Airports

Airports were once upon a time considered to be the rich man’s bus stop. Nowadays, however, the scenario has changed and airports are always bustling. There are so many people who flock airports everyday. This change has taken place due to the rising economic conditions of the people. With pay packets becoming heavier by the day, even an average person is able to afford flights. Airport is a place where one can find people of different categories such as people of different countries, students, officials, families and of course tourists. So this factor makes airports very vulnerable for terrorist attacks and other anti social activities. Airports vary in size. Those airports, which are developing and are small may have only runway, while larger ones have paved runways that are very wide. Airports are essentially divided into airside and landside. The airside includes the place where the runway is present and the landing and the taking off take place. The landside consists of the infrastructure and the passenger facilities. A typical scene at an airport can be: people moving in and out with bags and luggage, queues for security checking, announcements of flight timings, take off , landing and delay, people seated in the waiting area and also family members and dear ones bidding farewell. Boarding a flight requires a lot of procedures in terms of the documents and the norms. Booking for the flights must be made well in advance and some of the countries do not allow instant booking and therefore restrict the traveler from using flights according to their fancies. Airports are just domes wherein, there is confluence of different flights, public and private sector and also the flights of different countries. Therefore to utilize the services of these flights, several procedures have to be followed. The passengers may have to go through different level of security checking. There are also certain restrictions on the amount of baggage that can be carried by the individual on the flight. Some people, who wish to take their pets along, should be aware of the rules of the airlines they are using and abide by them. For people traveling overseas, important documents such as passport and visa need to be produced when asked for. The services provided by an airport for the passengers include, lounging area, restaurants, public facilities, bank ATMs, foreign exchange etc. Much of these are provided by the best in the market and the quality is always maintained in a prim and proper way. Delay in flights may sometimes require the passengers to spend a day or two in the start point itself. It is for these reasons that many star hotels and boarding inns are located near the airport. The local, regional or national government holds the ownership of the airports. These government authorities then lease them to private concerns.