Business class passengers, pre mium frequent flyers, and members of the airline's clubs. Premium services may s ometimes 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 multipl e airlines are part of the same alliance, or as a ploy to attract premium custom ers away from rival airlines. Sometimes these premium services will be offered to a non-premium passenger if t he 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 outle ts 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 allo wing 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. [edit]Cargo and freight services In addition to people, airports move cargo around the clock. Cargo airlines ofte n have their own on-site and adjacent infrastructure to transfer parcels between ground and air. Cargo Terminal Facilities International airports need areas whe re 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 befo re the consignee decides to take delivery. Areas have to be kept aside for exami nation of export and import cargo by the airport authorities. Designated areas o r sheds may be given to airlines or freight forward ring agencies. Every cargo t erminal has a landside and an airside. The landside is where the exporters and i mporters through either their agents or by themselves deliver or collect shipmen ts while the airside is where loads are moved to or from the aircraft. In additi export, import and interline on cargo terminals are divided into distinct areas or transhipment [edit]Support services Aircraft maintenance, pilot services, aircraft rental, and hangar rental are mos t often performed by a fixed base operator (FBO). At major airports, particularl y those used as hubs, airlines may operate their own support facilities. Some airports, typically military airbases, have long runways used as emergency landing sites. Many airbases have arresting equipment for fast aircraft, known a s arresting gear a strong cable suspended just above the runway and attached to a hydraulic reduction gear mechanism. Together with the landing aircraft's arres ting hook, it is used in situations where the aircraft's brakes would be insuffi cient by themselves. In the United States, many larger civilian airports also host an Air National Gu ard base. [edit]Airport access Many large airports are located near railway trunk routes for seamless connectio n of multimodal transport, for instance Frankfurt Airport, Amsterdam Airport Sch iphol, London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport and London Stansted Airpo rt. It is also common to connect an airport and a city with rapid transit, light rail lines or other non-road public transport systems. Some examples of this wo uld include the AirTrain JFK at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New Yor k, 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 Air
port 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. [edit]Internal transport The distances passengers need to move within a large airport can be substantial. It is common for airports to provide moving walkways and buses. The Hartsfield Ja ckson Atlanta International Airport has a tram that takes people through the con courses and baggage claim. Major airports with more than one terminal offer inte r-terminal transportation, such as Mexico City International Airport, where the domestic building of Terminal 1 is connected by Aerotrén to Terminal 2, on the oth er side of the airport. [edit]History and development The earliest aircraft takeoff and landing sites were grassy fields. The plane co uld approach at any angle that provided a favorable wind direction. A slight imp rovement was the dirt-only field, which eliminated the drag from grass. However, these only functioned well in dry conditions. Later, concrete surfaces would al low landings, rain or shine, day or night. The title of "world's oldest airport" is disputed, but College Park Airport in M aryland, US, established in 1909 by Wilbur Wright, is generally agreed to be the world's oldest continually operating airfield,[6] although it serves only gener al aviation traffic. Bisbee-Douglas International Airport in Arizona was declare d "the first international airport of the Americas" by US president Roosevelt . Pearson Field Airport in Vancouver, Washington had a dirigible land in 1905 and planes in 1911 and is still in use. Bremen Airport opened in 1913 and remains in use, although it served as an American military field between 1945 and 1949. Am sterdam Airport Schiphol opened on September 16, 1916 as a military airfield, bu t only accepted civil aircraft from December 17, 1920, allowing Sydney Airport i n Sydney, Australia which started operations in January 1920 to claim to be one of t he world's oldest continually operating commercial airports.[7] Minneapolis-Sain t Paul International Airport in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, opened in 192 0 and has been in continuous commercial service since. It serves about 35,000,00 0 passengers each year and continues to expand, recently opening a new 11,000 fo ot (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 operatin g. Rome Ciampino Airport, opened 1916, is also a contender. Increased aircraft t raffic during World War I led to the construction of landing fields. Aircraft ha d to approach these from certain directions and this led to the development of a ids for directing the approach and landing slope. Following the war, some of these military airfields added civil facilities for h andling passenger traffic. One of the earliest such fields was Paris Le Bourget Airport at Le Bourget, near Paris. The first airport to operate scheduled intern ational commercial services was Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in August 1919, but it was closed and supplanted by Croydon Airport in March 1920.[8] In 1922, the firs t permanent airport and commercial terminal solely for commercial aviation was o pened 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 landi ng heavier aircraft. The first lighting used on an airport was during the latter part of the 1920s; i n the 1930s approach lighting came into use. These indicated the proper directio n and angle of descent. The colours and flash intervals of these lights became s tandardized under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In the 1 940s, 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 glideslo pe. Additional lights indicated incorrect altitude and direction. Following World War II, airport design became more sophisticated. Passenger buil dings 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 concr
ete surface. These run perpendicular to the direction of the landing aircraft an d serve to draw off excess water in rainy conditions that could build up in fron t of the plane's wheels. Airport construction boomed during the 1960s with the increase in jet aircraft t raffic. Runways were extended out to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The fields were constru cted out of reinforced concrete using a slip-form machine that produces a contin ual slab with no disruptions along the length. The early 1960s also saw the intr oduction of jet bridge systems to modern airport terminals, an innovation which eliminated outdoor passenger boarding. These systems became commonplace in the U nited States by the 1970s. [edit]Airport designation and naming Further information: List of airports Airports are uniquely represented by their IATA airport code and ICAO airport co de. Most airport names include the location. Many airport names honour a public figu re, commonly a politician (e.g. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport) or a prominent figure in aviation history of the region (e.g. Will Rogers World Airport). Some airports have unofficial names, possibly so widely circulated that its offi cial name is little used or even known.[citation needed] 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 airline services (e.g. Texel International Airport). [edit]Airport security
