Airport Game

Airport Game puts you in the control tower of a busy little airport, seen from above. Prop planes, jets, cargo planes and helicopters arrive from every edge of the screen, and your job is to draw each one a safe path to the right runway, land it into the wind and taxi it to a gate. You can play this air traffic control game online free in your browser with no download, using a mouse, a touch screen or the keyboard.

How to play

Every aircraft is colored to match the place it lands. Drag from the aircraft to its runway and let go near the end of the runway to lock the path in. The path turns solid in the plane’s color when it is set to land.

• Prop planes (red): small and slow, they land on the red runway.
• Jets (blue): the fastest arrivals, they land on the blue runway.
• Cargo planes (yellow): big four-engine freighters that use the yellow runway.
• Helicopters (green): the slowest of all, they land on the green helipad and can come in from any direction.

Planes always land into the wind. The wind sock in the top corner shows where the wind is coming from, and each runway shows green arrows at the end you should use and a red X at the end you should not. If a plane reaches the wrong end, it has to go around. When the wind is about to change, amber arrows blink at the ends that are about to turn green, so plan the next approaches for those ends.

Each aircraft has a fuel ring that shrinks as it waits. If any plane runs out of fuel, it diverts to another airport and the shift is over. Two aircraft that get too close show red warning rings. If they touch, both pilots pull up and go around safely, but the shift ends there.

The ground phase

A plane that lands rolls down the runway and stops with a blinking TAP label. Tap it, and it taxis off to one of the four gates at the terminal, freeing the runway. If the next plane reaches a runway while another one is still parked on it, the newcomer has to go around and you lose points. Tapping a helicopter clears the helipad.

Shifts, stars and Endless mode

There are 10 airports, from Pine Field with a single runway and five prop planes to Big Sky International with three runways, a helipad, 18 arrivals and three wind changes. New aircraft types appear along the way: jets at Mesa Regional, helicopters at Lakeside Airfield and cargo planes at Cloudport. At Summit Field, every aircraft arrives with less fuel than usual.

Land every arrival to finish a shift and unlock the next one. A shift with no go-arounds earns three stars, up to two go-arounds earns two stars, and anything more earns one. Each landing scores 100 points plus a bonus for the fuel left, each plane you taxi scores 20, and each go-around costs 50. Endless mode keeps sending traffic, faster as you go, with the wind changing every 45 seconds. Your stars, unlocked shifts and best scores are saved in your browser.

Tips

• Draw a straight final. End each path with a short straight line into the runway end. Paths that swerve near the runway are more likely to cross the path of the next arrival.
• Separate by time, not only by space. Two paths can cross safely if the planes reach the crossing at different moments. A loop or a wider curve buys a slow plane a few seconds.
• Taxi right away. Tap every plane as soon as it stops. A runway left blocked is the most common cause of go-arounds.
• Watch for amber arrows. A plane that is still far out when the wind changes should be routed to the end that is about to turn green.

FAQ

Is Airport Game free?

Yes. It is free to play with no account and nothing to install. Pick a shift and press Start shift.

Does it work on phones and tablets?

Yes. Drag with your finger to draw a path, and tap a landed plane to taxi it. The game area does not scroll the page while you draw.

Can I play with a keyboard?

Yes. Tab picks the next aircraft, Enter sends it on a straight approach to the active end of its runway, and T taxis a landed plane.

Can I pause the game?

Press P or Esc, or use the Pause button. The game also pauses if you switch tabs.

Prefer to fly the plane yourself? Try Plane Pilot for rings and landings in side view, or Flight Simulator for gauges, flaps and graded landings.