March 9, 2026
Heliports: The Other Kind of Airport
Heliports are designated landing areas for helicopters and rotorcraft. From hospital rooftops to offshore oil platforms, these facilities serve critical roles that conventional airports cannot.
When most people picture an airport, they imagine runways, terminals, and jet bridges. But heliports are a distinct category of aviation facility — landing and takeoff areas designed specifically for helicopters and other rotorcraft, with no runway required.
Types of heliports
Heliports come in several forms depending on their purpose:
- Hospital heliports — rooftop or ground-level pads for medical evacuation (medevac) flights, one of the most critical uses of helicopter aviation
- Offshore heliports — landing platforms on oil and gas platforms, enabling crew rotation and emergency evacuation in the middle of the ocean
- Urban heliports — ground-level or elevated facilities in city centers serving executive transport, news media, and law enforcement
- Military heliports — dedicated facilities at army and naval bases
Why heliports matter
Hospital heliports are life-critical infrastructure. In trauma care, the time from accident to definitive care directly affects survival outcomes — and helicopter transport to a trauma center can make the difference when ground transport would take too long. Most major trauma centers maintain at least one heliport, and many rural hospitals have pads to facilitate transfer flights.
Offshore operations
The North Sea oil and gas industry operates one of the most intensive offshore helicopter networks in the world. Platforms off the coasts of the UK, Norway, and Denmark are serviced by helicopter from bases in Aberdeen, Stavanger, and other coastal cities — flights that would be impossible by any other means given the distances involved.