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'Airstrip One' is the name of the British Isles in George Orwell's futuristic dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (1984). In the novel, Britain is a province within the superpower Oceania which roughly corresponds to the Americas, Southern Africa and Australia.
The name has a militaristic tone characteristic of the states in ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. Although it is never explained in the novel, it is possible that Orwell intended the name to relate to the island's geographical location as a distant outpost of Oceania close to the border with Eurasia (since continental Europe is ruled by Eurasia). It implies that Oceania sees Britain as a "natural aircraft carrier" poised to strike Eurasia, perhaps similar to a role Britain played during the Second World War.
Some have suggested that Airstrip One is the only location actually controlled by the Party.