Category: Airport

Introduction

The need to gather information to increase knowledge about a predetermined area of study has been around for a long time. Many methods have evolved over the ages to facilitate gathering, recording and analyzing the data so gathered, and participant observation is a very important exercise in this regard.

Other relevant methods include interviews, questionnaires, and group discussions, and each of these methods has to be used in accordance with its relevance to the subject of study or type of data being gathered. Participant observation is essentially related to sociology and generally, is qualitative in nature. This paper is the result of a participative observation of passenger irritability in a medium-sized airport lounge in an Asian country. The purpose is to decrease passenger irritability by increasing facilities and passenger comfort.

Participant Observation

Participant observation involves study of the subject through observation over a relatively long period of time. It could be defined as “…… a qualitative method with roots in traditional ethnographic research, whose objective is to help researchers learn the perspectives held by study of populations.” (Participant Observation). Participant Observation can be carried out in two ways, overtly and covertly. Overt participant observation is a situation whereby, the individual or group being studied is aware that an observation and study is taking place. In covert observation, the subject is not aware of this, even if they know the person studying them. In other words, the study on the subject will be done unobtrusively.

Overt Participant Observation

Overt participation should require the cooperation of the subject group being studied. In some cases, the researcher personally discloses that a study is being made. A better way would be to involve a ‘sponsor’. A sponsor will introduce the researcher to the group and also explain the purpose of the study. Overt observation will solve the question of ethics that might crop up, because the group is aware of the study and its intent. Its disadvantages are that it could be time-consuming and that objective assessment could be difficult because of close proximity with group members.

Covert Participative Observation

Covert observation is more practical when the object of study may not allow the study, had they known of it. Another advantage is that since the group is not aware of the study and the researcher himself, behavior will tend to be more normal than is the case of overt observation, thereby eliminating ‘observer effect’. “The researcher, therefore, can safely assume they really are observing people’s “normal behavior.” (Research Methods, Participant Observation, 2003).

Disadvantages are that the researcher may ‘go native’, an instance of the he became a part of the group. This might result in the research being less objective. Chances of going native are less in the other method because a clear classification between researcher and subject exists. Observation and its recording simultaneously are difficult because of the chance of being found out. It would be difficult to ask relevant questions and this type of observation could be considered unethical.

Covert Observation and Recording

The location of the airport is such that passengers from a large area depend on it making it crowded with flights and passengers. It is not possible at this time to construct a bigger airport. The area is large, with floor-to-ceiling glass with a view of the runway on one side. The opposite side is occupied mainly by shops and cafeterias. The third side is occupied by numbered gates through which passengers have to pass to board their respective flights. Counters of many airline companies also are visible. Most of the balance area is occupied by seats for waiting passengers. ATM machines, soft drink dispensers, toilets and wash facilities are also available.

Only means of entertainment were through cable TV. Points for charging mobile phones and lap tops were not provided Time of observation started at 10 pm and lasted till 7 am the following morning. This was to see the lounge at peak periods (midnight) and low rush periods (early morning). The visible mood of most passengers was one of irritability. There were only few attempts at conversation among strangers. Constant delays are a regular feature at this airport, which could be causing this irritability. Attempts at casual conversation with passengers did not prove very profitable. Small children and infants were the most irritable.

The men were seen reading or generally being bored. Some were sleeping as comfortably as possible on the uncomfortable seats. A few were even using the floor to sleep. A lot of women were using skincare and make-up products probably due to availability of time.

The biggest crowds were found in the bookstalls, mainly due to attempts to pass time while waiting and for reading on the flight. Cafeterias were crowded, service poor and prices high. Muted comments about all three could be overheard. Information and ticket counter attendants were pleasant enough, but it appears that their patience was pretty much stretched thin. There was a constant queue at the wash and toilet facilities. Recording of observation did not prove to be difficult since it appeared to an onlooker that the researcher was just writing something.

Analysis and Conclusion

It is obvious that the facilities at the airport are not equipped to handle such a volume of traffic. The problem of flight delays is not within the scope of the research topic. So, an improvement can be done within the lounge itself. Seats for passengers could be made more comfortable with suitable headrests that may aid in sleeping. Increase of a number of toilets and washrooms is necessary. Reducing prices in cafeterias will also help. An area where small children and babies can sleep will be useful. Electrical points should be provided to charge phones. Some stalls where entertainment like internet and computer games can be provided. All these additions will definitely help to reduce the irritability of passengers stranded due to unavoidable flight delays.

Bibliography

Participant Observation. What is Participant Observation? Module 2, Qualitative Research Methods. A Data Collectors Field Guide. Family Health International. Web.

Research Methods, Participant Observation. (2003). Participant Observation Overview. sociology.org.uk. Web.

Introduction

Heathrow airport is considered to be one of the busiest airports in the world today as it appeared to be the largest airport in Britain. A lot of passengers are traveling through Heathrow and have experienced the old facilities of the airport. However, the opening of Terminal five by 2008 recreates the airport from its facilities up to the services that it offers and will be seen for the next future years.

Heathrow Airport: An Overview

Heathrow airport originally starts during the year 1946. The work began in Heathrow in 1944 and was formally passed to the civil control from its military control when it began in January 1946. The airport formally opened on the 31^st of May and by that time, there were terminals and the passengers checked in on a fleeting tent of the airfield.

Europa building or Terminal two was the pioneer terminal of Heathrow and the innovations regarding the facilities emerged in the year 1955. Until 1966 came, a different body called the British Airports Authority was formed as a government-owned organization until July 1987 after it was privatized. After the formation of BAA (British Airport Authority), in 1968, the airport opened another building and now it is known as Terminal 1 and followed by various expansions as the succeeding years hit.

After a long public inquiry of about 46 months, a new Terminal was opened, which is Terminal 5, upon the approval of the government in 2001 (Bray, 1993). And the formal opening of Terminal five happened in March 2008. To describe terminal five, it is composed of three buildings, the terminal five mainly and another two extensions namely 5B and 5C which are connected by a mechanized transportation system. The spectacular designs of glass walls and roofs are created by a Professional Engineer and have done a lot of well-devised buildings. Building the terminal required almost sixty thousand workers and needed to remove two rivers.

On the other hand, a conflict came because of having multiple airports in Britain that leads to competition. According to a source, the BAA (British Airport Authority) should dispose of three of its seven airports and the other two in London. This issue alarms the airports including Heathrow though it is Britain’s largest airport. Having seven airports to manage under the BAA prevailed that they are not responding adequately to the needs of customers and lack of initiative in planning capabilities.

And this was agreed by Carrier Virgin Atlantic as they also said that owning the airports can impair the interests of the passengers. Paul Charles, who is the spokesperson for the Virgin Atlantic, pointed out that Gatwick airport has endured sufferings when it comes to the investments because the BAA is focusing more on the improvement of Heathrow airport.

But for BAA’s side, the group admits that they need further developments regarding their services and claims that the proposal of the commission will not be an effective way of placing themselves into the next level. Also, according to the BAA, they should be tolerated on adding up the capacity of the airport and its runway to be able to meet the customer’s satisfaction and provide the best customer service. And some of the observers believe that selling the airports will not fix the problems just because of the competition (Cable News Network, 2008).

Thus, According to Michael Peel, a reporter, there had been problems with regards to the monopoly that has something to do with regulations, investment techniques, airport capacity, and the runway as well and many other airport details. Peel added the lack of planning of the BAA that is why the airport is in the hot seat ever since it was owned by a Spanish property group about two decades ago (Cable News Network, 2008).

Heathrow’s Technical Challenge

1. The technologies of terminal five have caused damages to the people. The opening of Terminal five last March 2008 has been awaited for its luxurious facilities and services but however, some technicalities aroused when a high- tech baggage handling system functioned wrongly that caused big issues such as cancellation of flights hence, inconvenience were experienced by the passengers and a loss for the airport.
2. Actually, the passengers who have large baggage were the ones affected by the technical problem because the airport did not allow them to check-in. it was upon the confirmation of British Airways that passengers with hand baggage only can check-in at the airport. Disappointment for a lot of people came thinking that the new terminal is known to be highly made and flaunts a sophisticated luggage system that can carry about 12,000 bags in an hour. Nevertheless, the director of BA apologized for the inconvenience that the terminal brought saying that the first operations usually encounter an exceptional challenge. And they are now investing in the improvement of the baggage handling system to disregard the pandemonium scenario that it had brought to the passengers and for the airport as well.

The impact of this technical issue had triggered the mobilization of the people who opposed the airport expansion worrying that the airport would build another terminal and expand the runway more. The mob was composed of environmental groups and concerned residents. They are saying that the expansion would greatly cause climate change for the area and it will be harmful to the people who live adjacent to the airport.

This will cause an economic crisis for them though. The leader of the group is not actually against Heathrow airport but on building more terminals. According to them, they also fly through Heathrow but an expansion is not tolerable because the airport can carry many flights a day and can accommodate all of their airplanes in the current area that Heathrow has. In fact, they also like the services and luxurious look of the airport but the expansion is seen to be abusive of having their territory.

But of course, the British Airways Chief Executive firmly defended the airport. According to Willie Walsh, the creation of new terminals is not merely for the sake of having profits but also for the passenger’s satisfaction. People have been experiencing the inconvenience at the previous four terminals and they want to upgrade their facilities into a more high-end level which hopefully would meet the expectations of each passenger. The dilemmas were primarily because of the poor infrastructures that they have got before, and now they are innovating by building new terminals and providing the best services through the failure on the baggage system was treated as a trial.

Looking at the strategic side of the Heathrow Airport, the creation of this new terminal is actually part of their strategy to be able to attract passengers and get them into the airport without any hassle. The passengers could also opt to check-in online which would be practical. One of their way of accommodating the passengers who arrived earlier 35 minutes before the flight is building shops and restaurants where they can spend their spare time in terminal five. The team wants to promote an exciting experience being in an airport and make it an exceptional one from the rest of the other airports (Cable News Network, 2008).

