Important Components of an Airport

1. Runway
2. Apron
3. Taxiway
4. Hangar
5. Terminal Building
6. Control Tower
7. Parking
 Runways
A runway is the area or a platform where an aircraft
lands or takes off.

It can be grass, or packed dirt, or a hard surface such as

asphalt or concrete. Runways have special markings on
them to help a pilot in the air to tell that it is a runway
(and not a road) and to help them when they are landing
or taking off. Runway markings are white.
Runway
 Single
Runways

Intersecting
Runways Runways Parallel
Runways

Open-V
Runways
Single

Parallel
 Open-V

Intersecting Runways
 Aprons

Aircraft aprons are the areas where the aircrafts are parked, unloaded,
refueled or boarded. Aprons are also sometimes called ramps. They vary
in size, from areas that may hold five or ten small planes, to the very large
areas that the major airports have.

Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting

on vehicles, it is typically more accessible to users than the the runway or
taxi way. However, the apron is not usually open to the general public and
a license may be required to gain access.
Aprons
 Taxiway

A taxiway is a path on an airport

connecting runways with ramps, hangars,
terminals and other facilities. They mostly have
hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although
smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass.
 Hangar
■ A hangar is a closed building structure to
hold aircraft in protective storage. Most hangars are
built of metal, but other materials such as wood and
concrete are also used.
■ Hangars are used for protection from the weather,
protection from direct sunlight, maintenance, repair,
manufacture, assembly and storage of aircraft on
airfields, aircraft carriers and ships.
 Terminal Buildings

Also known as airport terminal, these buildings are

the spaces where passengers board or alight from
flights. These buildings house all the necessary facilities
for passengers to check-in their luggage, clear the
customs and have lounges to wait before disembarking.
The terminals can house cafes, lounges and bars to
serve as waiting areas for passengers.

Ticket counters, luggage check-in or transfer, security

checks and customs are the basics of all airport
terminals. Large airports can have more than one
terminal that are connected to one another through link
ways such as walkways, sky-bridges. Smaller airports
usually have only one terminal that houses all the
required facilities.
Terminal Building
 Air Traffic Control Tower

A tower at an airfield from which air traffic is controlled by

radio and observed physically and by radar.
 Parking

■ Parking is a specific area of airport at which vehicles park.

Typical Layout of an Airport
Important Terms
■ Runway. A defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the
landing and take-off of aircraft.
■ Runway end safety area (RESA). An area symmetrical about the extended
runway center line and adjacent to the end of the strip primarily intended to
reduce the risk of damage to an aeroplane undershooting or overrunning the
runway.
■ Runway strip. A defined area including the runway and stopway, if
provided, intended:
a) to reduce the risk of damage to aircraft running off a runway; and
b) to protect aircraft flying over it during take-off or landing operations.
■ Shoulder. An area adjacent to the edge of a pavement so prepared as to
provide a transition between the pavement and the adjacent surface.
■ Aerodrome. A defined area on land or water (including any buildings,
installations and equipment) intended to be used either wholly or in
part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft.
■ Aerodrome elevation. The elevation of the highest point of the landing
area.
■ Clearway. A defined rectangular area on the ground or water under the
control of the appropriate authority, selected or prepared as a suitable
area over which an aeroplane may make a portion of its initial climb
to a specified height.
■ Stopway: A defined rectangular area on the ground at the end of take-
off run available prepared as a suitable area in which an aircraft can be
stopped in the case of an abandoned take off.
■ Threshold. The beginning of that portion of the runway usable for
landing
■ Manoeuvring area. That part of an aerodrome to be used for the take-off,
landing and taxiing of aircraft, excluding aprons.
■ Movement area. That part of an aerodrome to be used for the take-off,
landing and taxiing of aircraft, consisting of the manoeuvring area and the
apron(s).
■ Landing area. That part of a movement area intended for the landing or
take-off of aircraft.
■ Instrument runway. One of the following types of runways intended for the
operation of aircraft using instrument approach procedures.
■ Non-instrument runway. A runway intended for the operation of aircraft
using visual approach procedures.
■ Aerodrome certificate: A certificate issued by the appropriate
authority under applicable regulations for the operation of an
aerodrome.
■ Heliport: An aerodrome or a defined area on a structure intended to
be used wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface
movement of helicopters.
■ Holding bay: A defined area where aircraft can be held, or bypassed,
to facilitate efficient surface movement of aircraft.
■ Wind
– Headwind: Wind acting towards aircraft head, parallel to aircraft
longitudinal axis
– Tailwind: Wind acting towards aircraft tail, parallel to aircraft
longitudinal axis
– Crosswind: Wind acting at right angle to aircraft