Crossword Genius

Capital place for an air centre (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cairo

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'capital' is the definition.
(Cairo is an example)

'place for an air centre' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'caro' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cairo that I've seen before include "Al Qahira" , "Egypt's capital" , "City near the Nile delta" , "Capital city on the Nile" , "North African capital" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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