Discussion

The air transport business is a relatively intricate macro-industry. In this kind of industry, large activities are being done by a corresponding and combined association of players: the passengers mainly and cargo airlines, airport authorities, in-flight catering firms, car rentals, air brokers, hardware providers like aircraft manufacturers and air terminal building firms, tour operators and travel agents and the hotels, and the like, all of them are determined to persuade no less than partly the end stipulation needs (Jarach, 2001).

The quantitative and qualitative amount of profitable connections, the abundance in the number of competitors, and the investment return for each group of players depend mutually on the rapidity of deregulation performance in every considered single business unit and on the entire development of the expansion of air travel services as well (Valdani & Jarach, 1997).

British Airways is the sole airline that can maneuver from Terminal five of Heathrow airport and almost all the flights will be transferred in T5 and only a small number will use the T3. Originally, the vision of the British Airport Authority is to bring back the position of Heathrow to what it deserves and an investment that will provide high-end facilities, security priorities, and contribute widely to their performances in the environment (De Bono & Heller, 2006).

One of the strengths of British Airways is the brand name itself and having the unique marketing proposition of being the world’s favorite airline, though British Airways should give more focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the company and develop a more systematic strategy on it (De Bono & Heller, 2006). However, despite having such negative issues, the business strategy of British Airways became the pioneer among any other competitors in air traveling.

Basically, the transition to Terminal opens up a big opportunity for both British Airways and the major hotels that rely on the airport for their revenue. Before, the functions of the airport were limited only, and usually, difficulties in having enough space for the passengers were the major problem of the airport. The strategic plans on the transition to terminal five are an effective way to earn long-term revenues. Terminal five is promoting in balancing the environment and commercial awareness of the company which is being assisted by the WSP, which is a global company based in the UK that gives management and consultancy services for the building and to the environment.

WSP industrialized the environmental management system or EMS for the work plan and building stage of the project that worked together with the personal EMS constraint of British Airways and British Airport Authority. Thus, the help of WSP explicitly attributes to the administration of the environmental impact assessment planning such as water management for the whole operation of Terminal five (WSP Group, 2008).

Another thing to consider in viewing the total system of Heathrow’s terminal five is the contributions that they make for the benefit of the economy. Almost one-third of the passengers are passengers from other airports. Having a bigger connection with other air routes can create a healthy economy because it will open a business for large numbers of overseas markets, suppliers, and customers from one place to another (Doganis, 1992).

Heathrow is viewed as the only hub airport that the United Kingdom and Britain’s most significant economic positive feature. Heathrow is full that operates at a 99% officially recognized runway competence and is open to overseas competition. In fact, before the completion of Heathrow’s terminal five, a proposal for making a third runway has been called for the BAA. This is due to further plans that the airport possessed as they depicted a wealthy and profitable economy through their share of the progress of the company and the economy as well (Levit, 1980).

The airport should respond to the heed that BAA must meet the target of EU on air pollution and aircraft noise. For now, they accommodate thousands of passengers each day and the terminals have developed many shopping centers where the waiting passengers can buy the things that they want.

Conclusion

Weighing up the strategic plans of Heathrow upon the development of terminal five comprises of looking at the positive outcomes it has since the start of its operation. As was stated earlier, the construction of terminal five had a lot of queries from the people who oppose its expansion and because of the catastrophic event that it brought to the passengers when the technical issue came. Indeed, the scenario that happened on March 27^th did a big impact on the people’s view thinking about the efficiency of the newly opened terminal’s performance.

Considering you are one of the passengers who were stuck at the airport at that moment, automatically you will say it was inconvenient and disappointing because you thought the newly opened terminal will bring about a remarkable experience that will make you patronize the company loyally.

For British Airways, which is the single airline that can operate at terminal five, the main point of their original strategy that they developed is for them to get more passengers which they will serve and introduce the new facilities of the airport for their benefit and the company as well. The transition of terminal five definitely would generate more revenues for the company and tourism will go on a higher rate as the travelers worldwide will be provided with a just treatment and worth paying for. Anyway, the operation is terminal five is at its initial phases and critical evaluation should be seen for its further performance.

However, taking the current position of British Airways at terminal five is seen to be a good thing because their plans can indeed work together. The BA should apparently maintain their original strategy and develop this by providing extensive services for the passengers. Creating entertainment or leisure is a good strength though but in the long run, British Airways should think of more innovations as it will go with the flow of the future growth of terminal five.

On the other hand, the part of major hotels that relies on the airport also implies a great role. Of course, checking in a hotel is one of the vitals that comprise an airport. Passengers from various locations can decide on whether to stay at the hotels or directly go to their distinct places. The strategy that the hotels should launch also directs to the passengers because they need to perform a satisfactory function whenever things go wrong especially like what had happened on the baggage system. They should more develop a plan for providing excellent customer service (Appadurai, 1996). However, hotels are still successful because of good management and using a strategic tool for their business (Anderson, 2004).

Thus, British Airways and major hotels are the main actors at terminal five of Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport. It had been a large responsibility for the operators to maintain a strategy where a decline stage would not appear on the life cycle of a business. Wrapping up, the strategic plans of both, center to the idea of getting more passengers and providing them the best quality of service upon the expansion of Heathrow airport through the construction of terminal five.

The transition goes from the way of being a substandard airport that has limited runway capacity and terminals up to the expansion of the total system. Upon building terminal five, it has now come up with a better facility to provide the passengers somewhere to stay in certain situations such as waiting for the arrival and departure, shopping for goods and services as well, and experiencing the sophisticated new developments of the airport.

References

Anderson, B. (2004). Observations on International Tourism Communications. First World Confrence on Tourism Communications (Klancnik R, ed.), Madrid, pp.59-61.

Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at Large Cultural Dimnesins of Globalisation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Bray, R. (1993). “Plans are ready for huge fifth Heathrow terminal”, Evening Standard, Associated Newspapers, p. 5.

Cable News Network. 2008. “T5 tech failure causes Heathrow chaos”. Web.

De Bono, E., & Heller, R. 2006. “Thinking Managers: British Airways Management”. Web.

Doganis, R., 1992. The Airport business. Routledge, London.

Jarach, D. 2001. The evolution of airport management practices: toeards a multi- point, multi- service, marketing- driven firm. Journal of Air Transport Management 7. 119-125.

Levit, T., 1980. Marketing success through differentiation- of anything. Harvard Business Review 58, 83-91.

Valdani, E. and Jarach, D., 1997. Compagnie aeree deregulation, strategie di marketing nei cieli senza frontiere. EGEA, Milan.

WSP Group. 2008. “Terminal 5 – Heathrow Airport, UK”. Web.

Introduction

With the ongoing privatization of airports in many countries, competition between different facilities is starting to intensify. The emergence of low-cost carriers contributes to this tendency, as they tend to actively seek the best offer and pressure airports to provide lower prices and higher savings opportunities than their neighbors. However, competition also takes place in terms of service quality, with airports trying to offer the best experience to the airlines and passengers. This essay will review the service quality goals set by airports, instruments used to measure relevant indicators, and improvement measures are taken. It posits that airports try to serve both airlines and customers, collecting objective and subjective metrics and addressing them.

Discussion

Objectives

Privatization and the ensuing competition are the primary drivers of service quality improvement in airports. As Sengur and Vasigh (2018) note, firms that charge more than their product is worth will eventually be excluded from the competitive market. As such, it is essential to either lower the prices, which can make the airport less profitable, or increase the quality of the product offered so that it meets the demands of airlines and passengers. To that end, it is necessary to understand these customers, particularly those likely to consider competing airports. As Barrett (2004) confirms, these companies of interest are LCCs, which we’re willing to deviate from the hub-and-spoke model and move to secondary airports, unlike full-service carriers. The expectations of these airlines should be considered first and foremost when adjusting airport operations.

With that said, airports still serve passengers and should take the needs of both groups into account. Kossmann (2017) integrates the needs of both categories and outlines five significant aspects of service: quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, and costs. The first is the ability to deliver offerings to expectations, with minimal mistakes. Speed can refer to short waiting times for customers but also overall operational efficiency, such as turnaround times. Dependability is the ability to perform well consistently, and flexibility refers to being able to adapt to changing circumstances. The last goal, cost, is self-explanatory, enabling increased margins or lower prices if it is reduced. These five items combine to form a picture of the airport’s attractiveness, but each needs to be evaluated first.

Measurement

To obtain an understanding of an airport’s performance, it is necessary to use a set of quantifiable indicators, but their meaning is limited without a benchmark. To circumvent this problem, agencies such as the IATA and the FAA started collecting regional or global performance indices using the Levels of Service (LOS) model (Correia et al., 2008). It uses the two dimensions of processing (defined by space and waiting time) and holding (defined by space and occupancy) facilities to separate different aspects of airport operation into six different service quality levels without disclosing unnecessary information. The evaluation provided by the LOS model is objective and allows airports and airlines to clearly determine which facility is operationally superior.

However, recently, challenges to the LOS approach as too impersonal have emerged. It evaluates the airport’s operations from the technical viewpoint without considering the human aspect. Fodness and Murray (2007) demonstrate how LOS disregards airport customers and how incorporating their subjective impressions of their interactions with the airport workers and facilities can enhance data collection and overall performance. With that said, it should also be mentioned that the usage of subjective indicators is associated with a variety of issues, most notably biases and inaccuracies. Managers should exercise care to avoid leading questions, differentiate passengers by type, and account for centering or endpoint bias when designing and analyzing surveys. Once they succeed in doing so, they can combine the subjective and objective indicators to benchmark the terminal’s performance against the competition and the industry as a whole.

Improvement

Once the areas in which the airport performs inadequately are identified, improvement initiatives can start taking place. A variety of measures is available that help accomplishes this objective, depending on the specific issue. As Wu (2016) notes, in matters such as turnaround times, awareness of the indicator can be enough alone, pressuring the supervisors and controllers responsible to understand and address their inefficiencies. At other times, the management will need to create organization-wide practices that aim to address particular issues. Forsyth (2016) gives the example of cost structure changes that aim to reduce the charges for LCCs and their passengers via lower off-peak prices or reduced long-stay parking rates. Without requiring fundamental changes to the airport’s operations, these measures can increase its attractiveness considerably.