Baggage is scanned using X-ray machines, passengers walk through metal detectors Main article: Airport security Airport security normally requires baggage checks, metal screenings of individua l persons, and rules against any object that could be used as a weapon. Since th e September 11, 2001 attacks, airport security has dramatically increased. See also: Airport security repercussions due to the September 11 attacks [edit]Airport operations [edit]Air traffic control The majority of the world's airports are non-towered, with no air traffic contro l presence. However, at particularly busy airports, or airports with other speci al requirements, there is an air traffic control (ATC) system whereby controller s (usually ground-based) direct aircraft movements via radio or other communicat ions links. This coordinated oversight facilitates safety and speed in complex o perations where traffic moves in all three dimensions. Air traffic control respo nsibilities at airports are usually divided into at least two main areas: ground and tower, though a single controller may work both stations. The busiest airpo rts also have clearance delivery, apron control, and other specialized ATC stati ons. Ground Control is responsible for directing all ground traffic in designated "mo vement areas", except the traffic on runways. This includes planes, baggage trai ns, snowplows, grass cutters, fuel trucks, stair trucks, airline food trucks, co nveyor belt vehicles and other vehicles. Ground Control will instruct these vehi cles 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 r eady to takeoff it will stop short of the runway, at which point it will be turn ed over to Tower Control. After a plane has landed, it will depart the runway an d be returned to Ground Control. Tower Control controls aircraft on the runway and in the controlled airspace imm ediately surrounding the airport. Tower controllers may use radar to locate an a ircraft's position in three-dimensional space, or they may rely on pilot positio n 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 circ
uit. Aircraft which are only passing through the airspace must also contact Towe r Control in order to be sure that they remain clear of other traffic. [edit]Traffic pattern Main article: Airfield traffic pattern All airports use a traffic pattern (often called a traffic circuit outside the U .S.) to assure smooth traffic flow between departing and arriving aircraft. Gene rally, 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 m ore sides). Each leg is named (see diagram), and ATC directs pilots on how to jo in and leave the circuit. Traffic patterns are flown at one specific altitude, u sually 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. 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 smoothl y because all pilots know what to expect, and helps reduce the chance of a mid-a ir collision. At extremely large airports, a circuit is in place but not usually used. Rather, aircraft (usually only commercial with long routes) request approach clearance while they are still hours away from the airport, often before they even takeoff from their departure point. Large airports have a frequency called Clearance De livery which is used by departing aircraft specifically for this purpose. This t hen allows airplanes to take the most direct approach path to the runway and lan d without worrying about interference from other aircraft. While this system kee ps the airspace free and is simpler for pilots, it requires detailed knowledge o f how aircraft are planning to use the airport ahead of time and is therefore on ly possible with large commercial airliners on pre-scheduled flights. The system has recently become so advanced that controllers can predict whether an aircraf t 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. [edit]Navigational aids Standard Visual Approach Slope Indicator There are a number of aids available to pilots, though not all airports are equi pped with them. A Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) helps pilots fly the ap proach for landing. Some airports are equipped with a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) to help pilots find the direction to the airport. VORs are often accompani ed 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 air craft to navigate upon. In poor weather, pilots will use an instrument landing s ystem (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 Glo bal Positioning System (GPS) is rapidly increasing and may eventually be the pri mary means for instrument landings. Larger airports sometimes offer precision approach radar (PAR), but these system s are more common at military air bases than civilian airports. The aircraft's h orizontal and vertical movement is tracked via radar, and the controller tells t he pilot his position relative to the approach slope. Once the pilots can see th e runway lights, they may continue with a visual landing. [edit]Taxiway signs Further information: Taxiway#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. [edit]Lighting Further information: Taxiway#Taxiway lights and Runway#Runway lighting Many airports have lighting that help guide planes using the runways and taxiway s 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 whi te lights spaced out on both sides of the runway, indicating the edge. Some airp orts have more complicated lighting on the runways including lights that run dow n the centerline of the runway and lights that help indicate the approach (an ap proach lighting system, or ALS). Low-traffic airports may use pilot controlled l ighting 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. [edit]Weather observations See also: Surface weather observation, Weather station, Automated airport weathe r station, and Automatic weather station Weather observations at the airport are crucial to safe takeoffs and landings. I n 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 Automat ic Terminal Information Service (ATIS), via the ATC or the Flight Service Statio n. Planes take-off and land into the wind in order to achieve maximum performance. Because pilots need instantaneous information during landing, a windsock is also kept in view of the runway. [edit]Safety management "FLF Panther" airport crash tender in Germany Air safety is an important concern in the operation of an airport, and almost ev ery airfield includes equipment and procedures for handling emergency situations . Airport crash tender crews are equipped for dealing with airfield accidents, c rew and passenger extractions, and the hazards of highly flammable aviation fuel . The crews are also trained to deal with situations such as bomb threats, hijac king, and terrorist activities. Hazards to aircraft include debris, nesting birds, and reduced friction levels d ue to environmental conditions such as ice, snow, or rain. Part of runway mainte nance is airfield rubber removal which helps maintain friction levels. The field s must be kept clear of debris using cleaning equipment so that loose material d oes 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 t o 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. A irport 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 ar eas. An airport can have areas where collisions between airplanes on the ground tend to occur. Records are kept of any incursions where airplanes or vehicles are in an inappropriate location, allowing these "hot spots" to be identified. These lo cations then undergo special attention by transportation authorities (such as th e 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 F light 191. Microburst radar was developed as an aid to safety during landing, gi ving two to five minutes warning to aircraft in the vicinity of the field of a m icroburst event. Some airfields now have a special surface known as soft concrete at the end of t he runway (stopway or blastpad) that behaves somewhat like styrofoam, bringing t he plane to a relatively rapid halt as the material disintegrates. These surface s 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.
