Heliport

Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars.

[1][5] The TLOF is a load-bearing, generally paved area, normally centered in the FATO, on which the helicopter lands and / or takes off.

[1] In a large metropolitan and urban areas, a heliport can serve passengers needing to quickly move within the city, or to outlying regions.

Generally, heliports can be situated closer to a town or city center than an airport for fixed-wing aircraft.

The advantage in flying by helicopter to a destination, or even to the city's main airport, is that travel can be much faster than by surface transport.

[6][7] As an example, the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City provides scheduled service to John F. Kennedy International Airport, and is used to move wealthy persons and important goods quickly to destinations as far away as Maryland.

[8] Some skyscrapers feature rooftop heliports to serve the transport needs of executives or clients.

Other common markings can include ownership, radio frequencies, company logo(s), and magnetic north.

[1] To conduct night-time operations, a heliport must have lighting installed that meets specific aeronautical standards.

At ground-based heliports, lead-in lights may be incorporated to identify the preferred approach / departure direction.

[citation needed] To provide for a safe environment to perform normal helicopter landing and take-off operations, each heliport must have unobstructed approach / departure paths.