Other targets, particularly those related to human communications, can be more challenging to achieve. They often require a substantial overhaul in the organization’s structure that can nevertheless be challenging to quantify. Sricharoenpramong (2018) states that competitiveness is contingent on innovation, for which it is necessary to make use of human intellectual, social and emotional capital. To make use of it, the company should introduce appropriate training and adjust its organizational culture to promote specific traits such as reliability, helpfulness, and enthusiasm. Ultimately, service quality improvement implies activity on all levels of the organization with the purpose of meeting and exceeding current standards. To achieve this goal, every worker at the airport has to contribute actively, and this level of enthusiasm can take a long time to achieve.

Conclusion

With the advent of privatization and the emergence of LCCs, which are pressuring airports to reduce prices and increase service quality, airports now have to take numerous measures to attract and retain client airlines and passengers. They have to reduce prices and offer opportunities for improved efficiency to airlines, to which end quality reviews and improvements are continuously taking place. To understand their overall performance compared to potential competition, airports can use standardized global metrics based on the LOS framework. However, they also have to consider the personal impressions of customers and adjust operations to suit their expectations. As such, depending on the human resources available, different airports can have substantially different approaches to service quality, forcing airlines to consider their advantages carefully.

References

Barrett, S. D. (2004). How do the demands for airport services differ between full-service carriers and low-cost carriers? Journal of Air Transport Management, 10(1), 33-39. Web.

Correia, A. R., Wirasinghe, S. C., & de Barros, A. G. (2008). A global index for level of service evaluation at airport passenger terminals. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 44(4), 607-620. Web.

Fodness, D., & Murray, B. (2007). Passengers’ expectations of airport service quality. Journal of Services Marketing, 21(7), 492-506. Web.

Forsyth, P. (2016). Competition between major and secondary airports: Implications for pricing, regulation and welfare. In P. Forsyth, D. Gillen, J. Muller, & H. M. Niemeier (Eds.), Airport competition: The European experience (pp. 77-88). Taylor & Francis.

Kossmann, M. (2017). Delivering excellent service quality in aviation: A practical guide for internal and external service providers. Taylor & Francis.

Sengur, F. K., & Vasigh, B. (2018). An assessment of airport governance policies from a stakeholder perspective. In S. Seifi & D. Crowther (Eds.), Stakeholders, governance and responsibility (pp. 189-206). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Sricharoenpramong, S. (2018). Service quality improvement of ground staff at Don Mueang International Airport. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 39(1), 15-21. Web.

Wu, C. (2016). Airline operations and delay management: Insights from airline economics, networks and strategic schedule planning. Taylor & Francis.

In general, a project WBS may be defined as a visual, hierarchical division of a complex project into manageable subtasks in order to address its goals. The WBS chart demonstrates the planned start and planned duration of all activities included in the project. From the chart, it is possible to conclude that the commencement of construction is the most substantial part of the Airport Link Project. The state government of Queensland, the BrisConnections company, City North Infrastructure Pty Ltd, Brisbane City Council, and other regulatory agencies and constructors are the stakeholders involved in the project.

As the Airport Link is a significant object that connects Brisbane’s north arterials of Gympie Road at Kedron and the Sandgate Road, the East-West Arterial, the Inner City Bypass, and the South Bypass Tunnel, it should be completed within the specified duration to avoid cost overrun. Another major constraint relates to human resources as BrisConnections has limited the number of staff who have relevant skills and expertise for project management. However, this constraint has been managed appropriately through the contractual arrangements with other subcontractors. Finally, the State of Queensland contracted BrisConnections to finance, design, construct, commission, operate, and maintain the Airport Link to avoid substantial constraints connected with limited financial resources.

In relation to the risk management of the Airport Link Project, identified risks include financial risks, environmental risks, operational risks, legal risks, regulatory risks, and other unforeseeable risks. BrisConnections has used PMBOK as the project’s risk management framework for risk evaluation and the determination of appropriate strategies. The life cycle of the project starts from the agreement reached between the State of Queensland and BrisConnections, where it is followed by the design, construction, commission, operation according to the agreement between BrisConnections and the State of Queensland.

Due to the BOOT basis for the project, BrisConnections has an opportunity to operate and maintain the Airport Link for a period of 45 years.

Introduction

Mesa-Falcon Field Airport in Arizona started its operation in1941, at the time it acted as a training base for United States of America pilots and Royal Air Force pilots throughout World War II (Mesaaz.gov, 2009). The airport is devoted to supplying quality air haulage resource and improving the aeronautical business in the society according to its mission statement and has a reputation throughout Arizona as one of the safest and well run airport (Mesaaz.gov, 2009).

The City of Mesa owns and controls the Falcon Field airport; in the United States Falcon Field airport is the busiest common aviation airports and was recently ranked number four in 2009 out of more than eight hundred aviation companies (Mesaaz.gov, 2009). The airport is the trade and industry engine for the society and indirectly supports hundred of businesses and directly employs more than one thousand people in the region thereby generating excess of $2 billion for the city. Projected growth indicates that the expansion of Phoenix Metropolitan region and the City of Mesa will lead to high aviation demand necessitating the airport’s continued growth expansion.

As a planning tool Falcon Field airport prepares a master plan in accordance with demand-based programme which utilizes fundamental management, economic and financial underlying principles for each aspect of its strategic expansion in order to guarantee the viability of its business initiatives. The main objective of the master plan is to generate a long term expansion program that is secure, efficient, cost-effective and sustainable in the industry of the aviation (Mesaaz.gov, 2009). The execution of the project is done according to the requirement, purpose and demand of the business project.

These projects are usually grouped according to their duration such as short term, intermediate and long term projects which are also financed from a range of various funds such as the federal and country levels grants (Mesaaz.gov, 2009).

The City of Mesa collects revenue from various sources so as to fund the airport’s operations; the revenues are allocated through the various financial programs that are owned and run within the City of Mesa. The city activities are divided into two; business type activities and governmental activities; the taxes and general revenues for instance are used to support the governmental activities such as public safety, community environment, general administration, and cultural recreation (Messaz.gov, 2009). The private sector taxes on the other hand comes from collection of water charges, gas charges, golf courses fees and sewerage charges among others (Messaz.gov, 2009). Additionally, the City of Mesa keeps two kind of proprietary funds; the internal service funds and enterprise funds. The enterprise fund summarizes the business sector activities in the financial statements of the government which will mean that Falcon airport will be accounted in the enterprise fund as one of the proprietary fund (Messaz.gov, 2009).

Planning criteria

The airport uses the aircraft design to determine how to plan its airport services; the aircraft critical design for instance is used to describe the parameter design for the Falcon Field airport and in determining the airport’s landside and airside components (Messaz.gov, 2009). Based on these criterions the airport does not allow cargo carriers and commercial carriers to use Falcon Field airport because of their huge size given that the Company is trying to utilize on space.

Expenditures

Operational activities

The following figures summarize the financial reports of Mesa city for the year 2009 and 2010.

The fiscal 2010, water expenses have increased by 4%, the wastewater has decreased by 4%, gas and electric have both decreased by 1% while other programs have increased by 2% each. The 2% increase in expenses is as a result of the city’s expansion programs and construction of residential buildings such as golf courses, the Falcon Field airport and additional centres that the city has recently been investing on (Messaz.gov, 2009).

The figure above compares the budget expenses and the actual expenditure that existed in the fiscal years, 2009 and 2010. The estimates were very high but the actual expenses that were incurred during the year were low. But there was a reduction of actual and estimated expenditure in 2010 which implies that the airport management was very efficient or there were no addition of activities in the airport; which led to fewer expenses.

In the fiscal year 2009 the airport amount budgeted for was $10,011,000 while the actual amount was $ 4,807,474; based on these figures the variance in the budget was $5,203,526 ($10,011,000 – $ 4,807,474). While in 2010 the actual spending was $4,143,273 and the budget amount $8,624,000 which means the variance in this year was $4,480,647 ($8,624,000 – $ 4,143,273) (Messaz.gov, 2009).

Capital improvement program

The Capital Improvement Program is organised into two sections; the capital needs program as per the proposed Capital Improvement program (CIP) and the capital improvement finances on the local levels, state and federal (Messaz.gov, 2009). The CIP is planned using Master Plan which is prepared according to demand where the real capital improvement can be compared with demand forecasts; this ensures safety and efficient accommodation of the level of demand as it arises at the Falcon Field airport (Messaz.gov, 2009). The improvements are usually grouped in terms of planning horizon for example long term, intermediate and short term which are implemented based on the priorities of financing on the CIP (Messaz.gov, 2009).

In order to identify capital needs, the planned projects are assessed based on various criterions such as environmental, safety, maintenance, efficiency, demand and opportunities. The short term projects are assessed based on the demand, safety and efficiency capital needs, while intermediate and long term projects are assessed based on safety and development-linked growth (Messaz.gov, 2009).

In this case the long intermediate and short term development plans have a time horizon of 11-20 years, 6-10 years and 0-5 years respectively; the short term estimated total cost is $22.1 million out of which the local financing is estimated at $ 2.5 million (Messaz.gov, 2009). The intermediate term cost estimates equals $17.9 million with inclusion of 15% inflation aspect and a projection of the local share pegged at $773,700 per annum. Finally, the long term total cost estimates is $35.9 million when a 30% interest aspect is added and the estimate for local share at $3.4 million (Messaz.gov, 2009. All the finances for the CIP programs are sourced from state and federal levels through grants, and internal resources of the Falcon field airport (Mesa-Falcon Field airport, 2009).