[edit]Airport ground crew
An aircraft tow tractor moving a KLM Boeing 777 Main article: Ground support equipment Most airports have groundcrew handling the loading and unloading of passengers, crew, baggage and other services.[citation needed] Some groundcrew are linked to specific airlines operating at the airport. Many groundcrew at the airport work at the airplanes. A tow tractor pulls the ai rcraft to one of the airbridges. The ground power unit is plugged in. It keeps t he electricity running in the plane when it stands at the terminal. The engines are not working, therefore they do not generate the electricity, as they do in f light. The passengers disembark using the airbridge. Mobile stairs can give the ground crew more access to the aircraft's cabin. There is a cleaning service to clean the aircraft after the aircraft lands. Flight catering provides the food a nd drinks on flights. A toilet waste truck removes the human waste from the tank which holds the waste from the toilets in the aircraft. A water truck fills the water tanks of the aircraft. A fuel transfer vehicle transfers aviation fuel fr om fuel tanks underground, to the aircraft tanks. A tractor and its dollies brin g in luggage from the terminal to the aircraft. They also carry luggage to the t erminal if the aircraft has landed, and is being unloaded. Hi-loaders lift the h eavy luggage containers to the gate of the cargo hold. The ground crew push the luggage containers into the hold. If it has landed, they rise, the ground crew p ush the luggage container on the hi-loader, which carries it down. The luggage c ontainer is then pushed on one of the tractors dollies. The conveyor, which is a conveyor belt on a truck, brings in the awkwardly shaped, or late luggage. The airbridge is used again by the new passengers to embark the aircraft. The tow tr actor pushes the aircraft away from the terminal to a taxi area. The aircraft sh ould be off of the airport and in the air in 90 minutes. The airport charges the airline for the time the aircraft spends at the airport. [edit]Environmental concerns Aircraft noise is major cause of noise disturbance to residents living near airp orts. Sleep can be affected if the airports operate night and early morning flig hts. Aircraft noise not only occurs from take-off and landings, but also ground operations including maintenance and testing of aircraft. Noise can have other n oise health effects. Other noise and environmental concerns are vehicle traffic causing noise and pollution on roads leading the airport.[citation needed] The construction of new airports or addition of runways to existing airports, is often resisted by local residents because of the effect on countryside, histori cal sites, local flora and fauna. Due to the risk of collision between birds and airplanes, large airports undertake population control programs where they frig hten or shoot birds.[citation needed] The construction of airports has been known to change local weather patterns. Fo r example, because they often flatten out large areas, they can be susceptible t o fog in areas where fog rarely forms. In addition, they generally replace trees and grass with pavement, they often change drainage patterns in agricultural ar eas, leading to more flooding, run-off and erosion in the surrounding land.[cita tion needed] Some of the airport administrations prepare and publish annual environmental rep orts in order to show how they consider these environmental concerns in airport management issues and how they protect environment from airport operations. Thes e reports contain all environmental protection measures performed by airport adm inistration in terms of water, air, soil and noise pollution, resource conservat ion and protection of natural life around the airport. [edit]Military airbase
Fighter aircraft at an airbase in Lithuania Main article: Military airbase An airbase, sometimes referred to as an air station or airfield, provides basing and support of military aircraft. Some airbases, known as military airports, pr ovide 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 For ce's scheduled TriStar flights to the Falkland Islands. Some airbases are co-loc ated with civilian airports, sharing the same ATC facilities, runways, taxiways and emergency services, but with separate terminals, parking areas and hangars. Bardufoss Airport and Bardufoss Air Station in Norway are an example of this. An aircraft carrier is a warship that functions as a mobile airbase. Aircraft ca rriers allow a naval force to project air power without having to depend on loca l bases for land-based aircraft. After their development in World War I, aircraf t carriers replaced the battleship as the centrepiece of a modern fleet during W orld War II. [edit]Airports in entertainment
Washington Dulles International Airport, ostensibly the setting for Die Hard 2; the movie was actually filmed at Los Angeles International Airport Airports have played major roles in films and television programs due to its ver y nature as a transport and international hub, and sometimes because of distinct ive architectural features of particular airports. One such example of this is T he Terminal, a film about a man who becomes permanently grounded in an airport t erminal and must survive only on the food and shelter provided by the airport. T hey are also one of the major elements in movies such as The V.I.P.s, Airplane!, Airport, Die Hard 2, Soul Plane, Jackie Brown, Get Shorty, Home Alone, Liar Lia r, Passenger 57, Final Destination, Unaccompanied Minors, Catch Me If You Can, R endition and The Langoliers. They have also played important parts in television series like Lost, The Amazing Race, America's Next Top Model, Cycle 10 which ha ve significant 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. [edit]Airstrip
A private airstrip at what used to be RAF Knettishall An airstrip or airfield is a kind of airport that consists only of a runway with perhaps fueling equipment. They are generally in remote locations. Many airstri ps (now mostly abandoned) were built on the hundreds of islands in the Pacific O cean during World War II. Sometimes a few airstrips become full fledged airbases as strategic or economic importance of a region increases over time. [edit]Airport directories See also: National aviation authority, List of civil aviation authorities, and A eronautical Information Service Each national aviation authority has a source of information about airports in t heir country. This will contain information on airport elevation, airport lighti ng, runway information, communications facilities and frequencies, hours of oper ation, nearby NAVAIDs and contact information where prior arrangement for landin g is necessary. Australia Information can be found on-line in the En route Supplement Australia (ERSA)[9] which is published by Airservices Australia, a government owned corporation char ged with managing Australian ATC. Canada Two publications, the Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) and the Water Aerodrome Sup
