Glossary
Airside
Definition: Airside is the area of an airport beyond security and passport control, where passengers wait for their flights, access lounges, and board aircraft. It is the secure zone inaccessible to non-passengers.
Airports are divided into two main zones: landside (accessible to everyone) and airside (accessible only to ticketed passengers who have cleared security). The boundary between the two is the security checkpoint, and for international departures, the passport control area.
Airside facilities typically include: departure gates, airline lounges, duty-free shops, restaurants, prayer rooms, and sometimes transit hotels or sleeping pods. The quality and range of airside facilities varies enormously between airports, from basic gate areas to the extraordinary terminal experiences at airports like Singapore Changi, Qatar Hamad, and Dubai International.
Understanding airside vs landside is important when planning connections. If you have a connecting flight within the same terminal airside, you won’t need to clear security again. However, if you need to move between terminals or between airside and landside (e.g., to check into an airport hotel), you’ll need to go through security again.