Revenues

Falcon Field airport does not rely only on the internally generated fund but also from grant programs; the United States legislature acknowledged the need to improve and preserve aviation services system across the United States for the intention of promotion of commerce within the States and strengthening of the nationwide defence (Federalgrantswire.com, 2011). The Airport Improvement Program (AIP) is the latest legislation enacted for that purposes; the Aviation Trust Fund also finances the Vision 100 which is another recent program (Federalgrantswire.com, 2011). That is how the FAA operation is funded by Aviation Trust fund; at the States level, Arizona take part in Falcon Field improvement programs, funded by Arizona Aviation Fund (Federalgrantswire.com, 2011).

The project balance costs are financed through local sources once the grants have been exhausted which means that it does not entirely rely on City of Mesa financing. In any case the airport is a business which means its main objective is to generate enough revenues to cater for all its operating expenses. However, bond issue, leases and Falcon Field airport revenues are some of the alternatives of local funding that the airport relies on for its improvements (Messaz.gov, 2009).

Bonds are issued inform of municipal bonds; in 2009 for instance General Obligations bonds of 20% Statutory bond type of 110,900,000 were authorized and only 22,370,000 were bought to fund transportation program (Scott, 2009). The cash that was received from that bonds issuance went towards construction, airport design, land purchase and acquisitions (Scott, 2009).In addition all business activities are financed through user charges and fees obtained from such services like water, wastewater, electric, gas, and solid waste collection (Messaz.gov, 2009).

Revenues by source

From figure 5 above (which show the revenue from different sources) it can be observed that water, gas, wastewater, electric and solid waste take the largest proportion of resources. Revenue from water and electric decreased by 1% in the fiscal year 2010 when compared with 2009, while revenue from other programs such as Falcon airport, golf courses, district cooling and convention centre have increased by 2%. This increase was as a result of planned expansion of the airport and residential construction activities which were higher in 2009/2010 than in the fiscal year 2008/2009.

Mesa-Falcon Field Airport budget revenue in the fiscal year 2009/2010 was $9,355,000 and the actual revenue was $5,190,067 thus the variance in the budget was $4,164,933. In the year 2010 the actual revenue collected was $4,287,736 while the adopted budget $8,188,000 thus the varying amount within the budget was $3,900,264. From figure 6 above it can also be seen that the airport projected higher revenues in both fiscal year but due to uncertainty in the economy less revenue was collected (Investorwords, 2009). In 2009 the airport had projected to collect more revenue which was less than what they collected by almost half of the budget which is the reason they had to reduce the budget in the fiscal year 2010.

Financial ratio analysis and observation

Operating expenses ratio

Operating expenses ratio = (Operating expenses/ revenue) * 100% (Liraz, 2008).

Operating expenses ratios indicate the firm ability to control its production and cost of operations so as to generate a given level of revenue (Liraz, 2008). It summarizes the change in the net asset margin for the two years which we can see the operating expenses to be quite high as shown by the ratios when compared to the airport fees and charges collected during the same time. The decrease in operating expenses in the fiscal year 2010 resulted to a decrease in the ratio by 2%.

Net income margin

Net income margin = Net income/ revenue (Liraz, 2008).

Net income margin is a measure of the firm’s ability to control its operating cost and financing cost (Microstrategy, 2011). The airport has been efficient in controlling its operating expense and finance cost as shown by the increase in the net income margin ratio that increased from 15% in 2009 to 17% in the fiscal year 2010 (Messaz.gov, 2009).

Return on capital employed

Return on capital employed =Net income/ net asset employed (Liraz, 2008).

This is a measure of the efficiency with which the firm uses long term funds to generate returns (Drake, 2009). The airport efficiency in relation to the extent to which permanent assets have generated returns has increased from 9% in 2009 to 11% in 2010, a change of 2% this could be as a result of increase in fees and charges in the fiscal year 2010 (Messaz.gov, 2009).

Cash flow

The net cash from the operating activities for the enterprise fund was $142,462,935 in the fiscal year 2009 while in 2010 the cash provided by operating activities were $141,356,275 (Messaz.gov, 2009). This indicate a decrease of 0.78% [($142,462,935 – $ 141,356,275)/ 142,462,935] in the fiscal year 2010. The cash and cash equivalent for the fiscal year 2009 was $ 133,935,430 while in 2010 it was $143,746,249, the lower figure in 2009 may be as a result of more cash expenditure in acquisition and construction of capital assets and investment in joint ventures (Messaz.gov, 2009)..

Conclusion

The expansion of Phoenix Metropolitan Area and City of Mesa will necessitate the expansion of Falcon Field Airport; this means that there will be a positive change in demand as more people populate the area and new businesses open. The expansion of the Falcon Field airport will require more funding both internally and externally; the external funds such as bond issue by the City of Mesa will be utilized, and grants from State of Arizona and Federal government will increasingly be crucial. In general the Mesa-Falcon field Airport is liquid in both fiscal years 2009 and 2010; as such, the cash generated from the operation should be used to fund growth and expansion of runaways and other airport facilities. This will enable the airport to accommodate huge aircraft in the future as more revenue is collected.

References

Federalgrantswire.com. (2011). Federal Aviation Administration Federal Grants. Web.

Liraz, M. (2008) Financial ratio analysis. Web.

Messaz.gov. (2009). Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Web.

Mesaaz.gov. (2009). Airport Facilities Requirements. Web.

Mesa-Falcon Field Airport (2009). Capital improvement program. Web.

Microstrategy (2011) Financial Analysis. Web.

Pamela P. Drake (2009) Financial ratio analysis. Web.

Scott, S. (2009). Executive Budget plan. Web.

Introduction

Sao Paulo is a state in Brazil. The city is the regarded as the business hub of Latin America since is the wealthiest state in the country (Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport, 2011). Nonetheless, Brazil as a country has a federal state system of government where its administration is divided into three levels; federal, state and city but each has clear defined mandate as per the Brazilian constitution (Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport). In respect to transport industry in Brazil, Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport continue to affirm that 82 percent of the country’s accessibility is by road, 9.1 percent by railway transport, pipeline accounts for 2.1 percent, marine transport being at 6.5 percent while 0.1 percent accounting for air transport.

Sao Paulo Airports: Congonhas, Guarulhos and Viracopos

Sao Paulo city has three airports that serve both domestic and international clients. In relation to these airports, Congonhas handles domestic flights; Viracopos International airport handles mostly international airlines although it also serves some domestic flights. In addition, Viracopo is the second largest and busiest in Brazil airport in Brazil. Nonetheless, Viracopos also handles cargo transport. Furthermore, Guarulhos International Airport also serves both domestic and international airlines.

Therefore, it is relatively important to acknowledge that these three airports in Sao Paulo are the cornerstone for economic activities of the city and Brazil as a whole. This is due to the fact that they are strategically positioned as the gateway of South America. Consequently, the airports act as linkage corridors of Brazil (Sao Paulo) to the rest of the world through international airlines that operate in these airports.

Moreover, there has been increased demand of airport services since there has been tremendous increase in passenger inflow to these airports in the recent years. The table below provides statistical information of increase in passenger for three financial years of the three airports.

Physical Design Assessment and Capacity Limitation of San Paulo Congonhas

According to Kasarda (2010) the physical design and capacity requirement of any airport must be put into consideration during the initial phases of airport planning to meet standards and requirements of international air industry. Nonetheless, it relevant from the beginning to come up with physical design and capacity requirements that will accommodate regional or international demands as per the use of the airport in question.

However, to be able to do this, it is important to prioritize the needs of the market. Some of the important factors according to Kazda and Robert (2007) that should be put into consideration include economic factors, requirements of the airport capacity, statistics of the air traffic and the forecasted demand of the airport in future. Nonetheless Ashford, Martin and Clifton (2010) postulate that physical design and capacity requirement of the airport is primarily depended on whether the airport will be a domestic or international terminal or whether it will serve both purposes.

Congonhas is therefore one of the airports of the Sao Paulo city that has its special features that are related to their physical design and capacity requirements. The airport is south of Sao Paulo eight kilometers from its central business district. It is the second largest after Guarulhos which is also based in the same city. As result of the city of Sao Paulo being regarded as the economic hub in the Latin America, the airport remains to be economically important for the entire region hence it is served by major airlines operating in Brazil. However, there exists several physical design and capacity limitations for airport which have impacted negatively to the performance of the airport that has indeed led to its under-utilization.

The airport was designed to serve domestic flights. Therefore, it continues to serve some of air carriers of the Brazilian air industry such as Pantanal Linhas, OceanAir and Transportes Aereos (Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport, 2011). Nevertheless, the airport meets some of the basic airport physical design requirement. For instance, it can be easily accessed from the neighboring locations of the city of Sao Paulo by bus services that serve it. In addition, the airport has supportive facilities around such as hotels and other catering facilities that provide services to clients. This facilitates airport operations. As a result, the airport is able to serve approximately 18 million travelers per a year (Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport).

Nonetheless, there are several physical design and capacity limitation for a San Paulo Congonhas airport that acts as hindrances to full operation of the airport given its market demands. For instance, there has been increased passenger traffic which has led to greater demand in respect to the airport operational capacity. Consequently, this has jeopardized efficiency of airport operations. Therefore, according to Ashford and Wright (1992), the physical design and capacity limitation of the airport did not adhere to the design principles of the air industry where future projections of the market demands need to be put into consideration. This will help to overcome stretching its capacity in future operations as it is the case currently.

In addition, physical design limitations of Paulo Congonhas airport can be noted from its security inefficiencies. In respect to this, Demsey (2000) prioritize security to be a key component in airport operations. However, in relation to physical design of Congonhas airport security system, there are some crucial security mechanisms that were not considered in its design. For instance, Global Navigation Satellite and the Differential Global Navigation Satellite System technologies that are being used by the airport is quite different and backdated technology as compared to the current security systems that are in use in other airports of the developed world such as the United States and some of the European countries (Airport Cooperative Research Program, 2001). In this respect, this security gap normal keeps off other potential airlines and clients from using the airport since security issues are highly prioritized in the air industry.

