thumb|right|The passenger terminal buildings at Incheon International Airport, Incheon, South Korea, considered a large airport. thumb|right|Interior of Mexico City International Airport's Terminal 2, MEX is Latin America's largest and busiest airport. thumb|Inside Of Suvarnabhumi Airport Passenger Terminal Bangkok Thailand thumb|Barra Airport, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, one of only two airports using a beach runway for scheduled services. thumb|right|Paraparaumu Airport, a small-sized airfield/airport thumb|right|JetBlue Airways at Cibao International Airport, Santiago, DR.

An airport is a location where aircraft such as airplanes, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may also be stored or maintained at an airport. An airport consists of at least one surface such as a runway, a helipad, or water for takeoffs and landings, and often includes buildings such as hangars and terminal buildings.

Larger airports may have fixed base operator services, seaplane docks and ramps, 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, and the terms heliport, seaplane base, and STOLport refer to airports dedicated exclusively to helicopters, seaplanes, or short takeoff and landing aircraft. In some jurisdictions, the term airport is used where the facility is licensed as such by the relevant government organization (e.g. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transport Canada). Elsewhere the distinction is merely one of general appearance. Yet other areas define an airport by its having the necessary customs offices etc expected of a port,Fact: date=December 2007 though the more general term is airport of entry.

Attributes

thumb|left|The international public domain symbol for air transportation, created by AIGA.

Smaller or less-developed airports — which represent the vast majority — often have a single runway shorter than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Larger airports for airline 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. Heavier aircraft require longer runways.