Airport

Terminal 5 of the London Heathrow Airport.

An airport is a place where airplanes can land or take off. Most airports in the world have only a long strip of level ground called a runway. Many airports have buildings which are used to hold airplanes and passengers. A building that holds passengers waiting for their planes or luggage is called a terminal. The sections between planes and the terminal are called "gates". Airports also have buildings called hangars to hold planes when they are not used. Some airports have buildings to control the airport, like a control tower which tells planes where to go.

An international airport is a large airport that airplanes can use to fly to and from other countries. A domestic airport is an airport which is usually smaller and only has airplanes coming from different places in the same country. Most international airports have shops and restaurants for airplane passengers to use.

An airport used by the military is often called an air force base or airbase. An aircraft carrier is a floating airbase.

Safety

Airports are made and operated for safety. Today, people must walk through a metal detector, a machine that can tell if metal goes through it. If it makes a noise, the officers will make that person take off all things on them that are metal. They also have X-ray machines that can look into luggage. If officers find items such as weapons, or anything that can be used to kill people, that item (and the person who has it) are taken away and possibly arrested. As well as this, passengers are not allowed to bring bottles or containers with over 100 ml of liquid onto the plane because they could be turned into bombs. Therefore, all water bottles must be emptied before entering the secured area.

Airport Media

Sample infrastructure of a typical airport. Larger airports usually contain more runways and terminals.
Airport distribution as of 2008
Bangalore's new Airport Kempegowda International Airport
Simón Bolívar International Airport (Colombia)
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
Terminal B at Denver International Airport (DEN)
Commercial jets wait for the "7am hold" to pass before departing from John Wayne Airport in Orange County (Santa Ana), California, on February 14, 2015
Air bridges at Oslo Gardermoen Airport captured from an Icelandair Boeing 757-200
Aerial view of Hong Kong's old airport Kai Tak airport. Taken the day after the airport closed.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest in the world
Time-lapse (tilt-shifted) of ground crew operations at Osaka International Airport.
Road crossing of (Shetland) A970 with Sumburgh Airport's runway. The movable barrier closes when aircraft land or take off.