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Anairport rail link is a service providing passengerrail transport between anairport and a nearby city. Direct links operate straight from theairport terminal to the city, while other links require an intermediate use of a people mover orshuttle bus. Advantages for the passenger include faster travel times and easy connections with other public transport. Advantages for the airport include increased patronage and enhanced accessibility for staff. Additionally, authorities have benefitted from less highway congestion, less pollution, and more business opportunities.

Although airport rail links have been a popular solution in Europe and Japan for decades, only recently have links been constructed in North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, and the rest of Asia.

Some early examples of inter-city railway stations built to serve an airport include:

The first rapid transit station to connect with an airport was Berlin'sU-BahnU6Paradestraße station which opened in 1927 asFlughafen (lit. 'airport') and was built to provide direct access toBerlin Tempelhof Airport. However, the connection was removed in 1937 and the precedingPlatz der Luftbrücke station was instead granted the connection and remained so until Berlin Tempelhof Airport's closure in 2008.

Other early examples of rapid transit stations connecting with airports include Boston'sMBTABlue LineAirport station which opened in 1952 (rebuilt in 2004), and Cleveland'sRTA Rapid TransitRed LineCleveland Hopkins International Airport station which opened in 1968 (rebuilt in 1994). Boston's link requires a short shuttle bus transfer from the station to the airport terminal,^{[citation needed]} whilst Cleveland's link is considered the first direct service in the Western Hemisphere.^[2][3]

Tokyo Monorail, which opened in 1964 as Japan's first airport rail link, had its original southern terminus underneath the old domestic terminal ofHaneda Airport. When Haneda Airport was expanded onto landfill reclaimed from Tokyo Bay in the 1980s–2010s, the monorail was extended to the new terminals as well, with the original southern terminus later renamed asTenkūbashi Station.^[4]

A high-speed or inter-city service provides direct travel between an airport and its surrounding cities. This solution usually requires the building of new track, whether it is a newly builtmain line or abranch (spur) line. These services often have premium fares, lower frequencies (e.g. every 30 minutes) and luxury features (e.g. luggage racks, power outlets, Wi-Fi, bathrooms).

Integration withhigh-speed andinter-city services has produced alliances where airlines sell tickets that include the connecting rail service. Parts of Europe have seen integration of high-speed rail stations into airports, with domestic and internationalTGV services fromParis Charles de Gaulle Airport andICE services fromFrankfurt Airport. Because of this, some stations have receivedIATA codes.

A regional or commuter "airport express" service provides direct travel between an airport and its city centre. This solution is often used where the airport is outside the urban area and some way from the mass transit system but a direct downtown service is required. There are various ways this can be achieved: it may operate on a combination of existing or newly built mainline rail track using a dedicated fleet of rolling stock designed for airport service. Similarly to high-speed and inter-city services, these services often have premium fares, lower frequencies and luxury features.

For airports built within or close to the city limits, extending rapid transit or light rail to the airport allows seamless transport to suburbs and full integration with other lines. These services usually have a higher frequency (e.g. every 5 minutes) but longer travel times due to the service making many intermediate stops between the airport and the city centre. Additionally, there may not be enough space forbaggage commonly carried by airport-bound passengers. Luggage stowing facilities are not commonly found on rapid transit or light rail vehicles as their primary objective is to provide high-capacity service.

A hybrid solution adopted in some cities is a direct link to an airport railway station connected to apeople mover. The passenger transfers from the railway station to the people mover which then completes the journey to the airport terminal. While this option is commonly chosen to reduce construction costs, it is only feasible when a rail line is near the airport. Some airports, such asSan Francisco International Airport, are directly served by an airport rail link to some terminals but not others. In such cases, passengers using terminals that lack a direct connection must use a people mover to access their terminal. People movers typically also serve parking lots, airport hotels and off-sitecar rental facilities. People movers are seen to have a higher perceived quality compared to a shuttle bus.

Another hybrid solution is a direct link to an airport railway station connected to a shuttle bus. The passenger transfers from the railway station to the shuttle bus which then completes the journey to the airport terminal. A shuttle bus requires no specialised infrastructure, and is often the preferred choice at smaller or low-cost airports. Shuttle buses may involve a wait for a transfer to the next stage of the journey and often suffer from lower perceived quality and market share compared to direct connections.

Examples includeSchipol Airport station to other Dutch cities,Zürich Flughafen station to other Swiss cities, andDaxing Airport station to other Chinese cities.

Examples include theAirport Rail Link betweenSuvarnabhumi Airport andBangkok, theNarita Express betweenNarita International Airport andTokyo, theUnion Pearson Express betweenToronto Pearson International Airport andToronto, and theLeonardo Express betweenLeonardo da Vinci–Rome Fiumicino Airport andRome.

Examples include theEast–West Line betweenChangi Airport station and Singapore, theSilver Line betweenWashington Dulles International Airport station and Washington, D.C., theCanada Line betweenYVR-Airport station and Vancouver, and theOrange Line betweenDFW Airport Terminal A station and Dallas.

Examples includeSoekarno–Hatta International Airport viaSoekarno–Hatta Airport Skytrain to/fromSHIA station,London Luton Airport viaLuton DART to/fromLuton Airport Parkway station, andParis Orly Airport viaOrlyval to/fromAntony station.

Examples includeShijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport via shuttle bus to/fromZhengding Airport station,Salvador Bahia Airport via shuttle bus to/fromAeroporto station, andMilwaukee Mitchell International Airport via shuttle bus to/fromMilwaukee Airport station.

• Air-rail alliance
• Intermodal passenger transport
• List of IATA-indexed railway stations

• Airport infrastructure
• Airport rail links
• Passenger rail transport

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