Furthermore, physical design and capacity of the airport must provide enough landside facilities for example access roads and enough car park that should be in a capacity to serve peak demands. Moreover, these facilities must be able to lessen delays and congestion to the departing and arriving passengers. In respect to Congonhas, these facilities are currently strained since congestions and delays are experienced during peak seasons of the airport operations. These are limitations that hinder effectiveness of this airport since its physical design and capacity did not put into consideration its future demands. Consequently, it is relative that these facilities be re-planned by putting in place new physical designs that are able to withstand present and future market demands especially during peak demands.

Therefore, as a result of these limitations, the airport is not meeting its actual market demands. Sao Paulo offers good economic activities which need to be served by Congonhas airport and therefore it needs to be in its full operational capacity to serve economic needs of the region. For instance, the region boosts of tourism activities which range from traditional architecture, museums, beaches which form the bulk of its economy (Airport Cooperative Research Program, 2001). It is therefore imperative for Congonhas airport to be in full operational capacity to be able to serve peak seasons Sao Paulo and its environs.

Strategy Assessment of Sao Paulo Airports: Congonhas, Guarulhos and Viracopos

Growth in airport transport usually comes as a result of improvement of economic activities in the region since transport is a function of economy. Therefore, for any country to successfully steer its economic activities, it is imperative to have good transport strategies to be able to steer economic activities in the region. However, in respect to air transport, the industry has experienced numerous evolutions that have entirely transformed it. Sao Paulo in this respect has strategy in place that seeks to transform its airports of Congonhas, Guarulhos and Viracopos so as to be able to handle passenger traffic that is doubling every ten (Airport Cooperative Research Program, 2001).

Therefore, strategy in place of Sao Paulo airports includes investment that seeks to increase airport capacity for the period spanning 2010 to 2014 for the tune of 2.6 billion U.S. dollars (Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport, 2011). As a result, the forecasted investment needs to improve physical designs and capacity to meet market demands during peak seasons in future and to be in pace with the demand growth rate. As a result, several facilities have been identified to be improved while other new ones to be put up.

Nonetheless, given the fact that Congonhas airport is the second busiest airport in Brazil and the third busiest in the world in its freight and cargo handling, it is expected to be expanded from its current carrying capacity of six million to 18 million as its carrying capacity in future (Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport, 2011). This will improve its services efficiency and be able to meet market demands.

In addition, in the efforts of improving service delivery and efficiency of these airports, there is strategy in place to put up new boarding lounges to cater for the increasing number of passengers. This is expected to lessen congestion to the few available boarding facilities and to improve their facilities to meet international standards. Moreover, there are other facilities that are in the strategic plans of the Sao Paulo airports. For example, there are plans to increase departure gates of the airports. Increase of additional gates is desired to lessen departure dilemma that currently govern these airports since there is a substantial time being lost in the queuing process during departure (Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport, 2011).

Furthermore, there is a strategic plan of expanding car parking lot that currently holds approximately 3,400 cars. The expansion plans is intended to increase capacity to be in conformity with the anticipated growth of passengers in these airport. Just as there is increase in passenger traffic, is the same way that car traffic is experienced at the airports. Therefore, the Sao Paulo airports are in strategic plans of increasing parking lots for its passengers to facilitate parking of taxis and personal cars that serve the airports fraternity.

Furthermore, Sao Paulo airports have a strategic plan of putting up a tunnel that connects these airports (Congonhas, Guarulhos and Viracopos). In addition, a light rail line that integrates the Sao Paulo airports is in plans to improve its transport system. This plan seeks to lessen transport system between these airports since they symbiotically co-exist. In addition, the airport terminals is among the strategic plans and they are expected to be increased and be linked with railway line which is expected to connected to these airports and other related facilities such as booking areas, baggage carousels and several counters for check ins (Airport Cooperative Research Program, 2010). This is intended to revolutionize airport operations by bringing forth effectiveness in the airport services.

Nonetheless, there is also a strategy to increase airlines that operates from the three airports. However, this is designed to be implemented along with the expansion of process of these airports. Currently, there are several airlines that serve the three airports which can be categorized into two major groups of domestic and international airlines. In addition, there are those that are regarded as Brazilian national carriers. These national carriers are Tam airlines and Gol airlines. Nonetheless, there are other domestic airline operators which include TAF airlines, OceanAir airlines and WebJet airlines that serve the three airports of Sao Paulo and other regional airports (Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport, 2011).

In addition to domestic airlines operating in Sao Paulo airports, there are several international airlines that have their presence in the city. These include Swiss International Airlines that has its operation in Guarulhos International airport and operates in other international airports of other countries hence connecting Sao Paulo with the rest of the world. In addition other giant international airlines such as British Airways, Air France, Aerolineas Argentinas, American Airlines, Air Canada and United Airlines are some of the international airlines that have their operations present in the Sao Paulo Airports (Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport, 2011).

However, in the effort to strengthen economic performance of the region and the country as a whole, there are strategic plans to increase the number of both domestic and international airlines that are serving Sao Paulo city. This so since air industry plays a central role in commercial activities and therefore to be able to enhance these activities, it is necessary to increase operational capacity of airports in the region.

Furthermore, in relation to the destinations served from the three airports, there are strategic plans of increasing them from their standing point. However, the strategy recognizes the need to first increase the carrying capacity and the physical design of these airports before expansion of their destinations is done since this translates to increase in airline operations in airports.

Nonetheless, current destinations are determined by airlines serving these airports since each and every airline has its own destinations that relates to their central countries of operations. For instance, Air Canada which has its base in Canada has its destination to Toronto which is a Canadian capital, Air China serves Beijing which is a Chinese capital and Madrid, Air France has its destination to Paris, American Airlines serves several American cities which include Dallas, New York and Miami, British Airways serves London, Emirates serves Dubai. On the other hand, domestic airline operators serve most of the Brazilian cities (). For instance, Gol Airlines serves approximately 26 destinations in Brazil while TAM Airlines serves approximately 34 destinations include both domestic and international airports.

Access from catchment area is also under strategic plans of Sao Paulo airports. Given its strong catchment area of over 20 million people with strong and ever busy economic activities, the region provides beehive of activities to airport operations. For instance, the state is the industrial and cultural center of the country and it also serves as the transportation hub of other states. For example there are several foreign companies that are located in city which undertake international business that require airport services. These commercial activities provide a rich catchment area that provides business to these airports. In this respect, Sao Paulo airports have crafted strategies to meet service demands of its catchment area in future through expansion of their terminal, improvement of the carrying capacity, addition of airline operators and expansion of their destinations in effort of opening the state to the global market.

Connectivity to the airports is also a key area where Sao Paulo’s airports have strategized to undertake their development. Currently, these airports are accessed through use of cars and buses. However, there are few rail connections that can be used to access these airports but there are strategic plans to put up both rail and road connections to make them more accessible. In doing so, passenger traffic that is usually witnessed during peak seasons will be reduced and it will also help these airports to reach their full operational capacity.

Nonetheless, there are several strengths and weaknesses of operating three or more airports in one city as is the case of Sao Paulo. To begin with, strengths are usually motivating factors that inspire governments and other stakeholders to have several airports in the same city. One of the most adored reasons include business environment that airports attracts in the city. This is as a result of increase in network both domestic and international for goods and services produced or offered by the airport city to the rest of the world. Entrepreneurs usually like positioning their business to airport environs for proximity.

Moreover, Sao Paulo is a cosmopolitan city with huge population of people. This population always is in dire need of job opportunities to be able to certain its basic needs. In relations to this, presence of three airports in the city provides employment opportunities which may be directly or indirectly from airport related activities. For instance, employment opportunities may be indirect from other supporting activities such as hotel and catering industry which flourish in airport environs hence providing employment opportunities. On the other hand, employment opportunities may also be created directly from direct airports operations. For instance, air crew, aeronautical engineers and other professionals are employed by airports management and airlines to help provide their professional services in airport operations.

Furthermore, the three airports in the same city provide an integrated economic hub which turns the city as a major preferred business destination (Kaps, 2000). For example, apart from Sao Paulo city, other city with numerous airports is Amsterdam which has also emerged a major destination for business and commercial activities. Therefore, economic impact to the city with several airports is huge compared to disadvantages that may result from their multiple presences in the city.

On the other hand, there are several weaknesses accrued from the fact of one city having three airports. These include several restrictions to other economical activities in favour of airports operations. For example, processing industry which include factory activities, trucking and warehousing are completely segregated from airports environs since industrial emissions are highly discouraged to facilitate smooth airports operations. Therefore, despite airport activities encouraging other economic activities, it also hinders other commercial activities that can impact positively to the economy of the region.

In addition, it is also imperative to note that airport environs are devoid of residential settlements for intensive flight paths. This implies that bigger fallow areas of land must be spared for flight paths. As a result, settlement pressure is put to other parts of the city which results to overcrowding that strains other social amenities in these areas.

Proposal of the Strategy for Sao Paulo Airports

For Sao Paulo airports to have effective services and to achieve their operational capacity, it is imperative that airports craft sound, proactive and reactive strategies. However, these strategies need to be implemented intelligently by guarding against negative change effects that may result from the change of strategy. After a careful analysis of the three airport of Sao Paulo, the paper proposes following strategies to be implemented in order to attain effectiveness in their operations.

To begin with, airport management should embrace information communication technologies (ICT) in all its operational activities. ICT should be incorporated in all airport activities to help connect airport stakeholders which include airline operators, customers and other business providers. Excellent adoption of ICT services by stakeholders is likely to promote effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery of these airports.

In addition, airports growth are normally determined by airline firms that provides airways services, business entities that regularly use air transport and businesses that provides ancillary services to air passengers. Therefore, it is crucial for the all these stakeholders to have specific strategies that are aimed at achieving efficiency and effectiveness while meeting market demands in all seasons including peak periods. For this reason, it is important for airport management to enter into collaborations with other airlines that operate in other destinations in order to open Sao Paulo to more regions of the world.

