Airport Reading List

The major sources I found helpful for learning about airports and their construction are listed below. As usual, these are listed roughly in order of how useful I found them. And because “useful” isn’t the same as “actually interesting to read” I’ve marked the books that are actually good for picking up and reading as “Recommended to Read."

Airports, Cities and the Jet Age: US Airports Since 1945

This was the only real broad history of airports I found, and it covers the topic well. Written by a professor of urban and aviation history, this book traces the arc of airport evolution in the post-war world as they progressed from small airfields to enormous facilities handling millions of travelers. It covers the major developments in air travel (the rise of jets, the large increase in air travel, problems of noise, and so on), with a particular focus on the evolving legal landscape: who was responsible for what, how that was shaped by various court cases, and how that ultimately impacted how airports managed their operations. Very informative, though it’s a bit too dry and textbooky to just pick up and read.