Assessing the importance of hub airports for cargo carriers and its implications for a sustainable airport management

Abstract

The air cargo sector has developed very rapidly during the last decades from a pure by-product to a self-contained. The strong development changed the airport–airline relationship as cargo became a significant revenue source for airports and airlines. Airport operators invest in new freight terminals, which need to be refinanced efficiently through airport charges. Thus, airport operators favor long-term contracts between airports and airlines. Contrarily, airlines are especially at non-hub airports extremely flexible and change their schedules rapidly if necessary. Therefore, it is financially essential for airports to know about their status within the operating airline's network. The present paper assesses the importance of single airports for cargo airlines from a network perspective and analyzes the implications for airport operators.