Building Airport Cities: The Ultimate Skylines Guide

Building an airport in Cities: Skylines is a complex but rewarding task. The Airports DLC allows players to create sprawling passenger and cargo airports with many different buildings. The first step is to find a suitable area: airports need flat terrain, open space, and good connections to the city. Players must then use the Airport Area Tool to paint the airport area and place a terminal. From there, players can add concourses, aircraft stands, runways, and taxiways to complete their airport. To level up their airport, players will need to increase its attractiveness by adding decorative buildings such as control towers, hotels, and parked planes. With careful planning and attention to detail, players can create functional and attractive airports to serve their growing cities.

Find a flat, open space with a good city connection

When building an airport in Cities: Skylines, it's important to find a suitable area that meets three key requirements: flat terrain, open space, and a good connection to your city. Here's a more detailed breakdown of what to consider:

Firstly, flat terrain is essential for airport construction. While the Airport Area Tool can flatten terrain, it comes at a cost. Therefore, choosing a mostly flat area will save your city time and money. Look for a spacious location with minimal elevation changes to make the most of this tool while keeping costs down.

Open space is another crucial factor. Airports require ample room for runways, taxiways, and aircraft stands. Ensure the chosen site has sufficient area to accommodate these essential components, with some extra space for future expansion if needed. Remember that you can always expand the airport area later, but starting with a generous space is ideal.

Lastly, a good connection to your city is vital. The airport should be easily accessible from the main population centres. Consider the transportation network and ensure there are efficient road or rail connections to and from the airport. This will facilitate smooth travel for passengers and staff, promoting the airport's success.

When selecting the location, it's worth noting that the Paint Airport Area brush will level the terrain and remove trees. The first point you click on will determine the elevation of the entire area, so choose wisely. Additionally, keep in mind that adding or removing soil may come at a cost, so try to find a naturally flat area to minimise expenses.

In summary, finding a flat, open space with a good city connection is crucial when building an airport in Cities: Skylines. By considering these factors, you can ensure a functional and successful airport for your city.

Paint the airport area

Painting the airport area is the second step to building an airport in Cities: Skylines.

The Airport Area Tool is found in the Districts and Area menu. It is used to define the airport area, level the terrain, and remove trees. The first point you click on will determine the area's elevation, so it is important to decide what elevation the airport area will be before starting to paint. Soil will be added or removed as you paint, and you may need to pay to buy or dispose of soil, or manually place or remove it. The Paint Airport Area brush is the only district/area brush that comes with a cost, which depends on how much soil is added or removed. You can always expand the area later if you need more space.

The area you select for your airport should be flat, open, and well-connected to your city. The Airport Area Tool will flatten the terrain, but at a cost, so selecting a mostly flat area will be cheaper for your city.

Place a terminal

Once you've found a suitable area for your airport, you'll need to paint an airport area using the Airport Area Tool, which can be found in the Districts and Area menu. This tool will also flatten the terrain for you, but it's best to start with a mostly flat area to keep costs down.

Now you're ready to place a terminal. You can use any terminal that's available to you, placing it inside the airport area you just painted. There are three styles to choose from: Classic, Modern, and Ultra Modern. Each style has three different sizes of the terminal building: small one-story, small two-story, and large. The larger terminals have split arrivals and departures, and a built-in underground metro station. The small one-story terminal is the most basic option and the cheapest to build and maintain. The more modern the style, the more it will cost to build and maintain.

If you want to extend your terminal, you can use a concourse network. The concourse connects the terminal to the aircraft stands and allows for more aircraft stands. You can also add a control tower, an airline lounge, a hotel, parked planes, or hangars to make your airport more attractive.

Add a runway

To add a runway to your airport in Cities: Skylines, you need to ensure that your airport area has enough space. Runways need to be at least 50 units long and require a clear area around them for taxiways. Bulldozing a runway will prompt you to confirm if you want to demolish it, and it cannot be altered once placed.

Runways are one-way only and placed similarly to roads. They cannot cross or connect with other runways or roads. When placing a runway, you can choose any direction, but you need to ensure that the connection points at either end are set up correctly for the taxiways. These are the points where planes will enter and exit the runway.

If you want planes to take off and land from the same direction, you can create a two-way runway by placing two parallel runways of the same length but in different directions. Use the Move It mod to select all the nodes from one runway and drag them onto the other. Lower the nodes with the Page Down key to avoid graphic glitches.

Try to keep your taxiways a good distance from the runway to avoid planes clipping wings.

Place taxiways and aircraft stands

Taxiways and aircraft stands are essential components of your airport in Cities Skylines. Taxiways are one-way roads for planes that connect the runway and aircraft stands. Aircraft stands, on the other hand, are areas where aircraft load and unload passengers or cargo. Here are some detailed instructions and tips for placing them effectively:

Planning the Layout

When placing taxiways and aircraft stands, it is important to consider the overall layout of your airport. Taxiways should form a loop connecting the runway and aircraft stands, ensuring planes can arrive at and depart from the stands efficiently. Try to keep the distance between the runway and stands short to facilitate quick passenger loading and unloading.

Optimising Space

Taxiways can take up significant space, especially in large airports. To optimise space, design your taxiways to be as close to the runway as possible while still allowing enough room for planes to manoeuvre safely. This will help streamline operations and reduce congestion on the taxiways.

Connecting the Terminal

If you are using a concourse network to extend your terminal, ensure that it connects seamlessly to the aircraft stands. The concourse allows you to accommodate more aircraft stands, so plan accordingly to maximise the number of planes your airport can serve simultaneously.

Runway Connection Points

When placing taxiways, pay attention to the connection points on the runway, usually indicated by blue arrows. These are the designated areas where you can connect the taxiways for incoming and outgoing plane traffic. Make sure to leave sufficient free space around the runway for the taxiways to connect.

Number of Aircraft Stands

The number of aircraft stands you place will depend on the size of your airport and the volume of plane traffic you anticipate. For a functional airport, you only need one stand, but adding more stands will enable your airport to handle more planes simultaneously.

Adjusting for Realism

If you are aiming for realism in your airport design, consider the feedback from players who have shared their airport creations online. Some have noted that taxiways that are too close to the runway can lead to wing strikes and traffic congestion. Adjust the spacing between taxiways and runways accordingly to avoid these issues.

Frequently asked questions