Aviation Infrastructure Research Articles

Laying Foundations: New Deal Public Works and Aviation Infrastructure

Abstract:This article examines New Deal public works agencies’ pivotal contributions to American aeronautical development, arguing that their creation of aviation-related infrastructure offers powerful evidence of the New Deal’s success in remaking the American landscape and fostering economic growth. Organizations such as the Civil Works Agency, the Public Works Administration, and the Works Progress Administration built or improved almost every contemporary U.S. airport, funding improvements that created the foundations of America’s modern air transport network. Much more than make-work endeavors, these efforts reflected New Dealers’ desire to use public works to create worthwhile products. These policies highlight the sophistication with which the New Deal promoted economic development, and belie the image of public works agencies privileging short-term employment to the detriment of economic gain. Airport terminals, runways, hangers, and countless other aviation-related improvements represent some of the New Deal’s most significant physical legacies, highlighting the Roosevelt administrations’ vital contributions to aeronautical development.

Determinants of domestic air travel demand in Nigeria: cointegration and causality analysis

Air transportation is an important factor of development as it facilitates movements within a country and connects the country with other parts of the world. This paper examines the causal relationship between economic variables—Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDP), index of agricultural production, index of manufacturing production and consumer price index—and domestic air travel demand in Nigeria. Annual data for the period 1982–2005, autoregressive distributed lag cointegration approach and Granger short- and long-run causality tests are employed. The results indicate that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and index of manufacturing production are determinants of air travel in the short- and long-run. Air travel increases with economic growth. Short- and long-run uni-directional Granger causality runs from GDP to air travel. The impulse response function indicates that changes in air travel were due to its own shocks and shocks to GDP. Thus, GDP is a crucial factor that influences the growth of air travel. Government and policymakers need to develop local industries, infrastructures and educational institutions that will provide skilled labour as well as improve the relative business and leisure attractiveness of the economy to the global economic environment. Stakeholders need to invest capital in airport expansion and ensure compliance with international safety and environmental standards. Investment in aviation infrastructure facilities is necessary so as to accommodate the projected growth in domestic air travel demand since the country is gradually recovering from economic recession.

Impacts of Infrastructure on One Country’s Trade— An Analysis based on the “new Eurasian Continental Bridge Economic Corridor” along the “One Belt One Road”

In nowadays context of global economic integration, China has proposed the “One Belt One Road” Strategy in 2014, which fits into the new changes in global economy and finds us a new growth in economy development. This article has selected the panel data of 23 countries along the “new Eurasian Continental Bridge Economic Corridor” in 2002-2016 and analyzed the influences of one country’s economic infrastructure and social infrastructure upon its national trades using the fixed effect model. The research result shows that the construction of energy infrastructure may produce less obvious negative effects on one country’s national trade while the influences of the railway and aviation infrastructure will be varied because of the different natural endowments of the country. And one country’s trade will increase as construction of communication infrastructure develops. For social infrastructure, the effects upon one country’s trade are not obvious from education infrastructure construction, scientific research infrastructure construction, medical infrastructure construction and environmental infrastructure construction.

Авиационные перевозки для обеспечения связанности территорий Российской Федерации

The problem of definition of the optimum and balanced development of the air transportation for ensuring coherence of the territory of the Russian Federation (RF) is considered in the article. The analysis of domestic air-transport infrastructure and its comparison with foreign analogs is carried out. A transportation plays a crucial role in ensuring connectivity, which in turn has a significant impact on the economic development of the regions. New ambitious projects can be stopped due to absence of moving labor resources, energy capacity, materials, products, etc. from one point to another. Taking into account the peculiarity of the Russian Federation as a state with the largest territories in size and length the problem of connectivity is key for many business projects. Particular attention should be paid to ensuring the connectivity of the territories in the development of natural resources of Siberia, the Far East and the Arctic zone. When choosing a mode of transport, it is necessary to analyze the optimal costs in the construction of transport infrastructure and maintaining its serviceability. Given the large length of routes connecting the target regions and the European part of Russia, aviation is considered one of the optimal modes of transport. The article analyzes the domestic air transport infrastructure and compares it with foreign analogues. In addition to the traditional methods of air transportation the innovative types of air transport is considered. Conclusions about need of the state support of development both the modern aircraft equipment, and land transport infrastructure are drawn. The introduction of innovations in transport connectivity can significantly reduce the cost of disigning an aviation infrastructure and fundamentally reduce the duration of such projects. However, without both legislative and financial support from the state such innovative projects are not implemented. More active use of new types of the air transportation is offered.