In terms of increasing revenue for these airports, the airports management needs to craft good marketing strategies that should use modern ICT services to be able to target both corporate and individual clients in order to guarantee its revenue inflow. In respect to businesses that provides ancillary services to customers, plans should be in place to improve and increase their services in order to cater for the increasing number of passengers.

Moreover, it is relatively important for the airports management to engage in commercial developments that seek to support airports operations. For instance, ventures into catering and accommodation facilities will likely to make airports management to be self reliant. This will help reduce dependency on private players since they may hold airports operations hostage at some point due to uncertainties in their management.

Nevertheless, business process re-engineering of the airport needs to take place to overhaul airports operations that are currently characterized with inefficiency (Ahern, Elisabeth, Ledus & Mary, 2009). However, this re-engineering should take place after physical re-designing of the airport that should take place first to meet the current and future operational capacity. The re-engineering process should be geared towards increasing revenue inflow so as these airports can be self reliant in addition of adding value to its business value.

However, it is important to acknowledge that implementation of these strategies will experience several challenges that may be detrimental in their initial phases. For instance, in its initial stages, it will be difficult to meet optimum possible value derived from strategies such as business process re-engineering since their positive effects might take some while before they are reflected. It is therefore relevant that implementation efforts be emphasized throughout this phase to guarantee better results afterwards.

In addition, due to business re-engineering and the desired increase in operational capacity, activities in these airports will tremendously increase and so variety of skills will be required. It therefore implies that there will be a challenge in skills development hence human resource developments of these airports need to be proactive in providing necessary skills needed in expansion and advancement process.

Conclusion

To wind up, it is evident that Sao Paulo airports; Congonhas, Guarulhos and Viracopos have some physical design and capacity issues that need to be addressed for them to achieve their operational capacity. Nonetheless, it is also important to note that these airports are not able to meet market demands during peak seasons and it is imperative that expansion process should be initiated that will enable them meet their market demands. Consequently, expansion and advancement of these airports will contribute to economic growth of Sao Paulo city and the entire Brazil. This is as a result of the region being open to more regions of the world hence acting as a recipe for commercial activities.

Nevertheless, despite having several strategies in place that seek to engineer expansion process, there are several challenges that are likely to hamper the process. Therefore, it is advisable for the airports management to be keen on these challenges so to guard against their adverse effects in the restructuring process. Successful implementation of restructuring strategies and physical redesigning will guarantee full operational capacity that is important in meeting market demands especially during peak seasons.

Therefore, it is imperative to implement these strategic plans with great care to avoid negative changes in the implementation process. However, skill development is also required to be prioritized in the restructuring processes since airports operations exists in dynamic environment and therefore skills also needs to be dynamic. However, implementation process need to be regularly reviewed to evaluate its performance and necessary correction measure made. This will ensure that implementation process achieve the desired results.

References

Ahern, J, Elisabeth, L & Mary, L. (2009). Biodiversity Planning and Design. Islands Press, Washington, DC.

Airport Cooperative Research Program. (2001) Common Use Facilities and Equipment at Airports. Washington, DC, National Academy of Sciences.

Airport Cooperative Research Program. (2010) Airport Passenger Terminal Planning and Design. Washington, DC, National Academy of Sciences.

Ashford, N & Wright, P. (1992) Airport Engineering. Canada, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Ashford, N, Martin, S & Clifton, M. (2010) Airport Operations. New York, McGraw-Hill.

Demsey, P. (2000) Airport Planning and Development Handbook. United States, McGraw-Hill.

Kaps, R. (2000) Fiscal Aspects of Aviation Management. Unites States of America, Southern Illinois University Press.

Kasarda, J. (2010) Global Airport Cities. United Kingdom, Insight Media.

Kazda, A & Robert, C. (2007) Airport Design and Operation. United Kingdom, Elsevier.

Sao Paulo Congaonhas Airport. (2011) Sao Paulo Congonhas International Airport Information Guide to Sao Paulo. Web.

Vasich, B, Ken, F & Liam, M. (2010) Foundations of Airline Finance. England, Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

The challenge of 9/11 shaped the system of the airport security in the USA. The attacks in Paris and the migration crisis in Europe pose numerous threats and new challenges to be addressed. It is crucial to make sure that airport security is ensured through compliance with the requirements assigned as well as the use of recent advances in the sphere of technology and management. Apparently, these security measures should take into account emerging privacy concerns. It is possible to introduce five improvements to make the airport more efficient in terms of its security.

Such programs as ASP (Airport Security Program), as well as AOSSP (Aircraft Operator Standard Security Program), and such organizations as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) come up with particular regulations and make sure that they are followed. The main focus of the security effort is made on screening passengers and carry-on baggage (Price 289). However, the terroristic act that led to the Russian airplane crash in Egypt unveiled the vulnerability of this approach. Clearly, it is essential to make sure that the baggage transported is as safe as the carry-on baggage or passengers. Besides, the system of screening is not perfect (Shepard par. 4). A new system Qylatron Entry Experience Solution can be employed (Shepard The Next Generation of Security par. 2). The system implies the use of chemical sensors, x-rays, and machine AI. It also ties the baggage to the passenger’s ticket, which is beneficial for detection purposes. If the system identifies a threat, alert messages are sent to the corresponding security department, and the passenger is blocked.

Another baggage-related method is the use of the improved Radio frequency identification (RFID). The primary goal of the system is the improvement of baggage tracking, but it has a valuable ‘side effect’ (Mishra and Mishra 143). For example, the system provides an opportunity to update data written on the baggage tag. The precise and rapid RFID method ensures 100% matching of passengers onboard and the baggage (Mishra and Mishra 143). The proponents of the RFID cards identify further extension of the use of the system stating that tracking passengers’ cards (apart from making their traveling experiences more enjoyable) can help identify possible unlawful movements (trespassing). To mitigate privacy concerns, it is possible to focus on the development of the tracking system that issues alert when passengers enter restricted areas rather than monitors passengers’ movements.

As far as the screening proper is concerned, it can also be enhanced. The use of Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) that has been used in many airports has proved to be efficient and, hence, it can be utilized in this airport (Elias 3). The AIT provides a detailed image of people’ bodies, which enables to detect arms or explosives if any underneath people’s clothes. It is necessary to note that privacy concerns are raised in respect to using the system. There are efforts to develop a system that will detect threats rather than screen bodies, but until this is system is not developed, the AIT can be deployed.

Admittedly, the use of specific tools is insufficient as it is important to employ an efficient safety management platform. Synergy 3 can become a good solution. The system is a command and control tool that manages major security devices including but not limited to access control panels, baggage screening devices, CCTV cameras, intelligent video analytics and so on (“Synergy 3 Command and Control Platform” par. 4). The platform enables the security staff to manage all the systems effectively as the data collected from a variety of sources is analyzed quickly and efficiently.

Finally, it is also clear that all the devices and systems may fail to prevent certain situations if employees are performing poorly (Shepard par. 4). Therefore, it is imperative to improve training of the staff as regards security issues. It is critical to make sure that the employees are qualified to use the devices, they are aware of all the necessary procedures, and they can respond to typical as well as emergency situations. The training should be cross-functional, and employees should understand the process that take place in different departments. The security manager responsible for the development and implementation of training will work in collaboration with the specialist in IT and HR departments. The training should focus on such spheres as compliance with principal safety recommendations, the use of technology, response to emergencies and communication.

In conclusion, it is possible to note that the airport will benefit from the improvements in such spheres as baggage screening and tracking, passenger screening and tracking, deployment of an efficient managing platform and employees’ training. Of course, it is necessary to make sure that the change will be implemented effectively, which will require assigning of the change team. Importantly, it should be an ongoing change that implies the use of the advanced technology and practices. This will ensure the ability of the airport to address the new challenges associated with terrorism and migration issues.

References

Elias, Bart. Airport Body Scanners: The Role of Advanced Imaging Technology in Airline Passenger Screening. 2012. Web.

Mishra, Deepti, and Alok Mishra. “Improving Baggage Tracking, Security and Customer Services with RFID in the Airline Industry.” Acta Polytechnica Hungarica 7.2 (2010): 139-154. Print.

Price, Jeffrey. Practical Aviation Security: Predicting and Preventing Future Threats, South Melbourne, Victoria: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2012. Print.

Shepard, Sydny. U.S. Airports Missing Layers of Security. 2015. Web.

—. The Next Generation of Security and Bag Check. 2015. Web.

Synergy 3 Command and Control Platform Chosen for Jakarta International Airport. 2015. Web.

Introduction

The privatization of significant airlines while maintaining their independence is essential to all stakeholders. Currently, the Chicago department of aviation is in charge of O’Hare International and Midway Airport. The number of flights has declined due to a lack of efficiency and a rigid decision-making process. Moreover, customers have complained about the quality of the services and indicated they would consider their choices. There is a need for a change of control systems for effectiveness and enhanced productivity. Privatization of the two airports will address social welfare and quality concerns. Although unifying them would enhance their economies of scale and limit competition, its management would be complex. The task force should consider retaining the independence of the two flight industries after privatization. The oligopolistic market enhances fairness and the competitive multi-airline sector by availing freedom of entry. Generally, the industry will exhibit all forms of competition through price, service quality, and frequency.

Background and Methodology

Management attributes an increase in a deadweight loss to higher operational costs which destabilized market prices. Due to the price ceiling from the ministry of finance, the airport management found it difficult to make decisive progress. At the moment it is hard to estimate the welfare effect of privatization on the airline. Apart from the policy environment, several other factors in the market contribute to declining revenue. However, a similar exercise by the British airways resulted in a strong welfare impact (Edwards, 2017). The customers, on the other hand, are expected to incur higher prices as a result of the measures. Generally, the overall aim of privatization is to improve the financial position of the airlines.

