Ground-level aircraft operations as a measure of sustainable airport efficiency: A weight-restricted DEA approach

Abstract

Ground-level aircraft operations and landing and take-off cycle account for the vast majority of an airport’s total emission. Among other factors, planning skills are critical in minimizing the emissions produced and fuel burn through reducing taxi times during landing and take-off operations. This study examines the sustainable efficiencies of busiest European airports considering their success in reducing emissions during landing and take-off cycles and argues (i) emission per landing and take-off cycle is a good proxy for ground-level aircraft operation planning skills and provides more practical results than the total amount of annual emission, (ii) weight restriction procedure is necessary in Data Envelopment Analysis applications to ensure furnishing the impact of emission criteria on overall efficiency. A weight-restricted Data Envelopment Analysis model was constructed, and both physical and sustainable efficiencies of each airport were examined during nine years between 2010 and 2018. A combinative Analytic Hierarchy Process – Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation approach was used to define criteria weights, and a new modified approach was proposed and used to include these weights in Data Envelopment Analysis. Findings proved the necessity of weight restriction when one would examine the impact of emissions produced on sustainable airport efficiency. The Malmquist Productivity Index showed a great shift in physical output production; however, improvements to reduce landing and take-off cycle times have lagged behind the shift in physical output production.