|
Other project Notability pages: Aviation • Aircraft/Rotorcraft • Airlines (Defunct) • Airports • Gliding • Military aviation • Aviation accident • Air sports • Aerospace biography
 |
This idea is in the brainstorming stage. Feel free to add new ideas; improve, clarify and classify the ideas already here; and discuss the merits of these ideas on the talk page! |
 |
This page in a nutshell: Airports and aerodromes are not inherently notable. Basic notability with reliable sources is required. Inclusion in a comprehensive list such as ICAO, IATA or a government airport registration is required for verifiability but not necessarily good enough for notability. This contains guidelines for various kinds of airports. |
This page provides guidelines intended to be used by Wikipedia editors to decide whether an airport (or aerodrome) is notable for the purposes of having a separate article on Wikipedia. While satisfying these notability guidelines generally indicates an airport warrants an article, failing to satisfy them is not a criterion for speedy deletion.
These guidelines may be considered a specialized version of Wikipedia:Notability, applied to airports, reflecting the following core Wikipedia policies:
Claims of notability must adhere to Wikipedia's policy on attribution; it is not enough to simply assert that a airport meets a criterion without substantiating that claim with reliable sources.
[edit] Definitions
For the purpose of these guidelines an airport is defined as any facility on land or water that is designed to handle manned aircraft.
The terms "airfield" and "aerodrome" are considered synonymous with "airport" for this guideline.
A "public airport" is one which is open to the public, or the closest equivalent for the country it is in, regardless of whether it is privately-owned or government-owned. Airports which require prior permission from the owner for landing are considered private.
[edit] Coverage notes
In order to make a guideline which is sensible around the world, it cannot go into every detail. The editors involved in a decision of notability of an airport are encouraged to take these criteria into account and make the best informed decision consistent with Wikipedia policy and precedents. Please consider what makes sense relative to other airports for the region.
[edit] No inherent notability
Airports do not automatically have inherent notability. The essay on inherent notability does not list airports. As with some government records that are available on the Internet, airport registrations cast a wider net than Wikipedia should.
Past experience with articles for deletion have had arguments that hung solely on the existence of government records to satisfy notability for small unattended or private airports. The consensus has been that a guideline was needed to determine that the government records alone are not enough.
[edit] Airport codes and other comprehensive lists provide verifiability
Notability is not a reflection of an airport's "worth". An ICAO, IATA or national government-issued airport code provides verifiability. Except for historical airfields, an airport must start with this verifiability step. But Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information. This provides guidance to Wikipedia editors in how to determine notability of an airport based on prior experience from the community.
Likewise, listing in any comprehensive list only serves for verifiability, but not for notability unless an exception is specifically allowed here.
Historical airfields which have served a role in wartime or early aviation history may be notable without a current airport registration.
[edit] Reliable sources required
The basic notability requirement still applies. Significant, independent and reliable sources specifically about the airport must exist.
[edit] Criteria
Articles including stubs may be notable as airports based on the guidelines listed below.
[edit] Runway surface and length are not factors for notability
Runway surface (paved or unpaved) and length of runways are not factors in the notability of an airport on their own. Airports around the world vary too much to make a Wikipedia-wide standard about this. In general, leave the runways out of the consideration - other factors will determine notability more reliably.
[edit] Heliports tend not to be notable on their own
Heliports are almost always part of some other facility. Unless there is a significant body of reliable source material specifically about the heliport, it should usually be simply included in the article about the facility it serves. (Of course, that facility has to already be notable to have its own article.) And even in that case consider whether it's relevant to mention it at all.
[edit] Private airports tend not to be notable on their own
Any unattended airport or any privately-owned airport not open to the public and not marketed in public are factors which cause a higher standard to be imposed for the significance (quality and quantity) of the airport's sources. Generally they are not notable unless they have very significant reliable sources (not including a required airport registration) to make them notable.
There's a reason behind this. Besides the observation that these airports usually are not notable, we don't want to tempt Wikipedia editors to be a paparazzi trying to collect information about private land or their owners. We as a community should encourage respect for their privacy.
[edit] Scheduled passenger airline service
An airport which currently has scheduled airline passenger service is notable.
These are notable solely based on public airport registration information because they serve as public access to the surrounding area.
An airport which once had scheduled passenger airline service counts favorably but is not sufficient for notability on its own.
[edit] General Aviation airports
General aviation (civilian non-airline) airports which meet one of the following criteria are considered notable:
- it is marketed to the public for aviation-related services
- it is currently or formerly owned by a local, regional or national government entity
Airports not meeting these criteria may still independently achieve notability per WP:RS and WP:N guidelines.
The public-use status of a general aviation airport is not a direct factor in notability of an airport - it is an indirect factor only because it is not subject to the section above that discourages notability for private-use airports. The criteria for General Aviation airport notability were intended to set the bar slightly higher than simply accepting all public-use airports. The problem was shown by counter-examples including farm airstrips which are technically listed as open to the public but serve no actual public purpose or interest. These criteria were intended to retain a simple unambiguous boundary for notability of General Aviation airports.
Other useful information about a General Aviation airport are usually not on their own factors in its notability. These include existence of government airport database information, having on-field services (including fuel, flight training, maintenance/repairs, food, ground transportation or others), having documented ongoing operations and/or being a business/recreational/research/etc destination.
[edit] Military or government airfields
Current or former military or government airfields are notable as airports if they meet basic notability.
[edit] Closed airports
Closed airports are notable if they have a notable history.
[edit] Airports under construction or proposed
An airport that is under construction and has a reasonable expectation of being open to the public and having scheduled airline passenger service is notable. An airport that has been proposed must meet the general notability criteria.
[edit] Landmarks associated with airports
Notability of a landmark within, near or surrounding an airport does not affect the notability of the airport unless it is directly aviation related.
[edit] Airport lists
An airport list topic is notable if the topic can be expected to include a significant portion or significant total number of airports which are notable. It should not have the expectation that it will always be mostly redlinks. Though a majority is not necessarily the only way to determine significance
A list of airports for a country or region may contain the names of all airports, notable or not.
An example of a topic which has failed in AfD discussion, therefore not considered notable, is lists of private-use airports. These should be discouraged for the same reasons above that articles about private airports are generally considered non-notable.
[edit] See also
|