Key Findings

Change of control is vital because it can address efficiency in personnel and streamline the operations of the organization. First, a substantial reduction of employees offering redundant services will lower the wage bill. Second, modernization of the airport services through the acquisition of new and bigger crafts increases the capacity of passengers. Third, open market access allows the airlines to fly between any two territories in different states. Furthermore, an increased customer base will lower the costs of fares because empty seats lead to losses. The airlines will further optimize their operations by reducing maintenance costs. Technological advancements have affected the aviation sector due to varying customers’ decision-making. Customers benefit from the availability of options and transparency in the price. The aviation sector can leverage reduced costs due to online booking innovations. Airline competition has resulted in substitute technology used by new entrants. Major airlines can become more efficient and transparent in their pricing by introducing small and innovative aircraft.

Recommendations

The airports are expected to continue dominating the aviation sector due to the ownership of massive resources. Liberalization of the independent airlines will grant them competitive pricing, which is beneficial to consumers. Further, price controls will reflect increased revenue to sustain the operations at the airport. Limited competition is beneficial and will improve operations in the aviation sector. The dominant players should forge collaboration and partner in price settings. Midway international airport can capitalize on sustainable costs and maximize returns. O’Hare International airport can benefit from high capital investment thus, attaining economies of scale.

Conclusion

In summary, privatization is essential in commercializing state-owned airlines to increase productivity. Change of state influence in pricing is necessary to ensure the airline industry operates competitively. Efficiency in airport management provides incentives for customers to choose from a wide range of service providers. Addressing operational costs will effectively reduce deadweight debts, thus, providing relief to the aviation industry. Dominating airports will seek partnership and collaboration to avoid price wars. Noninterference by removing price ceilings is critical in decision-making due to market fluctuations. Finally, control systems can retain an efficient staff to enable the airline sector to minimize possible losses.

Reference

Edwards, C. (2017). Margaret Thatcher’s privatization legacy.Cato Journal, 37(6), 89-97. Web.

Introduction

Today, air transportation can be viewed as the dominant method of transcontinental and intercontinental travel due to its safety, time-efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Affordable and accessible travel is supported by a complex air transport system, which includes a wide range of airports, airlines, and works traffic control. Modern air transport networks are highly dynamic, with the timetable of departures and arrivals meticulously scheduled to ensure all runways are in use and flights do not interfere with one another (Rocha, 2017).

In large hubs, even the slightest postponement due to extreme weather conditions or air carrier issues can result in congestion and subsequent delays. Therefore, many primary hubs receiving an increased number of enplanements are supported by reliever airfields. This essay will analyze the air transport system in the United States and discuss the role of relievers within it. It will also reflect on the positive and negative aspects of maintaining nonprimary airports in major metropolitan areas.

General Environment in the Current Airline Industry

The air transport network is the primary and most complex component of the global airline industry. It includes primary and nonprimary airports in a variety of regions and countries, flights between them, and airlines that may or may not have agreements with some of the hubs (Rocha, 2017). In the United States, there are over 20,000 airports, heliports, and seaplane bases, 5,000 of which are open to the public (Federal Aviation Administration, 2020).

The vast number of hubs can be explained by the continuously growing demand for air travel. According to World Bank Open Data (2020), in 2019, over 4,397 billion people took a commercial or private flight, with 926,737.00 thousand passengers leaving from the United States’ airfields. Overall, 37,461,913.819 registered air carriers departed from various airports worldwide (World Bank Open Data, 2019). The current environment in the global airline industry requires an increase in both the number of flights and airfields able to provide access to air travel to the public. Overall, it can be argued that the present situation is driving the decisions to provide support to large primary hubs with the opening of smaller relievers.

The Role of Reliever Airports in the Air Transport Network

Many of the large metropolitan areas maintain additional secondary and reliever airports. The latter can be defined as airfields designated “to relieve congestion at a commercial service airport and to provide more general aviation access to the overall community” (Federal Aviation Administration, 2020). A large hub requires one or more supporting hubs if it serves an area with a population of over 250,000 residents or enplanes the same number of passengers annually (Grubesic et al., 2017). Today, over 200 national and regional airports provide support to primary hubs in metropolitan areas (Grubesic et al., 2017).

While drawing general aviation traffic away from main airfields remains the main purpose of many relievers, others can evolve to operate as primary locations for their communities (Grubesic et al., 2017). Overall, these nonprimary airports play an essential role in the modern air transport network, allowing access to air travel for the public.

Many individual metropolitan areas are successful in maintaining their secondary and reliever airports. It can be argued that the economic impact of these hubs is the key aspect of this achievement. According to the Metropolitan Airports Commission. (2018), in 2016, relievers created 1,030 jobs in the sector and generated $198 million in GDP and $355 million in economic output. They also create new job places in industries not directly related to the airline sector, but that can be located on the premises of the airport (Metropolitan Airports Commission, 2018).

For example, cafes, restaurants, information stands, and souvenir shops require personnel to maintain them, leading to the emergence of new vacancies as an indirect impact on the relievers. Furthermore, an influx of people to a metropolitan area via a nonprimary airport results in additional visitor spending in local businesses, primarily in the hospitality sector (Metropolitan Airports Commission, 2018). Notably, this influx can also create new jobs in industries not related to the air transport network. Thus, relievers have a substantial impact on the economic growth in their local communities and the region as a whole.

Reliever airfields provide an opportunity to ameliorate congestion and expand/enhance commercial operations in the United States. It should be noted that they can fulfill their purpose and lead to a meaningful decrease in air traffic overcrowding. According to Grubesic et al. (2017), nonprimary airports can reduce congestion if they are well maintained and can accommodate various aircraft. However, this requires financial investment in order to secure the necessary equipment and hire the needed personnel. Similarly, some of the relievers have the potential of expanding their operation and beginning to function as a small air hub for their community.

For example, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway International Airport (AZA) has successfully transitioned from a reliever to a functioning commercial hub (Grubesic et al., 2017). The transition required substantial financial backing and renovations to qualify as a primary hub (Grubesic et al., 2017). Overall, meaningful alleviation of air traffic congestion and the expansion of commercial operations is possible with investment.

Negative Aspects of Reliever Airports

There are several negative aspects to having a large regional airport system with one or more relievers. According to Grubesic et al. (2017, p. 115), the presence of additional airfields creates “excessive noise in and around the airport region.” Air traffic alleviation can also lead to increased road traffic due to the departing and arriving flights being redirected to relievers (Grubesic et al., 2017). Thus, they contribute to the air pollution in the region, raising environmental concerns.

In addition, the residents of local communities can be adversely affected if the land of and around the airfield is ineffectively managed, damaging the infrastructural fabric of the region (Grubesic et al., 2017). Finally, airports and the road traffic around them create noise pollution, which can become a substantial concern for the people living close to them. Overall, reliever airports are associated with certain negative aspects, including air and noise contamination and inappropriate use of land.

Conclusion

In summary, air travel today is one of the most popular modes of transport, resulting in the growing need for more transcontinental and intercontinental flights and a developed airport system. The primary purpose of reliever airfields is to alleviate the congestion at large regional hubs that can occur due to extreme weather conditions or air crafts issues. Although relievers, directly and indirectly, contribute to the region’s economic growth and expand the commercial operation, they require substantial financial investments to maintain the required equipment and hire qualified employees. The building and expansion of additional airports can lead to increased air and noise pollution in the region and harm the existing local infrastructure by mismanaging the available land.

References

Federal Aviation Administration. (2020). Airport categories. Web.

Grubesic, T. H., Fuellhart, K., Wei, F., & O’Connor, K. (2017). Regional perspectives on general aviation and reliever airports: A case study of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Regional Science Policy & Practice, 9(2), 101–120. Web.

Rocha, L. E. (2017). Dynamics of air transport networks: A review from a complex systems perspective. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 30(2), 469–478. Web.

Metropolitan Airports Commission. (2018). The economic impact of the reliever airports. InterVISTAS Consulting Inc. Web.

World Bank Open Data. (2019). Air transport registered carrier departures worldwide. Web.

World Bank Open Data. (2020). Air transport, passengers carried. Web.

Introduction

The United States air transportation system is vast and complex, which evolved from small airports with jets of limited capacity to new and larger facilities. Furthermore, technological advancement in the field of airplane building allowed to move from flights being a luxurious service to a routine necessity for most Americans (Movieman695, 2013). Additionally, the U.S. air traffic system continuously strives to perfect its operation to ensure safety and seamless functioning with minimum delays (La Porte, 2019). The number of domestic and international flights varied during different periods of existence of American airports (Young & Wells, 2019). Still, the demand for this service increased after 2010 and remained high, requiring ongoing management of flight registrations, baggage sorting, pavement repairs, and vehicles for transporting passengers (Young & Wells, 2019). Therefore, U.S. airlines should consider enlarging the capacity of their airplanes, and airports will need to alter internal infrastructure to meet all the requirements for larger and newer machines to function correctly. Airports capacity expansion will require adjusting airport design, pavement repairs for runways, taxiways, and aprons, increasing gate capacity, better baggage handling, as well as improving aircraft servicing operations to reduce delays.

Effects of Larger Aircraft on Airport Design

Although most delays occur due to severe weather conditions, some problems arise because of small capacity and airport design issues. To minimize delays, many airways companies started to employ larger aircraft in their operations because bigger jets possess the more significant carrying ability, which expands airport capacity. The latter is “the capacity to handle aircraft operations,” the efficiency of movement between terminals, and “the number of automobiles that can unload passengers at an airport’s curb” (Young & Wells, 2019, p. 4). In fact, two types of airport capacities are usually described, throughput and practical. The former is defined as the rate at which flights and passengers are handled without taking into consideration slight technical impediments (Young & Wells, 2019). On the other hand, practical capacity is “the number of operations that may be accommodated over time with no more than a nominal amount of delay” (Young & Wells, 2019, p. 5). However, larger aircraft always demand more space and unique management to prevent collisions (Young & Wells, 2019). Thus, the design of airports should be adjusted to these sizes accordingly.