Analysis of break-even points of Polish regional airports

The problematic nature of the high costs of building terrestrial aviation infrastructure does not end after the planning phase and the construction of new airspace. After the infrastructure has been commissioned, the cost of its depreciation and maintenance over the years represents a significant contribution to the cost of operating the airport. The high share of fixed costs is a direct reason for strong leverage. As a result, it is imperative to provide external financing to young airports at an early stage of their development. Owners of companies managing the above-mentioned infrastructure should be vividly concerned about the earliest possible break-even point, and consequently, the burden of direct subsidizing aviation activities in the region. The purpose of this article is to analyze the profitability thresholds at Polish regional airports as a means to discuss possible minimum volumes and revenues that emerging airports need to achieve as they do not generate losses. The main research method is a tool based on regression functions.

Economic Impact of World Bank Aviation Investment in Pacific Island Countries

<p><em>The World Bank Group (WBG) has provided grant and credits to support projects related to aviation and air transport including capacity building, policy and regulation, safety and security, infrastructure rehabilitation, and institutional strengthening for over 60 years. Today, the WBG remains actively engaged on aviation related project in every region of the world including the Pacific Island Countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the economic impact of WBG investments in aviation infrastructures in Pacific Island Countries.</em></p><p><em>The preliminary results of this study show a serious deficiency in the areas of aviation infrastructure, safety and security, management efficiency, and airport environmental sustainability in the Pacific Island countries. Without a dynamic aviation industry, most developing countries would see a drastic reduction in tourism, resulting in an economic slowdown. In Pacific Island countries, if these aviation infrastructure deficiency continued to go unaddressed, they would likely lead to the end of international flight operations to the airports in this region. Therefore, the WBG investments in aviation infrastructure is necessary in this region to support tourism, economic development, job creation, and higher standard of living in for Pacific Islanders.</em></p>

Функціонування муніципального авіаційного транспорту як один з майбутніх видів аваційної діяльності

Представлені основні принципи муніципального повітряного транспорту в межах мегаполісу. Основні завдання створення муніципального транспорту визначені для подальшого розвитку авіаційних технологій для житлово-комунального господарства, життєзабезпечення міста та його повітряно-транспортної системи. З метою подальшого розвитку авіаційної техніки в інтересах міської економіки й життя міста, необхідно вирішити три основні завдання: розвиток авіаційної техніки і насиченості міста авіаційного парку легкими вертольотами, які забезпечать розв'язання спеціальних завдань в інтересах міських служб, комерційних транспортних і повітряних операцій; розвиток міської інфраструктури авіації, в тому числі вертодромів і вертолітних майданчиків; організація безпечного використання повітряного простору над містом. Використання технології в авіації може бути здійснене при забезпеченні санітарних та екологічних норм охорони навколишнього середовища.

MACROECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF DEMAND FOR AIR PASSENGER TRANSPORT AMONG SELECTED AIRLINES

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to investigate the price and non-price determinants of demand for air passenger transport among selected airlines.Methodology: The study target population was airlines across the World. The study used a sample of 10 airlines across the World. The airlines included; British Airways, Ethiopian Airways, Emirates , Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, South Africa Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Kenya Airways, Egypt air and Air France. Secondary data of the selected airlines was collected from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the period from 2005 to 2014. The data collected was analyzed using STATA software to generate descriptive, trends and inferential statistics which were used to derive conclusions and generalizations regarding the population. The panel data regression model was used to determine the relationship between study variables.Results: Based on the findings, the study concluded that both domestic and global interest rates have a negative and significant effect on demand for air passenger transport. Further, the study concluded that GDP growth (domestic), GDP growth (global) and GDP per capita have a positive and significant effect on demand for air passenger transport.Recommendations: Based on the findings, the study recommended that, at a macro level, airlines should consider adjusting their travel prices using the directional movements of the above mentioned variables as a guideline. Based on the findings, the study recommended that governments should use the study of demand drivers to forecast their capital investment plan for the improvement of the air transportation systems in their respective countries and design policies that require use of the demand drivers observed in this study for planning of aviation infrastructure expansion.

