Other Definitions
airport (dict)
|
AirportAn airport is a designated location with the facilities, services, and infrastructure required for aircraft to take off and land. Smaller, less-developed areas dedicated to aircraft operations are sometimes called air''fields, while a strip of land cleared for aircraft use is often called an 'airstrip. While these smaller 'airports'—aerodromes, airfields, and landing strips'''— are more likely to include short (one or two kilometer) dirt or grass runways, larger airports for international flights feature paved runways several kilometers long. Still, any size of airport can be paved, and many airports in North America have paved runways shorter than a kilometer. Likewise, both large and small airports can be towered or uncontrolled, depending on funds and traffic. Due to their high capacity and busy airspace, most international airports have air traffic control located on site. Civilian International airports International airports generally have a complex of buildings where passengers can embark on airliners, and where cargo can be stored and loaded. The buildings where passengers interface with ground transportation, purchase tickets, transfer their luggage, and go through security are typically called terminals, and the buildings that provide access to the airplanes are typically called concourses. However, these two terms can be interchangeable. Customs facilities for international travel often distinguish an international airport, and require a more conspicuous level of physical security. The largest international airports are often located next to freeways or are served by their own freeways. Often, traffic is fed into two access roads, designed as loops, one sitting on top of the other. One level is for departing passengers and the other is for arrivals. Airport services Aircraft maintenance, pilot services, aircraft rental, and hangar rental is most often performed by a fixed base operator, e.g. British Airways at Heathrow. Environmental concerns The traffic generated by airports both in the air and on the surface can be a major source of aviation noise and air pollution which may, in extreme cases, be harmful to health or interrupt sleep. The construction of new airports, or addition of runways to existing airports, is often resisted by local residents because of the effect on the countryside, historical sites, local flora and fauna. Military Miltary airports, more often called airbases or airfields, provide basing and support of military aircraft. Some airbases provide facilites very like civilian airports, for example RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, England. This airbase has a terminal which caters for passengers for the Royal Air Force's scheduled flights, e.g. the Tristar to the Falkland Islands. Other structures and equipment are specific to military airfields, e.g. - Anti-aircraft weapons, e.g. surface-to-air missiles to protect from air attack.
- Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS), to protect individual aircraft from aerial strikes.
Mobile airports An aircraft carrier is a naval ship that serves as mobile seaborne military airfield. Airport designation and naming Airports are uniquely represented by their IATA airport code and ICAO airport code. In the U.S. and certain other countries, they are often named after a prominent local celebrity, commonly a politician. See also External links
|
 |