Airports should have a design that will allow faster transportation between terminals and airfields that must be large enough to fit airplanes of greater size. Furthermore, airport runways should be designed so that several simultaneous operations are run with multiple jets involved (Young & Wells, 2019). Four major categories of runways are known: parallel, intersecting, single, and open-V (Young & Wells, 2019). In the case of a single runway system, the management is relatively simple even for airplanes of bigger size, but in three other situations, all operations should be highly coordinated (Young & Wells, 2019). It is particularly crucial in the open-V and intersecting runways because some old airports may not be able to handle synchronous takeoffs of jets with extended wings. Therefore, runways should be redesigned to create more considerable distances between them, especially if parallel or open-V runways prevail in an airport. More staff should be hired for intersecting runways to increase the number of flights with a slight time difference. Additionally, airplane regulation should be digitized in all airports to increase the efficiency of departures and arrivals with fewer delays that may occur with human coordination.

Effect on the Frequency of Airport Pavement Replacement and Repairs

Newer and larger aircraft may require different pavement due to increased loading capacity and jet speed. Airport pavement is a complex structure that demands the evaluation of subgrade, paving materials, applied loads, and climate (Federal Aviation Administration [FAA], 2021). The ultimate goal of constructing or repairing pavement is to create “support for the loads imposed by aircraft” (FAA, 2021, p. 11). Furthermore, it should be stable to pressure and severe weather conditions, firm, smooth, skid-resistant, and clean.

Fortunately, people no longer have to perform calculations and assessments manually. Instead, they can implement software known as FAA Rigid and Flexible Iterative Elastic Layer Design (FAARFIELD) (FAA, 2021). This computer program allows for analyzing all dimensions of airport pavement and provides recommended depth based on the information about aircraft and the total load (FAA, 2021). However, human intervention is still required because people still make decisions on cost, funding, and design variations. For example, Onida Municipal Airport recently received a budget of $3.2 million to repair runway pavement and the taxiway (FAA, 2022, para. 6). The service time for pavements is about twenty years, providing high-quality and usually expensive materials were utilized for building that runway (FAA, 2021). Indeed, constructing and repairing airport pavement is costly, but it is essential if airlines use newer jets with larger capacities.

Effects on Taxiway and Apron Separations

Pavement construction is designed and evaluated for taxiways and airport aprons as well. For newer and larger jets, the apron’s pavement should be constructed in the same way as the runway since it is the place where airplanes are loaded and unloaded. Similarly, a taxiway, which connects the apron and runway, must be able to withstand loads of aircraft with and without passengers and baggage. It is critical to use high-quality materials for constructing aprons and taxiways to prevent early pavement degradation, which may affect the normal functioning of airplanes (FAA, 2021). Overall, the same methodology should be applied to build airport runways, taxiways, and aprons.

Effects on Gate Capacity and Baggage Handling Operations

When an airway company purchases large aircraft, the administration understands that the airport’s capacity rises; hence, baggage handling operations must be speeded up, and gate capacity should be increased. Unfortunately, in most airports in the United States, the baggage-dropping system is slow, and it sometimes takes an hour for passengers to stand in a line to check in their luggage (Grone, 2019). On the other hand, in some European countries, it takes less than a minute to drop off baggage and register (Grone, 2019). Therefore, if American airports want to employ new aircraft and increase their capacity, they should start digitizing and automating baggage registration and opening more or bigger terminals both for internal and international flights. Furthermore, terminals should contain the necessary facilities, furniture, and appliances to ensure passengers’ comfort and proper distancing between individuals for the realities of COVID-19 and future pandemics. Moreover, if the size and capacity of airports are increased, the navigation system within and between terminals must be improved for the convenience of passengers.

Effects on Aircraft Servicing Operations

Larger jets may require a change in aircraft servicing operations since fuel of different quality or additional training for employees may be needed. Notably, regardless of the size of an airport and its capacity, it still regulates arrivals and departures, plans crew schedules and controls operations. Still, airport managers and administrators will have a higher workload in terms of handling new airplanes’ maintenance. For example, the A380, one of the largest existing jets, has a twice larger capacity than any average airplane (Ussinova et al., 2018). Moreover, it demands more fuel and technical evaluation before and after each flight. In the case of large aircraft, computer simulations are often used for the simulation of flights during various weather conditions to estimate fuel consumption and possible issues that may emerge (Ussinova et al., 2018). In fact, the former may be greater or less than determined during the simulation (Ussinova et al., 2018). Human operators should always check if a jet is able to reach the next destination successfully. Thus, more operations management and servicing staff may need to be recruited to increase work efficiency.

Potential Issues and Complications of Airport Expansion

Despite the broad range of benefits of employing larger aircraft, airports may experience some problems, some of which can be prevented or diminished. The first issue that may arise from increasing airport capacity is opposition from people living in the adjacent areas (Dray, 2020). It can mainly happen in the situation when runway expansion needs to be done because the construction of additional facilities will produce unwanted noise (Dray, 2020). Furthermore, building runways may result in the destruction of flora and fauna of a specific region, which will result in resistance from climate activists and even entire non-governmental organizations (Dray, 2020). Neither of these sides should be perceived as evil or wrong in protecting their peace, physical and mental well-being, and nature. Instead, airports, communities, and governmental agencies should strive to develop a balanced solution to this problem.

Additionally, greater airport capacity suggests that the number of flights increases, leading to the rise in carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere, and hence airports may be subjected to legislative fines. In the era of rigorous environmental movements, runway expansion may be stopped, or the newly built facility may never be opened for utilization due to governmental restrictions (Dray, 2020). The latter leads to immense financial losses for airports and airlines. In a way, this problem is beyond airports’ control because jets’ fuel consumption, speed, and greenhouse gas emission depend on the design and manufacturing methods of airplane construction companies. Still, the decision to handle more flights is made by airway companies and airports; therefore, public criticism is usually addressed to them.

Another problem is the sudden reduction in the number of passengers as a consequence of economic recessions, terrorist attacks, epidemics, or pandemics like the COVID-19 crisis. For example, after 9/11, American Airlines experienced a significant drop in income due to a decrease in flights (Young & Wells, 2019). Furthermore, when the economy crashed in 2008, people purchased fewer airplane tickets for almost two years (Young & Wells, 2019). Although the number of air travels rebounded in 2010, the 2020 coronavirus crisis halted all of them for several months. The pandemic kept the entire world in a state of restricted air traveling for more than a year until the official introduction of the vaccines. Overall, the main problem is that some issues are hard to predict; therefore, airports should be prepared for a temporary decrease in their market size.

Proposed Solutions for the Problems

The solution to the abovementioned problems is complex due to the fact that the issues are multidimensional. Nonetheless, some steps can be taken to overcome some of these issues. First of all, airports may try to find deserted areas to use for constructing additional runways, taxiways, and aprons to reduce the negative influence of this business on wildlife and mitigate the conflict with environmental activists. However, not all regions may be suitable for building airport facilities because the soil must possess certain qualities (FAA, 2021). Thus, this solution will be hard to fulfill in some areas, but if it is realized, the problem with legislative restrictions will be resolved by default. Carbon dioxide emissions cannot be regulated by airports because this particular factor depends on jet manufacturers. Consequently, aircraft producers should design larger, faster airplanes with greater capacity and fewer greenhouse gases due to shorter travel time.

The issue with force majeure, like pandemics, terrorist attacks, or economic recessions, is challenging to resolve because these forces are external. Therefore, the only solution is to prepare for various scenarios by developing plans with specific steps to follow for each employee, team, or department. For example, if the airport capacity drops, all facilities and jets should still undergo regular check-ups. As an example of the 9/11 attack and the 2008 crisis, the downfall phase is followed by a rebound in the number of flights (Young & Wells, 2019). Even today, when software, social media, as well as various messaging and video conference apps enable retained functioning for educational institutions and businesses without the need to travel, people still want to connect offline. Indeed, humans are social creatures; hence, most will always strive to have live interaction, personal or work-related. As the situation with COVID-19 showed, after the global lockdown was loosened, airplane ticket purchases started to rise. The only thing airports should consider is having enough personal protective equipment for their employees in case the coronavirus crisis worsens or another dangerous pathogen emerges.

Conclusion

Airports that plan to expand their capacity may consider employing larger aircraft, but they must be prepared to make necessary adjustments. Specifically, the airport may need to change its design, increase the number of runways, make pavement repairs more frequently, and hire more people for operational management. New airplanes can carry twice as many people as their earlier versions, which means that airports’ capacity may expand, requiring redesigning terminals and gates and altering the baggage registration process. The latter is relatively slow in American airports compared to international ones; thus, it will be better to make it more automated using the newest technologies. However, such problems as resistance from the community, non-governmental organizations, and governmental agencies may arise due to airport expansion. Unforeseen situations such as terrorist attacks, economic recessions, and pandemics may impede functioning or cause a drop in air travel. The first issue can be resolved by finding less inhabited places for runway construction. The only approach to the second problem is to simulate various scenarios of such cases and develop a plan for the business to withstand and overcome complications that stem from force majeure.

References

Dray, L. (2020). An empirical analysis of airport capacity expansion.Journal of Air Transport Management, 87, 1-11.

Federal Aviation Administration. (2021). Airport pavement design and evaluation.

Federal Aviation Administration. (2022). FAA awards $371M to improve airport infrastructure across the U.S.

Grone, E. J. (2019). Disrupting complex systems with emerging technologies: A study on United States airport operations [Honors thesis, University of New Hampshire]. Honors Theses and Capstones.

La Porte, T. R. (2019). The United States air traffic system: Increasing reliability in the midst of rapid growth 1. In R. Mayntz & T. P. Hughes (Eds.), The development of large technical systems (pp. 215-244). Routledge.

Movieman695. (2013). Airline deregulation: The document that transformed the industry [Video]. YouTube.

Ussinova, A., Laplace, I., & Roucolle, C. (2018). An analysis of the impact of larger aircraft (A-380) on flight frequency. Energy Efficiency, 11(3), 701-712.

Young, S., & Wells, A. T. (2019). Airport capacity and delay. In Airport planning and management (7th ed., pp. 1-52). McGraw-Hill Education.