Sectorial Analysis of the Impact of Aviation Transport on Nigerian Economy: A Study of Four Selected International Airports (2003-2015)

<p><em>This study examined the impact of aviation sector on economic growth in Nigeria using four selected international airports activities namely; Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos; Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja; and Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt between 2003-2015. The study employed error correction model in analyzing the model specified in the study. The result revealed positive connection amid the explained variable LGDP and explanatory variables; Passanger Traffic and Aircraft Movement for all the considered airports which are all in compliance with the apriori expectation. All the explanatory variables except passenger traffic and aircraft movement of Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport were significant in explaining economic growth in Nigeria. While the error correction term, ECM<sub>t-1</sub> with a high feedback of 84% has the expected negative sign and presented the rate at which disequilibrium will be adjusted back to equilibrium which also showed the existence of a strong relationship between the aviation sectors’ activities and economic growth in Nigeria</em><em>. The study recommends that government should ensure continuous supervision of the activities of aviation sector so as to increase their services of connecting people, goods and services which in turn will create more economic value leading to economic growth and improve aviation infrastructures for a competitive advantage to that of other countries.</em><em></em></p>

Toward Patient-Centered Hospital Design: What Can Airports Teach Us?

Recent media comparisons of New York's LaGuardia Airport to a “third-world country” have led to renewed focus on the aging aviation infrastructure in the United States. However, travelers' complaints about long lines, delays, and unexpected expenses may sound familiar to another group of consumers: patients seeking medical care at hospitals across the nation.

Prospects of the development of aviation technical justice experts

The question of creating a scientific research laboratories the tasks of this laboratory will be the formulation of scientific tasks and relevant research developments, training, retraining, certification and re-certification of internal and external experts, the implementation of examinations for resonant accidents, accumulation, processing, systematization of data and the finding appropriate consistent patterns to solve tasks of prevention, as well as improving the base of normative documents. Formulation of the problem. During of the aviation activity are frequent cases of accidents due to the significant omissions in the legal framework regulating the aviation activity, and excited in these cases, criminal cases, as a rule do not have the prospects of a judicial investigation, much of the business is limited to administrative responsibility, which is based on the findings official investigation, and does not always coincide with the findings of the forensic examination of aircraft maintenance, resulting in recommendations are ineffective and preventive work to prevent accidents in the future. Presenting main material. Without training aviation specialists of the highest qualification may unwittingly make mistakes, not only decoration, but a legal plan, going beyond its competence. This ultimately compromises made conclusions and requires additional or even re-examination. While the examination remains the departmental and executed with the assistance of specialists air transport is not certified as a forensic expert examination results depend on the experience and skills of conducting its employees. Judicial Aviation expert should have sufficient practical experience in the investigation aviation events, which is the foundation for the development of skills during the examination. This experience can be persons who have qualified pilot, aeronautical engineer, a specialist in the airworthiness and air traffic management must know aviation infrastructure and be able to establish connections between different areas of aviation activity. Conclusions. At present, the author together with the specialists of the National Bureau of Investigation of accidents and incidents with civil aircraft of Ukraine, with the support of the Research Institute of forensic examinations there is a work for the certification of personnel in "Judicial expert on the study of the circumstances of accidents." Create lab aviation transport forensic expert to develop modern technologies, will require the involvement of scientists of the highest caliber, the support of government agencies and financial investments. But the beginning of all - the staff, prepared legally Ph.D and Professors of sciences who possess specialized knowledge in the basic and engineering sciences and transport.

Regulation in markets facing uncertainty: The case of Australia

This paper explores the ways in which economic regulation accommodates uncertainty through an examination of experience of regulation in Australia against a background discussion of literature on regulatory risk and principles for good regulation. Regulation, typically in the form of incentive based price caps, often applies to aviation infrastructure, such as major airports and air navigation services. At the same time, the demand for aviation infrastructure services is uncertain and subject to external shocks. Two case studies in economic regulation of aviation infrastructure are examined. They cover a period of volatile demand associated with the collapse of a major domestic airline which coincided with the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US. One case study involves the application of price caps to newly privatized airports during 1997–2002. The other case study examines the development of a long term price path for air navigation services over 2002 to 2004. The case studies illustrate the important role played by regulatory design. The paper concludes that the design of the regulatory framework has an important role in ameliorating the risks associated with uncertainty.

Climate-proofing the airport of the future

The effects of climate change have the potential to impact both aviation operations and infrastructure. Although this is still an emerging risk, awareness is growing and some organisations are now taking action to adapt. Key priorities for action include understanding and assessing potential impacts, identifying the potential resilience measures required and collaboration and communication across the sector to reduce overall network vulnerability. Pre-emptive action based on robust information is widely considered to be efficient and cost-effective and so now is the time for organisations to begin assessing whether this is a risk which they need to address.