plement, published by NAV CANADA under the authority of Transport Canada provide s equivalent information. Europe The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) provide s an Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), aeronautical charts and NOTAM s ervices for multiple European countries. Germany Provided by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Office for Civil Aviation of German y). 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 t he assistance of the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Pooley's als o contains information on some continental European airports that are close to G reat Britain. National Air Traffic Services, the UK's Air Navigation Service Pro vider, 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. Japan Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)[10] 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. [edit]See also Aviation portal Domestic airport Environmental impact of aviation Model airport NIMBY Regional airport World's busiest airport Lists: List of cities with more than one airport List of countries without an airport List of aviation topics List of hub airports
The apron area and jet bridges of Tallinn Airport, Estonia The terms aerodrome, airfield, and airstrip may also be used to refer to airport s, and the terms heliport, seaplane base, and STOLport refer to airports dedicat ed exclusively to helicopters, seaplanes, or short take-off and landing aircraft . In colloquial use, the terms airport and aerodrome are often interchanged. Howev er, in general, the term airport may imply or confer a certain stature upon the aviation facility that an aerodrome may not have achieved. In some jurisdictions , airport is a legal term of art reserved exclusively for those aerodromes certi fied or licensed as airports by the relevant national aviation authority after m eeting specified certification criteria or regulatory requirements.[1] 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 air
port, which term to use in the name of an aerodrome may be a commercial decision . [edit]Infrastructure
The passenger terminal buildings at Incheon International Airport, Incheon, Sout h Korea Smaller or less-developed airports which represent the vast majority often have a si ngle runway shorter than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Larger airports for airline flights generally have paved runways 2,000 m (6,600 ft) or longer. Many small airports have dirt, grass, or gravel runways, rather than asphalt or concrete. In the United States, the minimum dimensions for dry, hard landing fields are de fined by the FAR Landing And Takeoff Field Lengths. These include considerations for safety margins during landing and takeoff. Heavier aircraft require longer runways. The longest public-use runway in the world is at Qamdo Bangda Airport in China. It has a length of 5,500 m (18,045 ft). The world's widest paved runway is at Ul yanovsk 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.[2][3] [edit]Airport ownership and operation The Berlin Brandenburg Airport is publicly financed by the states of Berlin and Brandenburg and the Federal Republic of Germany. Most of the world's airports are owned by local, regional, or national governmen t bodies who then lease the airport to private corporations who oversee the airp ort's operation. For example, in the United Kingdom the state-owned British Airp orts Authority originally operated eight of the nation's major commercial airpor ts - it was subsequently privatized in the late 1980s, and following its takeove r by the Spanish Ferrovial consortium in 2006, has been further divested and dow nsized to operating just five. Germany's Frankfurt Airport is managed by the qua si-private firm Fraport. While in India GMR Group operates, through joint ventur es, Indira Gandhi International Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Bengaluru International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport ar e controlled by GVK Group. The rest of India's airports are managed by the Airpo rts Authority of India. In the United States commercial airports are generally operated directly by gove rnment entities or government-created airport authorities (also known as port au thorities), such as the Los Angeles World Airports authority that oversees sever al airports in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Los Angeles International Airport. In Canada, the federal authority, Transport Canada, divested itself of all but t he remotest airports in 1999/2000. Now most airports in Canada are owned and ope rated by individual legal authorities or are municipally owned. Many US airports still lease part or all of their facilities to outside firms, w ho operate functions such as retail management and parking. In the US, all comme rcial airport runways are certified by the FAA under the Code of Federal Regulat ions Title 14 Part 139, "Certification of Commercial Service Airports"[4] but ma intained by the local airport under the regulatory authority of the FAA. Despite the reluctance to privatize airports in the US (despite the FAA sponsori ng a privatization program since 1996), the government-owned, contractor-operate d (GOCO) arrangement is the standard for the operation of commercial airports in the rest of the world. [edit]Airport structures View of the East Atrium at Orlando International Airport, with a Hyatt Regency h
