SUMMARY
This paper presents the most important issues and premises for the targeted development of airport-related areas, with particular emphasis on the planned implementation of a so-called airport city in the immediate vicinity of an airport. The investigation sought to answer questions about how airports perform city- and region-forming functions, to systematize the existing concepts of the implementation of airport cities based on the relevant literature, and to present the principles of proper design of airport-related zones. Key premises for the development of airport cities and benefits for their users are also discussed. Detailed considerations about Gdansk Airport provide an example of the application of a qualitative method in an individual case, confirmed by observation and in-depth interviews. The adopted structure of the study and the research methodology were based mainly on literature studies and a critical review of the literature as well as on face-to-face interviews, on-site observation and analysis of feedback between the airport and the spatial development of the airport zone. The conclusion indicates development directions for airport zones depending on the location, characteristics and potential development of the airport itself and the region it is located in.The case study of Gdansk Airport and the development of its airport-related zone show a clear trend in the application of the airport city model implemented at other airports in the world, taking into account good practices and the principles of the proper design of existing airport cities/aerotropolises.