Originally Posted by indufan
Airports are governed by federal government and they are governed by state government too. State laws do apply in an airport. An assault certainly could be (and almost certainly would be unless the victim was a federal employee) tried in state courts.
Not to get TOO far off topic...
Jurisdiction is defined by both geography and the crime.
Simple Assault, unless covered by Federal Civil Rights violation statutes would generally be covered by local statute (unless the assault were upon a federal officer, employee or USPS employee).
Given that most airports are owned by policed by municipalities, the case of the lady in LAS would most likely have been a local matter.