12 Fun Facts about Airports
We travel all the time, but other than the inconvenience of security checks, do we ever give any thought to the airport we are flying through? Here are some fun an interesting facts about airports and air travel.
- In the UK in the 1920s you didn’t need to have a license to fly people or goods around; in fact, you didn’t even need to pass a test.
- There are no air traffic control in the early day of flight; pilots had to keep their eyes peeled for other planes.
- Airports that handle large planes need long runways as the size of the plane corresponds to the distance it needs to take off. The Antonov AN225 requires a 4km runway.
- Glycol is used to de-ice runways so that snow and ice don’t get into the engines of the planes.
- Australia’s Qantas airline is the oldest continuously operating native airline in the world. KLM actually started operations a year earlier, but has now merged with Air France.
- The world’s oldest continuously operating airfield is College Park Airport in Maryland, set up by Wilbur Wright in 1909.
- Sydney Airport claims to be the world’s oldest continuously operating commercial airport. It began operations in January 1920.
- The world’s busiest commercial airport is Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL) in Atlanta, with 970,000 airplane movements a year.
- At large airports passengers wait for an average of 16 minutes.
- One-third of the world’s airports are located in the US.
- Dubai Airport has the world’s largest airport duty-free section with 161,000 square feet of shopping space.
- Singapore’s Changi airport has a swimming pool on the roof.
Find more fun airport facts in this infographic from MoneySupermarket via Aspiring Backpacker.
(Image: d’n'c)
Tags: airport trivia, fun facts, travel, travel trivia
