Article lying flat, almost, in airport area (5)
I believe the answer is:
apron
'airport area' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'article lying flat almost' is the wordplay.
'article' becomes 'a' (indefinite article).
'lying flat' becomes 'prone' (I've seen this before).
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'prone' with its final letter taken off is 'pron'.
'a'+'pron'='APRON'
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for apron that I've seen before include "Paved area where aircraft are parked" , "Cook's protector" , "Part of stage, boxing ring or airport terminal" , "Pinafore" , "Protective garment - part of stage" .)