How are airports planned?

Airport Plans Upon completion of the inventory, forecasting, requirements analysis, and site evaluation, the master planning proceeds to the synthesis of airside and landside concepts and plans. These include an airport layout plan and an approach and clear zone plan.



Airport planning in 2026 is an incredibly complex process that blends aviation engineering with urban "Aerotropolis" design. It begins with a Master Plan that projects regional travel demand for the next 20 to 50 years. Key factors include wind patterns and topography (to determine runway orientation), environmental impact assessments (noise and local wildlife), and "multimodal" integration (linking the airport to high-speed rail and highways). Modern 2026 planning also prioritizes "Sustainability-by-Design," incorporating solar farms, rainwater harvesting, and hydrogen refueling infrastructure into the initial blueprints. Additionally, planners now use AI-driven passenger flow simulations to design terminals that minimize walking distances and prevent bottlenecks at security. Unlike the isolated hubs of the past, today's airports are planned as entire "cities" that include convention centers, hotels, and tech parks, ensuring the airport becomes an economic engine for the entire region.

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Regional airports support regional economies by connecting communities to statewide and interstate markets. Local airports provide access to intrastate and interstate markets. Basic airports link communities to the national airport system and support general aviation activities.

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Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport remains the busiest airport in the world with 5.2 million seats in September 2023. The composition of the Global Top 10 Busiest Airports is also the same as last month but there are a few changes to the rankings.

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In the US, almost all major airports are government-owned – usually by the local federal or city government. In New York, for example, JFK and La Guardia airports are owned by the City of New York. Newark is owned by the cities of Newark and Elizabeth.

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More than 40 percent of hub airports' revenues involved passenger-related activities, such as terminal concessions, parking, and ground transportation. For large hub airports specifically, another 40 percent, including landing fees and terminal rents, came from passenger airlines (Exhibit 1).

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Airport operations are commonly divided into four groups: Airside operations - These are jobs to oversee the airfield, ramps, safety and security of the airport. Billing and invoicing - Those in billing and invoicing handle both aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue.

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1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (45.4 million) Located 10 miles from downtown Atlanta, Georgia's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is a massive domestic and international hub for air travel—especially for those traveling with Delta Air Lines and its partners.

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An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

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Airport Structures Airports are divided into landside and airside areas. Landside areas include parking lots, fuel tank farms and access roads. Airside areas include all areas accessible to aircraft, including runways, taxiways and ramps.

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In order to regulate as little area as necessary for airport operations, the regulated area at each airport is divided into three so-called “tiers.” • Tier 1 is the area closest to the airport runways.

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These common components in any airport are:
  • Terminal buildings or terminal building.
  • Parking lot.
  • Control tower.
  • Hangar.
  • Apron.
  • Taxiway or approach runway.
  • Runway.


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Airports rename their runways due to changes in Earth's magnetic field. Airports worldwide have to change the numbers of their runways as magnetic north moves about 60 kilometres a year.

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