An aerodrome is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither. Aerodromes include small general aviation airfields, large commercial airports, and military airbases.
The term airport may imply a certain stature (having satisfied certain certification criteria or regulatory requirements) that an aerodrome may not have achieved. This means that all airports are aerodromes, but not all aerodromes are airports.
A water aerodrome is an area of open water used regularly by seaplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) an aerodrome is “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.
What are the different types of Aerodromes?
- Civil Airport
a civil airport is an aerodrome certificated for commercial flights. - Military air base
an air base is an aerodrome with significant facilities to support aircraft and crew. The term is usually reserved for military bases, but also applies to civil seaplane bases. - Airstrip
An airstrip is a small aerodrome that consists only of a runway with perhaps fueling equipment. They are generally in remote locations. Many airstrips (now mostly abandoned) were built on the hundreds of islands in the Pacific Oceanduring World War II. A few airstrips grew to become full-fledged airbases as strategic or economic importance of a region increased over time. - Water Aerodrome
a water aerodrome is an area of open water used regularly by seaplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off. It has a terminal building on land and/or a place where the plane can come to shore and dock likes a boat to load and unload.
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports often have facilities to store and maintain aircraft, and a control tower. An airport consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface such as a runway for a plane to take off for a helipad and often includes adjacent utility buildings such as control towers, hangars and terminals. Larger airports may have fixed-base operator services, airport aprons, taxiway bridges, and air traffic control centers, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and emergency services.
An airport with a helipad for rotorcraft but no runway is called a heliport. An airport for use by seaplanes and amphibious aircraft is called a seaplane base. Such a base typically includes a stretch of open water for takeoffs and landings, and seaplane docks for tying-up.
An international airport has additional facilities for customs and passport control as well as incorporating all of the aforementioned elements above. Such airports rank among the most complex and largest of all built typologies with 15 of the top 50 buildings by floor area being airport terminals
