In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minima, i.e., in visual meteorological conditions (VMC), as specified in the rules of the relevant aviation authority. The pilot must be able to operate the aircraft with visual reference to the ground, and by visually avoiding obstructions and other aircraft.
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.
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers (people) who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace. The primary purpose of ATC worldwide is to prevent collisions, organise and expedite the flow of traffic in the air, and provide information and other support for pilots.
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, or simply Helsinki Airport, is the main international airport serving Helsinki, the capital of Finland, as well as its surrounding metropolitan area, and the Uusimaa region in Finland. The airport is located in the neighbouring city of Vantaa, about 5 kilometres (3 mi) west of Tikkurila, the administrative centre of Vantaa and 9.2 NM north of Helsinki's city centre. The airport is operated by state-owned Finavia. The facility covers a total of 1,800 hectares of land and contains three runways.
Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport is an international airport serving the area of Barranquilla, the capital city of the Atlántico department in Colombia. The airport is located in the suburban municipality of Soledad. It owes its name to one of the pioneers of Colombian aviation, Ernesto Cortissoz.
Stockholm Arlanda Airport is the main international airport serving Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, 37 km (23 mi) north of Stockholm and nearly 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Uppsala. The airport is located within Stockholm County and the province of Uppland. It is the largest airport in Sweden and the third-largest airport in the Nordic countries. The airport is the major gateway to international air travel for large parts of Sweden. Arlanda Airport was used by nearly 27 million passengers in 2017, with 21.2 million international passengers and 5.5 million domestic. The facility covers an expanse of about 2,500 hectares (9.7 sq mi) of airport property.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a human-made surface or a natural surface. Runways, taxiways and ramps, are sometimes referred to as "tarmac", though very few runways are built using tarmac. Takeoff and landing areas defined on the surface of water for seaplanes are generally referred to as waterways. Runway lengths are now commonly given in meters worldwide, except in North America where feet are commonly used.
Frankfurt Airport, is Germany's main international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. In the German Aeronautical Information Publication, its name is Frankfurt Main Airport. The airport is operated by Fraport and serves as the main hub for Lufthansa, including Lufthansa CityLine and Lufthansa Cargo as well as Condor and AeroLogic. It covers an area of 2,300 hectares of land and features two passenger terminals with capacity for approximately 65 million passengers per year; four runways; and extensive logistics and maintenance facilities.
Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, also known as Jean Lesage International Airport, is the primary airport serving Quebec City, Canada. Designated as an international airport by Transport Canada, it is located eleven kilometres west-southwest of the city. In 2023, it was the 12th-busiest airport in Canada, with 1,688,736 passengers. More than 10 airlines offer 360 weekly flights to destinations across Canada, the United States, Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in India in terms of total and international passenger traffic after Delhi, and was the ninth busiest airport in Asia and 25th busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic in fiscal year 2023–24.
Calgary International Airport, branded as YYC Calgary International Airport, is an international airport that serves the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of downtown and covers an area of 20.82 square kilometres. With 18.5 million passengers in 2023 and 124,108 aircraft movements in 2021, Calgary International is the busiest airport in Alberta and the fourth-busiest in Canada by passenger traffic. This airport is served by the Calgary International Airport Emergency Response Service for aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) protection. The region's petroleum and tourism industries have helped foster growth at the airport, which has nonstop flights to an array of destinations in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia. Calgary serves as the headquarters and primary hub for WestJet.
An airfield traffic pattern is a standard path followed by aircraft when taking off or landing while maintaining visual contact with the airfield.
A slip is an aerodynamic state where an aircraft is moving somewhat sideways as well as forward relative to the oncoming airflow or relative wind. In other words, for a conventional aircraft, the nose will be pointing in the opposite direction to the bank of the wing(s). The aircraft is not in coordinated flight and therefore is flying inefficiently.
In aviation, an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure (IAP) is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft operating under instrument flight rules from the beginning of the initial approach to a landing, or to a point from which a landing may be made visually. These approaches are approved in the European Union by EASA and the respective country authorities and in the United States by the FAA or the United States Department of Defense for the military. The ICAO defines an instrument approach as "a series of predetermined maneuvers by reference to flight instruments with specific protection from obstacles from the initial approach fix, or where applicable, from the beginning of a defined arrival route to a point from which a landing can be completed and thereafter, if landing is not completed, to a position at which holding or en route obstacle clearance criteria apply."
Yampa Valley Regional Airport is in Routt County, Colorado, United States, serving the communities of Steamboat Springs, Hayden, and Craig, Colorado. The airport is two miles southeast of Hayden, about 20 miles east of Craig and about 25 miles (40 km) west of Steamboat Springs. It has the only scheduled passenger flights in northwest Colorado. It is also used by larger business jets that cannot use the smaller Steamboat Springs Airport.
In aviation, holding is a maneuver designed to delay an aircraft already in flight while keeping it within a specified airspace; i.e. "going in circles."
Backtaxi is an airport ground procedure which involves the use of any portion of a runway as a taxiway for an aircraft to taxi in the opposite direction from which it will take off or has landed. The procedure is commonly used at smaller airports and private strips which may not have separate paved taxiways parallel to the runway. It is a higher-risk procedure, as pilots may not see, or hear the radio transmissions from, aircraft taxiing on the runway.
Mangalore International Airport is an international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India. It is one of only two international airports in Karnataka, the other being Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore. Mangalore International Airport is the second busiest airport in Karnataka. In addition to domestic destinations, flights depart daily for major cities in the Middle East. The airport was named Bajpe Aerodrome, when it opened on 25 December 1951 by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who arrived on a Douglas DC-3 aircraft.
Agatti Airport is a regional airport serving the union territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is located at the southern end of Agatti Island, and is the sole airstrip in the archipelago, which lies off the west coast of mainland India.
The 1994 St. Louis Airport collision occurred when TWA Flight 427, operated using a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, struck a Cessna 441 Conquest II during its take-off roll, killing both of its occupants. The incident took place on November 22, 1994, at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) in Bridgeton, Missouri.
