An aerodrome is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo, passengers or neither. A water aerodrome is an area of open water used regularly by seaplanes or amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off. Aerodromes include small general aviation airfields, large airports and military airbases.
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The word aerodrome is derived from the Greek words aeros (αέρος), "air" and dromos (δρόμος), "road" or "course", literally meaning "air course".
In the UK, the term was used by the Royal Air Force in the two World Wars as it had the advantage that their French allies, on whose soil they were based and with whom they co-operated, used the equivalent term (aérodrome). However, the term airfield or airport has mostly superseded use of aerodrome. In 2011, Collins English Dictionary decided to remove the word from smaller dictionaries after concluding it had become obsolete.[1]
In the United States, aerodrome was modified into airdrome but the word has become obsolete since World War II. In Canada[2] and Australia[3] aerodrome is a legal term of art for any area of land or water used for aircraft operation, regardless of facilities.
The term aerodrome is used in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) documents, for example in the Annex to the ICAO Convention about aerodromes, their physical characteristics and their operation.
The term airport may imply a certain stature (having satisfied certain certification criteria or regulatory requirements) that an aerodrome may not have achieved. That is to say, all airports are aerodromes, but not all aerodromes are airports.
In the early days of aviation, when there were no paved runways and all landing fields were grass, a typical airfield might permit take offs and landings in only a couple directions, much like today's airports, whereas an aerodrome was distinguished, by virtue of its much greater size, by its ability to handle landings and take offs in any direction. The ability to always take off and land directly into the wind, regardless of the wind's direction, was an important advantage in the earliest days of aviation when an airplane's performance in a cross wind take off or landing might be poor or even dangerous. The development of differential braking in aircraft, coupled with improved aircraft performance, the utilization of paved runways, and the fact that a circular aerodrome required much more space than did the "L" or triangle shaped airfield, eventually rendered the early aerodromes obsolete.
The Canadian Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) says "...for the most part, all of Canada can be an aerodrome", however there are also "registered aerodromes" and "certified airports". To become a registered aerodrome the operator must maintain certain standards and keep the Minister of Transport (Canada) informed of any changes. To be certified as an airport the aerodrome, which usually supports commercial operations, must meet safety standards.[2] Nav Canada, the private company responsible for air traffic control services in Canada, publishes the Canadian Flight Supplement (CFS), a directory of all registered Canadian land aerodromes, as well as the Water Aerodrome Supplement (WAS).[4]
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