Airport Urbanism: Infrastructure and Mobility in Asia by Max Hirsch

Max Hirsch, Airport Urbanism: Infrastructure and Mobility in Asia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2016. 232 pp.Air travel in Asia often invokes images of elite businessmen in designer suits traveling by high-speed rail to a shiny new starchitect-designed passenger terminal. International flight can be assumed to be the domain of the elite. In Airport Urbanism, Max Hirsch has us look to the infrastructures that are serving the less-privileged populations of Asia. By focusing on the aviation infrastructures that serve the non-elite, Hirsch provides insight into who he terms the nouveaux globalises and their impact on urban form. The nouveaux globalises are constrained by income or citizenship in their ability to be mobile; yet, they have the desire or the need to fly. They are finding ways to travel internationally outside and alongside the infrastructures planned for the wealthy.Despite the growing passenger base of budget travelers (low-cost carriers operate 60 percent of flights in Southeast Asia),1 Hirsch argues aviation infrastructure has been planned for the wealthy. Iconic terminals filled with designer handbag retailers are not constructed with the budget traveler in mind, nor do they serve that passenger. Because air travel infrastructure does not take the budget traveler into account, the nouveaux globalises utilize a combination of structures designed by experts and what Hirsch calls mobility (21), strategies devised by members of the flying public when their needs are not being met by more formal structures. Hirsch points the reader to the shopping mall kiosks where air tickets can be bought with cash, the far-from-luxurious warehouses serving as passenger waiting areas, and the crowded buses bringing migrant laborers from their employers' homes to the airport. Through examining the mobility tactics of the non-elite, Hirsch illuminates how increasing cross-border mobility is reshaping aviation infrastructure and Asian cities.Hirsch is in conversation with scholars contributing to what has been called the new paradigm, research that views the social as being reconfigured as mobile, with many aspects of social life, civil society, and political participation increasingly understood as being performed through mobilities (Sheller and Urry 2006:210). Hirsch is responding to a particular call within research to analyze how movement is restructuring time and space and impacting urban form (Hannam, Sheller, and Urry 2006). This body of research has explored mobility at a range of scales, from transnational migration to a stroll down the street. Hirsch, too, examines mobility and its impact on Asia's cities at multiple scales, including how cities accommodate increasing international migration and the infrastructures needed to transport people from their homes to the airport. Hirsch argues that policy makers are not planning for the increase of international flight of non-elite populations. As a result, alternative, less visible infrastructures have fulfilled the needs of these fliers.Hirsch is also engaging with the growing body of literature examining infrastructure from a social science perspective. Architects, city officials, and urban studies scholars alike have focused on infrastructure megaprojects. Transportation megaprojects such as urban rail systems or international airports come to signal the economic health of a city, evidence of its global connectivity, and point to its bright future. Not only is Hirsch skeptical of the impacts of large-scale infrastructural projects, but he argues throughout the book that less formal transportation infrastructures can do some of this work, albeit far more inconspicuously. Hirsch's focus on infrastructures which are built from the bottom-up with the non-elite user's needs in mind adds to the growing focus in anthropology on how communities creatively repurpose infrastructure.It is at the intersection of urban studies, mobility studies, and infrastructure studies that Hirsch makes his theoretical contribution regarding the role of informality in urban areas. …

Process Improvement Archaeology: What Led Us Here, and What’s Next?

While in every organization corporate culture and history change over time, intentional efforts to identify performance problems are of particular interest when trying to understand the current state of an organization. The results of past improvement initiatives can shed light on the evolution of an organization and represent, with the advantage of perfect hindsight, a learning opportunity for future process improvements. The opportunity to test this premise occurred in an applied research collaboration with the Swedish Transport Administration, the government agency responsible for the planning, implementation, and maintenance of long-term rail, road, shipping, and aviation infrastructure in Sweden. This article is part of a theme issue on Process Improvement.

Uwarunkowania skutecznego planowania strategicznego na przykładzie planowania infrastruktury lotniczej

The aim of this article is to analyse the effectiveness of the process of strategic preparation assessed from the perspective of assessing the activities undertaken at the airport of Radom. The work was divided into theoretical and empirical parts. In the theoretical part, the basis for presenting knowledge is a critical review of the subject literature, aimed at refining the concept of strategic planning and its significance in various scientific concepts. In the empirical part a case study is presented: Radom Airport. The planning of aviation infrastructure development in Poland is planned. Its effectiveness, analysed from a system- and resource perspective on the basis of reports, shows that the success of the plan depends primarily on the environment, in particular on regional and central strategies. Internal actions are secondary.

