The Total Flying Experience

Airports are no longer simply transportation infrastructure where airplanes land and passengers and cargo transit. They have evolved into complex multimodal, multifunctional enterprises driving substantial commercial development on their property and well beyond. Geared to speed, agility and connectivity, extended strings and clusters of aviation-oriented businesses and associated commercial and residential developments are forming along and near airport transportation corridors, giving rise to a new urban entity – the Aerotropolis.

"As a result of these changes, the airport itself is undergoing a metamorphosis, taking on many of the commercial functions of a metropolitan Central Business District (CBD). With the growing number of boutiques, restaurants, meeting facilities, and entertainment and cultural attractions, passenger terminals begin to resemble parts of downtown. Frankfurt Airport, for instance, has a hospital; Denver International has art galleries; and Las Vegas' McCarran has a museum. Many airports also have the density of highway and transit connections that are usually associated only with CBDs."