otel within the terminal structure Airports are divided into landside and airside areas. Landside areas include par king lots, public transportation train stations and access roads. Airside areas include all areas accessible to aircraft, including runways, taxiways and ramps. Access from landside areas to airside areas is tightly controlled at most airpo rts. Passengers on commercial flights access airside areas through terminals, wh ere they can purchase tickets, clear security check, or claim luggage and board aircraft through gates. The waiting areas which provide passenger access to airc raft are typically called concourses, although this term is often used interchan geably with terminal. The apron from the top floor observation room, Halifax International Airport, Ca nada The area where aircraft park next to a terminal to load passengers and baggage i s known as a ramp (or "the tarmac"). Parking areas for aircraft away from termin als are called aprons. Airports can be towered or non-towered, depending on air traffic density and ava ilable funds. Due to their high capacity and busy airspace, many international a irports have air traffic control located on site. Airports with international flights have customs and immigration facilities. How ever, as some countries have agreements that allow travel between them without c ustoms and immigrations, such facilities are not a definitive need for an intern ational airport. International flights often require a higher level of physical security, although in recent years, many countries have adopted the same level o f security for international and domestic travel. Some airport structures include on-site hotels built within or attached to a ter minal building. Airport hotels have grown popular due to their convenience for t ransient passengers and easy accessibility to the airport terminal. Many airport hotels also have agreements with airlines to provide overnight lodging for disp laced passengers. "Floating airports" are being designed which could be located out at sea and whi ch would use designs such as pneumatic stabilized platform technology. [edit]Products and services Food court and shops, Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Canada Duty free shop at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand Most major airports provide commercial outlets for products and services. Most o f these companies, many of which are internationally known brands, are located w ithin the departure areas. These include clothing boutiques and restaurants. Pri ces charged for items sold at these outlets are generally higher than those outs ide the airport. However, some airports now regulate costs to keep them comparab le to "street prices". This term is misleading as prices often match the manufac turers' suggested retail price (MSRP) but are almost never discounted.[citation needed] Apart from major fast food chains, some airport restaurants offer regional cuisi ne specialties for those in transit so that they may sample local food or cultur e without leaving the airport.[5] Major airports in such countries as Russia and Japan offer miniature sleeping un its within the airport that are available for rent by the hour. The smallest typ e 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. [edit]Premium and VIP services Shahjalal International Airport's VIP Terminal, Dhaka, Bangladesh
The waiting hall at the international departure lounge, Chennai International Ai rport, Chennai, India Airports may also contain premium and VIP services. The premium and VIP services may include express check-in, dedicated check-in counters, separate departures and/or arrivals lounge, priority boarding, separate air bridges, and priority ba ggage handling. These services are usually reserved for First and Business class passengers, pre mium frequent flyers, and members of the airline's clubs. Premium services may s ometimes 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 multipl e airlines are part of the same alliance, or as a ploy to attract premium custom ers away from rival airlines. Sometimes these premium services will be offered to a non-premium passenger if t he 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 outle ts 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 allo wing 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. [edit]Cargo and freight services In addition to people, airports move cargo around the clock. Cargo airlines ofte n have their own on-site and adjacent infrastructure to transfer parcels between ground and air. Cargo Terminal Facilities International airports need areas whe re 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 befo re the consignee decides to take delivery. Areas have to be kept aside for exami nation of export and import cargo by the airport authorities. Designated areas o r sheds may be given to airlines or freight forward ring agencies. Every cargo t erminal has a landside and an airside. The landside is where the exporters and i mporters through either their agents or by themselves deliver or collect shipmen ts while the airside is where loads are moved to or from the aircraft. In additi export, import and interline on cargo terminals are divided into distinct areas or transhipment [edit]Support services Aircraft maintenance, pilot services, aircraft rental, and hangar rental are mos t often performed by a fixed base operator (FBO). At major airports, particularl y those used as hubs, airlines may operate their own support facilities. Some airports, typically military airbases, have long runways used as emergency landing sites. Many airbases have arresting equipment for fast aircraft, known a s arresting gear a strong cable suspended just above the runway and attached to a hydraulic reduction gear mechanism. Together with the landing aircraft's arres ting hook, it is used in situations where the aircraft's brakes would be insuffi cient by themselves. In the United States, many larger civilian airports also host an Air National Gu ard base. [edit]Airport access Many large airports are located near railway trunk routes for seamless connectio n of multimodal transport, for instance Frankfurt Airport, Amsterdam Airport Sch iphol, London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport and London Stansted Airpo rt. It is also common to connect an airport and a city with rapid transit, light rail lines or other non-road public transport systems. Some examples of this wo uld include the AirTrain JFK at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New Yor k, 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 Air
