Services and facilities are designed to guide travelers through the airport transit process.
The design of an airport city includes considering passengers, cargo, businesses, workers, and residents of the area.
In 2011, Time named the Airport City in its feature on "10 ideas that will change the world".
[9] Kasarda identified the following drivers to the development of airport cities: The most common air side and land side airport city commercial activities include duty-free shops and airline lounges; restaurants, catering, and other food services; specialty retail and factory outlet centers; cultural and entertainment attractions; hotels; banks and currency exchanges; business offices and complexes; convention and exhibition centers; leisure, recreation and fitness venues; logistics and distribution; perishables and cold storage; and free trade zones and customs-free zones.
A qualitative list of airport city characteristics has been developed by researchers at the Center for Air Commerce at the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.