Airports

An airport is a facility where aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters can take off and land. An airport minimally consists of one runway or helipad (for helicopters), but other common components are hangars and terminal buildings. more...

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Additionally, an airport may have a variety of facilities and infrastructure, including fixed base operator services, air traffic control, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and emergency services. A military airport is known as an airbase or air station. The terms airfield, airstrip, and aerodrome may also be used to refer to airports of varying sizes. In some jurisdictions, the term airport is used where the facility is licensed as such by the relevant government organization (e.g. FAA, Transport Canada). Elsewhere the distinction is merely one of general appearance.

Attributes

Airports vary in size, with smaller or less-developed airports often having only a single runway shorter than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Larger airports for international 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 defined by the FAR Landing And Takeoff Field Lengths. These include considerations for safety margins during landing and takeoff. Typically, heavier aircraft require longer runways.

The longest public-use runway in the world is at Ulyanovsk-Vostochny International Airport, in Ulyanovsk, Russia. It has a length of 5,000 m (16,404ft). At 105 m (344ft), it should also be the world's widest paved runway.

As of 2005, there were approximately 50,000 airports around the world, including 19,815 in the United States alone.

Airport ownership and operation

Most of the world's airports are owned by local, regional, or national government bodies who then lease the airport to private corporations who oversee the airport's entire operation. For example, the British firm BAA plc operates seven of the commercial airports in the United Kingdom, as well as several other airports outside of the UK. Germany's Frankfurt International Airport is managed by the quasi-private firm Fraport AG.

In the United States, most airports are operated directly by government entities or government-created airport authorities (also known as port authorities). Only Indianapolis International Airport, which is owned by the City of Indianapolis and leased to BAA Indianapolis, Inc., a subsidiary of the British airport firm BAA plc, and Stewart International Airport in New York's Hudson Valley, are entirely operated by a private entity. Stewart International Airport was the nation's first privatized commercial airport and operates under a 99-year lease agreement with the New York State Department of Transportation. National Express Group, Inc., operates Stewart International Airport and is the United States subsidiary of the National Express Group, plc, in the United Kingdom.

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