Study of causality between civil aviation sector and economic development in Saudi Arabia

Recently, Saudi Arabia is undergoing major privatization and Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, as guided by the Saudi National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020 and the Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, attempting to shift the oil-based economy toward more diverse and sustainable economy. The main purpose of the paper is to empirically examine the aviation-led growth hypothesis for Saudi Arabia by testing causality between civil aviation and economic development, applying econometric tests such as Granger causality tests for the time period from 1975 to 2011. Empirical results reveal the existence of the Civil aviation Led-Economic growth hypothesis (economic expansion causing the civil aviation sector to grow) for a developing country like Saudi Arabia. As guided by both the NTP 2020 and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, policy makers should consider updating civil aviation infrastructure, nation-wide airport privatization programs, increase the number of airports in major cities and establish long term partnerships with international airlines and carriers. This will strengthen the private sector and diversify the oil-based economy toward a sustainable economy.

Perceptions of emission reduction potential in air transport: a structural equation modeling approach

This study employs a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to identify the key perceptions that influence greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction potential (ERP) in air transport. It explores the correlation relationships between various perceptions and air transport GHG emission reduction potential. Personal approach and self-administered surveys were used to collect data from 249 aviation experts. The results of the SEM showed aircraft technology and design, aviation operations and infrastructure, socioeconomic and political measures, and alternative fuels and fuel properties are the key influencing perceptions for reducing GHG emissions. Aircraft technology and design had the strongest ERP, followed by aviation operations and infrastructure with a strong correlation between them. The structural model proved reliable and in agreement to identify the perceptions of the ERP. The outputs can be used to measure the level of knowledge and understanding about the ERP of air transport and can provide airlines with valuable information for designing appropriate air transport policies for emission reduction.

Greenhouse gas emission reduction potentials in air transport: a structural equation modelling-based multi-group analysis

ABSTRACTIn this study, we used a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to identify the key factors that influence greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction potentials in air transport (ERPAT). We explored the correlations among constructs from the perspectives of aviation GHG emission reduction. Organisation type is one of the contextual factors that may change the nature of these correlations. Person- and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from 249 aviation experts. The results obtained using SEM showed that aircraft technology and design, aviation operations and infrastructure, socio-economic and policy measures, and alternative fuels and fuel properties are the key factors for reducing GHG emission. Conclusively, organisation type can help in controlling the relationship among the constructs. Thus, organisation type acts as a moderator in the research model. The outputs can be used to measure the level of knowledge and understanding regarding ERPAT and can provide policy-makers, government organisations, and airlines with valuable information for designing appropriate air transport policies for emission reduction.

Hydrocarbon bio-jet fuel from bioconversion of poplar biomass: life cycle assessment.

BackgroundBio-jet fuels compatible with current aviation infrastructure are needed as an alternative to petroleum-based jet fuel to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Cradle to grave life cycle analysis is used to investigate the global warming potential and fossil fuel use of converting poplar biomass to drop-in bio-jet fuel via a novel bioconversion platform. Unique to the biorefinery designs in this research is an acetogen fermentation step. Following dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, poplar biomass is fermented to acetic acid and then distilled, hydroprocessed, and oligomerized to jet fuel. Natural gas steam reforming and lignin gasification are proposed to meet hydrogen demands at the biorefineries. Separate well to wake simulations are performed using the hydrogen production processes to obtain life cycle data. Both biorefinery designs are assessed using natural gas and hog fuel to meet excess heat demands.ResultsGlobal warming potential of the natural gas steam reforming and lignin gasification bio-jet fuel scenarios range from CO2 equivalences of 60 to 66 and 32 to 73 g MJ−1, respectively. Fossil fuel usage of the natural gas steam reforming and lignin gasification bio-jet fuel scenarios range from 0.78 to 0.84 and 0.71 to 1.0 MJ MJ−1, respectively. Lower values for each impact category result from using hog fuel to meet excess heat/steam demands. Higher values result from using natural gas to meet the excess heat demands.ConclusionBio-jet fuels produced from the bioconversion of poplar biomass reduce the global warming potential and fossil fuel use compared with petroleum-based jet fuel. Production of hydrogen is identified as a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use in both the natural gas steam reforming and lignin gasification bio-jet simulations. Using hog fuel instead of natural gas to meet heat demands can help lower the global warming potential and fossil fuel use at the biorefineries.