port 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. [edit]Internal transport The distances passengers need to move within a large airport can be substantial. It is common for airports to provide moving walkways and buses. The Hartsfield Ja ckson Atlanta International Airport has a tram that takes people through the con courses and baggage claim. Major airports with more than one terminal offer inte r-terminal transportation, such as Mexico City International Airport, where the domestic building of Terminal 1 is connected by Aerotrén to Terminal 2, on the oth er side of the airport. [edit]History and development The earliest aircraft takeoff and landing sites were grassy fields. The plane co uld approach at any angle that provided a favorable wind direction. A slight imp rovement was the dirt-only field, which eliminated the drag from grass. However, these only functioned well in dry conditions. Later, concrete surfaces would al low landings, rain or shine, day or night. The title of "world's oldest airport" is disputed, but College Park Airport in M aryland, US, established in 1909 by Wilbur Wright, is generally agreed to be the world's oldest continually operating airfield,[6] although it serves only gener al aviation traffic. Bisbee-Douglas International Airport in Arizona was declare d "the first international airport of the Americas" by US president Roosevelt . Pearson Field Airport in Vancouver, Washington had a dirigible land in 1905 and planes in 1911 and is still in use. Bremen Airport opened in 1913 and remains in use, although it served as an American military field between 1945 and 1949. Am sterdam Airport Schiphol opened on September 16, 1916 as a military airfield, bu t only accepted civil aircraft from December 17, 1920, allowing Sydney Airport i n Sydney, Australia which started operations in January 1920 to claim to be one of t he world's oldest continually operating commercial airports.[7] Minneapolis-Sain t Paul International Airport in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, opened in 192 0 and has been in continuous commercial service since. It serves about 35,000,00 0 passengers each year and continues to expand, recently opening a new 11,000 fo ot (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 operatin g. Rome Ciampino Airport, opened 1916, is also a contender. Increased aircraft t raffic during World War I led to the construction of landing fields. Aircraft ha d to approach these from certain directions and this led to the development of a ids for directing the approach and landing slope. Following the war, some of these military airfields added civil facilities for h andling passenger traffic. One of the earliest such fields was Paris Le Bourget Airport at Le Bourget, near Paris. The first airport to operate scheduled intern ational commercial services was Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in August 1919, but it was closed and supplanted by Croydon Airport in March 1920.[8] In 1922, the firs t permanent airport and commercial terminal solely for commercial aviation was o pened 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 landi ng heavier aircraft. The first lighting used on an airport was during the latter part of the 1920s; i n the 1930s approach lighting came into use. These indicated the proper directio n and angle of descent. The colours and flash intervals of these lights became s tandardized under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In the 1 940s, 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 glideslo pe. Additional lights indicated incorrect altitude and direction. Following World War II, airport design became more sophisticated. Passenger buil dings 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 concr
ete surface. These run perpendicular to the direction of the landing aircraft an d serve to draw off excess water in rainy conditions that could build up in fron t of the plane's wheels. Airport construction boomed during the 1960s with the increase in jet aircraft t raffic. Runways were extended out to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The fields were constru cted out of reinforced concrete using a slip-form machine that produces a contin ual slab with no disruptions along the length. The early 1960s also saw the intr oduction of jet bridge systems to modern airport terminals, an innovation which eliminated outdoor passenger boarding. These systems became commonplace in the U nited States by the 1970s. [edit]Airport designation and naming Further information: List of airports Airports are uniquely represented by their IATA airport code and ICAO airport co de. Most airport names include the location. Many airport names honour a public figu re, commonly a politician (e.g. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport) or a prominent figure in aviation history of the region (e.g. Will Rogers World Airport). Some airports have unofficial names, possibly so widely circulated that its offi cial name is little used or even known.[citation needed] 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 airline services (e.g. Texel International Airport). [edit]Airport security
Baggage is scanned using X-ray machines, passengers walk through metal detectors Main article: Airport security Airport security normally requires baggage checks, metal screenings of individua l persons, and rules against any object that could be used as a weapon. Since th e September 11, 2001 attacks, airport security has dramatically increased. See also: Airport security repercussions due to the September 11 attacks [edit]Airport operations [edit]Air traffic control The majority of the world's airports are non-towered, with no air traffic contro l presence. However, at particularly busy airports, or airports with other speci al requirements, there is an air traffic control (ATC) system whereby controller s (usually ground-based) direct aircraft movements via radio or other communicat ions links. This coordinated oversight facilitates safety and speed in complex o perations where traffic moves in all three dimensions. Air traffic control respo nsibilities at airports are usually divided into at least two main areas: ground and tower, though a single controller may work both stations. The busiest airpo rts also have clearance delivery, apron control, and other specialized ATC stati ons. Ground Control is responsible for directing all ground traffic in designated "mo vement areas", except the traffic on runways. This includes planes, baggage trai ns, snowplows, grass cutters, fuel trucks, stair trucks, airline food trucks, co nveyor belt vehicles and other vehicles. Ground Control will instruct these vehi cles 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 r eady to takeoff it will stop short of the runway, at which point it will be turn ed over to Tower Control. After a plane has landed, it will depart the runway an d be returned to Ground Control. Tower Control controls aircraft on the runway and in the controlled airspace imm ediately surrounding the airport. Tower controllers may use radar to locate an a ircraft's position in three-dimensional space, or they may rely on pilot positio n 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 circ
