Talk:Aerodrome

Legal name?

It's the "legal name" ? What's that supposed to mean ? If there's no offer supporting this, then I will amend. Is this something USA-specific perhaps ?

"Aerodrome" is the ICAO term for any area set out for the take-off and landing of aircraft. It is therefore used in all the airfield or airport's operating licences and other legal documentation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.31.130.99 (talk) 10:40, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Confused article?

Is this a disambiguation page or an entry for "aerodrome"? Currently it seems to be trying to be both, which is ... unusual... at the least. Graldensblud 00:45, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Generic term

As I (continental European) learned, AERODROME is the most generic term describing any surface area where aircraft land and take off, thus including airports, military airbases, recreational airfields, heliports, and water aerodromes. This makes me unhappy with the phrasing <quote> The term "Airport" is also used in the aviation industry. There is not a clear difference in meaning between the two terms.</quote> in the current article. I should like to replace this with "Airports are the largest aerodromes, with facilities for handling regular traffic of passengers and/or cargo by airplanes" or words to that effect. But I strongly oppose using "airport" and "aerodrome" as equivalent, or synonymes: my home airfield of Hoevenen is an aerodrome, but certainly not an airport. Jan olieslagers (talk) 18:19, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

It's at Hoevenen Airfield. I don't think that you can say "Airports are the largest aerodromes, with facilities for handling regular traffic of passengers and/or cargo by airplanes" because the terms are not based on size. Look at Grise Fiord Airport which is in fact a registered aerodrome but it has an air passenger shelter, is set up for handling passengers and cargo, has a weather station and radio communications, both limited hours. Whitecourt Airport which has a terminal, a flight service station (limited hours), no commercial passenger/cargo services and is a registered aerodrome and is busier than St. John's International Airport which is a certified airport and has air traffic control. Then there is Sanikiluaq Airport which is a lot smaller than Toronto Pearson International Airport but they are both certified airports though they would be in two different government designated classes. Others that would not fit the definition by size include things like Vancouver (Vancouver Film Studios) Heliport, a privately owned heliport that at the same time is a registered airport. By the way check out Wiktionary; airport, aerodrome and airfield. That is a very interesting definition of aerodrome in that it must have a control tower and is certainly not the case in Canada. Enter CambridgeBayWeather, waits for audience applause, not a sausage 10:28, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

Some aerodromes that have the word "Airport" in their name may (depending on the definition in use) not be an airport. Blackbushe Airport is an example. DexDor (talk) 20:31, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

The term 'airport' has a specific aviation legal meaning in that the aerodrome contains Customs facilities along with some form of passport and immigration checking and control. This means that they can be used for international flights. Other aerodromes may be referred-to informally as 'airports' but unless they have Customs facilities they aren't airPORTS - they're aerodromes. The 'port' part of the term is analogous to a civil maritime port, as opposed to just any other harbour. One has Customs and can be used for international travel and import and export, the other generally hasn't, and cannot, at least not legally - that would be classed as 'illegal entry' or smuggling.

So an airport is an aerodrome, but an aerodrome isn't necessarily an airport. Many aerodrome owners may title their facilities 'airports' but strictly-speaking if they don't currently possess Customs facilities for international flights then they aren't. Sometimes an aerodrome may have at one time had the necessary Customs and immigration facilities when regular international air travel was carried out from the aerodrome, then later if the airport declined over time the Customs and Immigration facilities were no longer needed and were withdrawn. Then what was once an 'airport' then reverted back to being legally, from the ICAO POV, an 'aerodrome'. But they are often still referred-to 'airports' by the public. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.7.147.13 (talk) 10:26, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

aircraft carriers

are aircraft carriers regarded as "aerodromes"? perhaps the article could clarify this. 27.35.53.75 (talk) 19:22, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

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American English Usage

I take small issue with a line in the opening. "Usage of the term 'aerodrome' remains more common in Ireland and Commonwealth nations, and is conversely almost unknown in American English, where the term 'airport' is applied almost exclusively." While airdrome is indeed basically unknown in American English, I do not agree that "airport" is the only other term used. Airport generally implies some degree of scale compared to an "airfield," which instead connotes a lack of a control tower and/or an unpaved landing strip. Granted, what I say is for colloquial usage and probably doesn't reflect official usage. 98.209.242.183 (talk) 03:45, 16 March 2023 (UTC)

Both ICAO and the UK CAA use the term 'Aerodrome' as first choice on their websites, which came as a bit of a shock even to me.

Transport Canada are happy with both terms - see their information section titled 'Operating airports and aerodromes'

Meanwhile the FAA boast of '19,633 US Airports', of which 14,533 are private, and 520 have Control Towers (FY 22 figures). The word 'aerodrome' does not feature much in their vocabulary.

A random search within 50 miles radius of Edwards AFB, Ca, gives lots of 'airports', 17 heliports, 2 airfields, even one 'airstrip', but no 'aerodromes'

One of the airports is the above list is 30 miles west of Edwards AFB, and refers to itself both as 'Adelanto Airport' and 'Adelanto Residential Airpark'. It features a 5100 foot DIRT runway, no control tower, and 6-8 small aircraft in various states of disrepair. Outside of the USA that might well be described as an airstrip.

Better still, compare Wikipedia entries for these similar sized aerial facilities; Northampton Airport (Mass, USA) vs Northampton, Sywell Aerodrome, UK. Some international websites might occasionally refer to Sywell Airport (e.g. flightradar24), but if you live in the UK and want directions to an airport, you will not find Sywell on any list.

I do accept the point that there may be a difference between the written form in various countries, as opposed to day-to-day casual speech.

- WendlingCrusader (talk) 19:34, 17 March 2024 (UTC)

Airdrome - really?

This spelling variation of aerodrome was introduced to this article back in 2007, along with a comment that it was obsolete. Somewhere along the way the 'obsolete' qualification has been dropped, and whilst Collins or Merriam-Webster (online) might list it even today, they also list the word 'whither', without explaining that nobody has used it for quite some time. Airdrome is not just American-English, it is archaic. 'Airdrome' had its day between 1917 and 1944, e.g. see this US article dated 31st December 1942; German Airdromes in Western Europe, WWII Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 15, December 31, 1942 https://lonesentry.com/articles/ttt08/german-airdromes-western-europe.html.

Here in the 21st century 'Airdrome' is used in just two instances.

• Airdrome Precision Components (Gardena, CA) - Hydraulic fittings
• Airdrome Aeroplanes (Holden, Missouri) - makers of WWI flying replicas

Neither qualifies it for inclusion in the first line of this article.

Meanwhile, the word 'airfield' is in daily use (in the UK at least) and is absolutely a synonym for aerodrome. According to Gov.uk there are at least 152 active airfields in the UK, and according to recent articles in the Daily Telegraph, Russia has been attacking airfields all over Ukraine. That's current usage.

WendlingCrusader (talk) 13:51, 10 April 2024 (UTC)