Status Of Airports Research Articles

Обоснованность регулирования сборов и тарифов на услуги в аэропортах

The article examines the problem of the validity of regulation of airport services’ fees and tariffs. The study is relevant amid criticism of the need for regulation in the context of commercialization of the industry given the disputes over natural monopoly’ status of airports, potential competition between airports and the viability of alternative transaction governance mechanisms. The objective of the research is to analyze possible justifications for the necessity of airport services regulation and to reveal limitations of each of justifications. The analysis is carried out within the framework of two approaches: the natural monopoly model of the theory of industry organization and a comparative analysis of discrete structural alternatives from the new institutional economic theory. The following results were obtained. Firstly, the research shows that the necessity of regulation within the framework of these approaches is justified by the presence of two risks – the risk of abuse of a dominant position and the risk of expropriation of investments made by consumers of airport services. Secondly, concerning the limitations of the justifications, the article systematizes the factors contributing to the strengthening or weakening of the market power of airports. Thirdly, the research identifies the characteristics of airports that are subject to examination when examining the need of for regulation. Fourth, it is demonstrated that the level of risk of expropriation of assets varies depending on the scale of the airport’s activities and the role of the airport in the route networks of airlines. Thus, the paper concludes that within the framework of each of the approaches considered, the decision to introduce regulation of services at airports should be made not for the industry as a whole, but for individual airports, and shows the possible risks of a selective approach to regulating services at airports (the expansion of the regulator’s discretion, the increase in the regulator’s costs due to the need for analysis for the airports under consideration, corruption risks), which must be taken into account when designing relevant regulations if a decision is made to implement the proposed approach to regulation.

Digital Signage and Visualization in Airports’ ‘Way-finding’

Airports, transportation hubs carrying passengers from distinct countries and origins, are playing a more and more crucial role in our life. On the one hand, convenient, fast and highly efficient airport service is the key factor why passengers chose to travel by air. Therefore, passengers’ need of efficient modern airport management is overwhelmingly important. On the other hand, with the lasting airport scale and passenger capacity expansion, massive infrastructure construction has brought airports heavy costs. Airport fiscal revenue must be optimized to offset huge expenses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current status of airports’ digital way-finding services, and explore to which extent airport digital signages and way-finding systems can improve airport transport efficiency and service quality. This paper gives the superiority of digital signage compared with traditional airport guidance, and analyzes digital signage’s benefits to airports in passenger experience and airport non-aviation fiscal revenue. Way-finding system design process and the case study of Singapore Changi Airport were also provided. The conclusion was drawn that airports equipped with digital way-finding systems can enhance passengers’ experience and the degree of satisfaction, enrich passengers’ trip and create a more convenient, more effective and safer airport.

Research on planning and design of airport airfield area

Airport status in city construction, regional layout, and transportation systems is analyzed. Influence of operation and management in military-civilian airports is pointed out from the perspective of airport planning and design and operation management. The airfield planning and design are analyzed from the capacity of runway, taxiway, and apron. The displaced threshold can meet the needs of the aviation business, while taking reconstruction and expansion of airport.

Implication of spatial heterogeneity for airports' efficiency estimation

This research is devoted to the analysis of a role of spatial heterogeneity in estimation of airports' efficiency. Spatial heterogeneity, caused by uneven distribution of influencing factors over space, is widely acknowledged in the European airport industry, but rarely included in airport benchmarking procedures. We utilise modern methods of spatial econometrics to identify the importance of spatial heterogeneity for estimates of airports' resource elasticity and efficiency values. A set of utilised models includes the spatial error model, spatial stochastic frontier model, geographically weighted regression model, and their modifications.The empirical findings of the research are based on a sample of 356 European airports (in 2011) and include evidence of the significant effect of spatial heterogeneity on airport's efficiency and productivity estimates. A multi-output approach to production frontier specification is utilised; served passenger and cargo traffic flows are considered as airport outputs. Elasticities of airport input resources that are infrastructure (runways), catchment area characteristics (population size and welfare), regional tourist intensity, and airport status (hub, international) were estimated and discussed. We paid special attention to the geographical variability of input elasticities over Europe. The paper also contains individual estimates of the sample airports' efficiency levels.The main contributions of this paper are the proved necessity of incorporation of spatial heterogeneity into airport benchmarking procedures and the suggested methodological framework for spatial analysis of airports' productivity and efficiency.

Efficiency assessment and output maximization possibilities of European small and medium sized airports

The aim of this research is to investigate the operational efficiency and potential output increase scenarios of 21 small and medium sized airports (SMA) located in 10 different European countries. A key feature of the proposed Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models is the consideration of two novel inputs related to the number of airlines and scheduled routes operating at each airport, in addition to the more common capital non-discretionary inputs (runways, boarding gates and apron). These novel inputs are a way of considering the effects of the air transport market on airports' performance and growth prospects. In particular, a model to estimate the growth in passenger numbers, aircraft movements and cargo that can be achieved by an airport through increasing its number of airlines and routes, and assuming an efficient operation, is presented. Also, a multi-objective DEA model is proposed to explore the possible trade-offs in the output Pareto efficient frontier of a given airport. In addition, a second stage fractional regression model specific for explaining DEA efficiency scores is conducted and the results suggest that ownership structure and hub airport status are significant factors for explaining variations in the operational efficiency of European SMA.

