An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have facilities to accommodate heavier aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A380 commonly used for international and intercontinental travel. International airports often host domestic flights, which helps feed both passengers and cargo into international ones.
San Francisco International Airport at night, with departure gates radiating out from the terminal building, aerobridges, apron and parked planes
Qantas Empire Airways International Short Empire flying boat services arriving at Rose Bay, Sydney (c. 1939)
Finnair Airbus A319 at the Helsinki Airport in Vantaa, Finland. Terminal expansion construction site in the background.
A flight information display system screen at Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2 showing flight arrivals
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consist 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 and to land or a helipad, and often includes adjacent utility buildings such as control towers, hangars and terminals, to maintain and monitor aircraft. Larger airports may have airport aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic control centres, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and emergency services. In some countries, the US in particular, airports also typically have one or more fixed-base operators, serving general aviation.
Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport (DXB)
Commercial jets wait for the "7am hold" to pass before departing from John Wayne Airport in Orange County (Santa Ana), California, on February 14, 2015