The Airport as a Threat-Prone Facility

There were many attacks on civil aviation facilities which occurred since the 1930s but the first recorded attack against the airport security occurred in 1970. Due to the extensive infrastructure, airports are susceptible to the occurrence of hazards especially acts of unlawful interference. The purpose of this article is the characteristics of airports in terms of possible threats. To accomplish this, the most important elements of airport infrastructure are characterized in the first part, which is followed by a presentation of selected acts of unlawful interference committed at airports. The last section of the paper contains most important results of the research regarding safety at airports in Poland from the passenger’s point of view.