The elements of air transport mainly include airports, aircraft, routes, flights and airlines.
(1) Airport. An airport, commonly known as an airport or an air port, is a place for aircraft to take off.
(2) Aircraft. In a narrow sense, an aircraft refers to an airplane. In a broad sense, an aircraft refers to any machine that can be supported in the atmosphere by the reaction of the air. The aircraft referred to here mainly refers to airplanes in a narrow sense.
(3) Route. A route is an approved air traffic line that connects two or more locations for regular or irregular flights and operates transportation business. The route specifies the clear direction of the route, the stopover points, the width of the route and the flight altitude. In order to ensure flight safety and maintain air traffic order, civil aviation must fly in accordance with the prescribed routes when engaging in transport flights.
(4) Flight. A flight is a transport flight in which an aircraft takes off from the departure station and follows the prescribed route through the stopover stations to the terminal. A flight must use the prescribed aircraft model on the prescribed route according to the flight schedule, and fly on the prescribed date and at the prescribed time. That is, it has the "four fixed" characteristics of "fixed route, fixed aircraft type, fixed date, and fixed time".
(5) Airline. An airline is a company that owns aircraft and provides air transport services. An airline has the following characteristics:
First, it must have a certain number of aircraft, which is a prerequisite for the establishment of an airline.
Second, it must have air transport business that is commensurate with its capabilities.
Furthermore, the main business of an airline is to transport passengers and cargo from one place to another.