uit. Aircraft which are only passing through the airspace must also contact Towe r Control in order to be sure that they remain clear of other traffic. [edit]Traffic pattern Main article: Airfield traffic pattern All airports use a traffic pattern (often called a traffic circuit outside the U .S.) to assure smooth traffic flow between departing and arriving aircraft. Gene rally, 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 m ore sides). Each leg is named (see diagram), and ATC directs pilots on how to jo in and leave the circuit. Traffic patterns are flown at one specific altitude, u sually 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. 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 smoothl y because all pilots know what to expect, and helps reduce the chance of a mid-a ir collision. At extremely large airports, a circuit is in place but not usually used. Rather, aircraft (usually only commercial with long routes) request approach clearance while they are still hours away from the airport, often before they even takeoff from their departure point. Large airports have a frequency called Clearance De livery which is used by departing aircraft specifically for this purpose. This t hen allows airplanes to take the most direct approach path to the runway and lan d without worrying about interference from other aircraft. While this system kee ps the airspace free and is simpler for pilots, it requires detailed knowledge o f how aircraft are planning to use the airport ahead of time and is therefore on ly possible with large commercial airliners on pre-scheduled flights. The system has recently become so advanced that controllers can predict whether an aircraf t 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. [edit]Navigational aids Standard Visual Approach Slope Indicator There are a number of aids available to pilots, though not all airports are equi pped with them. A Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) helps pilots fly the ap proach for landing. Some airports are equipped with a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) to help pilots find the direction to the airport. VORs are often accompani ed 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 air craft to navigate upon. In poor weather, pilots will use an instrument landing s ystem (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 Glo bal Positioning System (GPS) is rapidly increasing and may eventually be the pri mary means for instrument landings. Larger airports sometimes offer precision approach radar (PAR), but these system s are more common at military air bases than civilian airports. The aircraft's h orizontal and vertical movement is tracked via radar, and the controller tells t he pilot his position relative to the approach slope. Once the pilots can see th e runway lights, they may continue with a visual landing. [edit]Taxiway signs Further information: Taxiway#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. [edit]Lighting Further information: Taxiway#Taxiway lights and Runway#Runway lighting Many airports have lighting that help guide planes using the runways and taxiway s 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 whi te lights spaced out on both sides of the runway, indicating the edge. Some airp orts have more complicated lighting on the runways including lights that run dow n the centerline of the runway and lights that help indicate the approach (an ap proach lighting system, or ALS). Low-traffic airports may use pilot controlled l ighting 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. [edit]Weather observations See also: Surface weather observation, Weather station, Automated airport weathe r station, and Automatic weather station Weather observations at the airport are crucial to safe takeoffs and landings. I n 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 Automat ic Terminal Information Service (ATIS), via the ATC or the Flight Service Statio n. Planes take-off and land into the wind in order to achieve maximum performance. Because pilots need instantaneous information during landing, a windsock is also kept in view of the runway. [edit]Safety management "FLF Panther" airport crash tender in Germany Air safety is an important concern in the operation of an airport, and almost ev ery airfield includes equipment and procedures for handling emergency situations . Airport crash tender crews are equipped for dealing with airfield accidents, c rew and passenger extractions, and the hazards of highly flammable aviation fuel . The crews are also trained to deal with situations such as bomb threats, hijac king, and terrorist activities. Hazards to aircraft include debris, nesting birds, and reduced friction levels d ue to environmental conditions such as ice, snow, or rain. Part of runway mainte nance is airfield rubber removal which helps maintain friction levels. The field s must be kept clear of debris using cleaning equipment so that loose material d oes 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 t o 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. A irport 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 ar eas. An airport can have areas where collisions between airplanes on the ground tend to occur. Records are kept of any incursions where airplanes or vehicles are in an inappropriate location, allowing these "hot spots" to be identified. These lo cations then undergo special attention by transportation authorities (such as th e 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 F light 191. Microburst radar was developed as an aid to safety during landing, gi ving two to five minutes warning to aircraft in the vicinity of the field of a m icroburst event. Some airfields now have a special surface known as soft concrete at the end of t he runway (stopway or blastpad) that behaves somewhat like styrofoam, bringing t he plane to a relatively rapid halt as the material disintegrates. These surface s 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.
