Federal Aviation AdministrationDevelops, operates and maintains a nationwide system of airways. Certifies the air worthiness of aircraft (including permissible noise level of jet engines) Licenses airports to operate (considering such factors as site, runways, crash equipment and other aspects for safe operation)
The movements of aircraft (airborne and on the ground) are controlled by air traffic control from a control tower. While at some airports controllers will have ground radar to assist them, most direction is done by sight. This includes making sure that ground vehicles are safely separated from aircraft.
Airport managers oversee more than seventeen thousand airports in the United States. Some are large metropolitan airports with hundreds of scheduled flights arriving and departing every day. Others are private airfields with no scheduled flights and very little daily activity.
An airport authority is an independent entity charged with the operation and oversight of an airport or group of airports. These authorities are often governed by a group of airport commissioners, who are appointed to lead the authority by a government official.