Development Potentials of Low Cost Aviation in the Republic of Croatia

The liberalization of the aviation market has enabled low-cost airlines to take over a significant share in the aviation market. Benefits of low-cost models are multiple, both for passengers and for secondary and regional airports, which were neglected in the past and which record significant inflow of passengers with the arrival of low-cost airlines. In the structure of the air traffic in the Republic of Croatia in the last ten years, there has been a progressive growth of foreign low-cost airline operations, which suggests a potential for the operation of a Croatian low-cost airline. This paper defines the criteria applicable to modelling of a low-cost airline in the Republic of Croatia in the relevant context of fleet management, route networking and operator’s processes in traffic technology. It analyzes the dynamics of low-cost airlines operations in the structure of air traffic in Croatia and the impact of traffic on the status of airports and the national operator. KEY WORDS: low-cost airline, traditional airline, airport, route network, fleet management

Analysis of Centralized Aircraft Deicing Process

This paper established a mathematical model for the centralized aircraft ground deicing processes which includes preparation, deicing operations and release after the deicing. To ensure the safety of aircraft, the proposed model has taken into account the constraint that the total time of deicing processes shall be less than the retention time of the deicing fluid so as to avoid secondary icing hazards. The proposed model has been verified through numerical simulations, where a first-come-first-service scheduling scheme is assumed. Simulation results show that the proposed model matches the current status of airport deicing very well.

The Importance of Reliever Airports in the USA

The purpose of this study was to (1) conduct a literature review of reliever airports with a focus on historical reliever airport funding, including the importance of reliever airports and reliever airport employment; and (2) to conduct a survey of reliever airports to determine (A) the total number of employees directly employed by the operating entities; and (B) a total on-airport employment estimate. The economic impacts of reliever airports will be reviewed in order to provide information to policy makers about the importance of reliever airports from an employment perspective. The literature review found little existing data pertaining to reliever airport employment. Additionally, the currency of the data could not be reliably verified. Reliever airports surveyed in this research are those designated as reliever airports by the Federal Aviation Administration in a document entitled “National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems.” A total of 253 of 278 designated reliever airports were contacted via mail and afforded the opportunity to participate in the survey. A total of 25 reliever airports were not included in the study due to a lack of contact information or change in airport status. Responses from 197 (77.9 % of those contacted) airports were received at the completion of the data collection period. Survey results indicate that respondents reported 2,906 full-time operating entity employees, 419 part-time operating entity employees, and 95,489 total on-airport employees. Additionally, the ten airports that reported the highest number of operating entity employees comprise 45.7% of all responding reliever airport operating entity employees. The ten airports that reported the highest number of on-airport employees comprise 57.7% of all responding reliever on-airport employees.

Determinants of Airport Hubbing in the United States

This article examines the relationship between hub status of airports and their determinants. The factors governing the status of large hubs may not be the same as those determining the status of medium and small hubs. Using a binary logit model, the authors find that hubbing is more relevant in defining an airport than classifying a broader geographical area, for example, metropolitan statistical area. Results from their choice model defined over airport sample indicate that large hubs are qualitatively different than their medium- and small-hub counterparts. Thus, aviation activities captured in all hub airports as one continuous variable, for example, passenger enplanements, may not be appropriate for modeling purposes. An appropriate modeling may require grouping two or three broad categories of airports. Finally, their model determines an optimal size of the market that is presently served by hub airport. This finding has implications for both airport planning and future investment.

An analysis for the competitive strength of Asian major airports

This paper presents an analysis of the competitive status of major airports in the East Asia region. The analysis assesses these airports based on five factors: service, demand, managerial, facility, and spatial qualities. In order to analyze the competitive status of the selected airports, this study has applied a multi-decision criteria approach and is based on a comparison of qualitative data. The competitive status of each airport can be categorized as one of the following levels: most, more, less, or least competitive.

Lake Erie Airport—Status Update

A 6-yr study of need analysis, feasibility and site selection for a new major hub airport for northeast Ohio has been completed. The study included the evaluation of land sites with an offshore Lake Erie site in Cleveland, Ohio. Key factors influencing the selection of the lake site include location, costs, access, environment and political-social-economic concerns. The Lake site is approximately 4 miles (8.4372 km) to the north of the existing Cleveland harbor breakwater and would be constructed on 6,300 acres (15,567.55 ha) of reclaimed land which would be protected by a 13.3 mile (21.404 km) perimeter dike, connected to Cleveland by twin elevated structural causeways, and located in the lake at an average depth of 55 ft (16.7640 m), Completion of a master plan for the Lake Erie site has been deferred until such time that the FAA, Airlines and the local authorities concur in the aeronautical demand for the airport.