[edit]Airport ground crew
An aircraft tow tractor moving a KLM Boeing 777 Main article: Ground support equipment Most airports have groundcrew handling the loading and unloading of passengers, crew, baggage and other services.[citation needed] Some groundcrew are linked to specific airlines operating at the airport. Many groundcrew at the airport work at the airplanes. A tow tractor pulls the ai rcraft to one of the airbridges. The ground power unit is plugged in. It keeps t he electricity running in the plane when it stands at the terminal. The engines are not working, therefore they do not generate the electricity, as they do in f light. The passengers disembark using the airbridge. Mobile stairs can give the ground crew more access to the aircraft's cabin. There is a cleaning service to clean the aircraft after the aircraft lands. Flight catering provides the food a nd drinks on flights. A toilet waste truck removes the human waste from the tank which holds the waste from the toilets in the aircraft. A water truck fills the water tanks of the aircraft. A fuel transfer vehicle transfers aviation fuel fr om fuel tanks underground, to the aircraft tanks. A tractor and its dollies brin g in luggage from the terminal to the aircraft. They also carry luggage to the t erminal if the aircraft has landed, and is being unloaded. Hi-loaders lift the h eavy luggage containers to the gate of the cargo hold. The ground crew push the luggage containers into the hold. If it has landed, they rise, the ground crew p ush the luggage container on the hi-loader, which carries it down. The luggage c ontainer is then pushed on one of the tractors dollies. The conveyor, which is a conveyor belt on a truck, brings in the awkwardly shaped, or late luggage. The airbridge is used again by the new passengers to embark the aircraft. The tow tr actor pushes the aircraft away from the terminal to a taxi area. The aircraft sh ould be off of the airport and in the air in 90 minutes. The airport charges the airline for the time the aircraft spends at the airport. [edit]Environmental concerns Aircraft noise is major cause of noise disturbance to residents living near airp orts. Sleep can be affected if the airports operate night and early morning flig hts. Aircraft noise not only occurs from take-off and landings, but also ground operations including maintenance and testing of aircraft. Noise can have other n oise health effects. Other noise and environmental concerns are vehicle traffic causing noise and pollution on roads leading the airport.[citation needed] The construction of new airports or addition of runways to existing airports, is often resisted by local residents because of the effect on countryside, histori cal sites, local flora and fauna. Due to the risk of collision between birds and airplanes, large airports undertake population control programs where they frig hten or shoot birds.[citation needed] The construction of airports has been known to change local weather patterns. Fo r example, because they often flatten out large areas, they can be susceptible t o fog in areas where fog rarely forms. In addition, they generally replace trees and grass with pavement, they often change drainage patterns in agricultural ar eas, leading to more flooding, run-off and erosion in the surrounding land.[cita tion needed] Some of the airport administrations prepare and publish annual environmental rep orts in order to show how they consider these environmental concerns in airport management issues and how they protect environment from airport operations. Thes e reports contain all environmental protection measures performed by airport adm inistration in terms of water, air, soil and noise pollution, resource conservat ion and protection of natural life around the airport. [edit]Military airbase
Fighter aircraft at an airbase in Lithuania Main article: Military airbase An airbase, sometimes referred to as an air station or airfield, provides basing and support of military aircraft. Some airbases, known as military airports, pr ovide 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 For ce's scheduled TriStar flights to the Falkland Islands. Some airbases are co-loc ated with civilian airports, sharing the same ATC facilities, runways, taxiways and emergency services, but with separate terminals, parking areas and hangars. Bardufoss Airport and Bardufoss Air Station in Norway are an example of this. An aircraft carrier is a warship that functions as a mobile airbase. Aircraft ca rriers allow a naval force to project air power without having to depend on loca l bases for land-based aircraft. After their development in World War I, aircraf t carriers replaced the battleship as the centrepiece of a modern fleet during W orld War II. [edit]Airports in entertainment
Washington Dulles International Airport, ostensibly the setting for Die Hard 2; the movie was actually filmed at Los Angeles International Airport Airports have played major roles in films and television programs due to its ver y nature as a transport and international hub, and sometimes because of distinct ive architectural features of particular airports. One such example of this is T he Terminal, a film about a man who becomes permanently grounded in an airport t erminal and must survive only on the food and shelter provided by the airport. T hey are also one of the major elements in movies such as The V.I.P.s, Airplane!, Airport, Die Hard 2, Soul Plane, Jackie Brown, Get Shorty, Home Alone, Liar Lia r, Passenger 57, Final Destination, Unaccompanied Minors, Catch Me If You Can, R endition and The Langoliers. They have also played important parts in television series like Lost, The Amazing Race, America's Next Top Model, Cycle 10 which ha ve significant 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. [edit]Airstrip
A private airstrip at what used to be RAF Knettishall An airstrip or airfield is a kind of airport that consists only of a runway with perhaps fueling equipment. They are generally in remote locations. Many airstri ps (now mostly abandoned) were built on the hundreds of islands in the Pacific O cean during World War II. Sometimes a few airstrips become full fledged airbases as strategic or economic importance of a region increases over time. [edit]Airport directories See also: National aviation authority, List of civil aviation authorities, and A eronautical Information Service Each national aviation authority has a source of information about airports in t heir country. This will contain information on airport elevation, airport lighti ng, runway information, communications facilities and frequencies, hours of oper ation, nearby NAVAIDs and contact information where prior arrangement for landin g is necessary. Australia Information can be found on-line in the En route Supplement Australia (ERSA)[9] which is published by Airservices Australia, a government owned corporation char ged with managing Australian ATC. Canada Two publications, the Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) and the Water Aerodrome Sup
plement, published by NAV CANADA under the authority of Transport Canada provide s equivalent information. Europe The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) provide s an Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), aeronautical charts and NOTAM s ervices for multiple European countries. Germany Provided by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Office for Civil Aviation of German y). 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 t he assistance of the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Pooley's als o contains information on some continental European airports that are close to G reat Britain. National Air Traffic Services, the UK's Air Navigation Service Pro vider, 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. Japan Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)[10] 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. [edit]See also Aviation portal Domestic airport Environmental impact of aviation Model airport NIMBY Regional airport World's busiest airport Lists: List of cities with more than one airport List of countries without an airport List of aviation topics List of hub airports
