hatch
n. countablen. a small opening or door in a floor, ceiling, or the side of a ship or plane. You use it to move between levels or to load things into a space.
n. an opening in a deck, floor, or wall that provides access to a compartment or lower level. Often used in nautical, aviation, or industrial contexts to describe a door that is flush with the surface.
The sailor climbed through the hatch to reach the lower deck.
The ground crew opened the cargo hatch to begin loading the passengers' luggage onto the aircraft.
Engineers designed a reinforced escape hatch in the submarine's hull to ensure the crew could exit safely in the event of a catastrophic pressure failure.
Commonly used with the preposition 'to' or 'into' when describing access to a specific area.