The worldwide trend to privatize airports has led Congress to direct the Federal Aviation Administration to experiment with privatization. Because there always is a public interest in the operation of major commercial airports, which are both vital assets to the community and potential monopolies, it is generally impractical to transform airports into wholly private businesses. Most privatization projects involve substantial regulation of the private investors, detailing the design of airport services, the prices charged, and their openness to users. Worldwide experience provides three lessons: ( a) U.S. airports are among the most privatized in the world, and there is little scope for privatization in the United States compared to elsewhere; ( b) Major aspects of airport direction must remain under government control because of the public interest in these facilities; and ( c) Privatization takes a long time because the process requires considerable negotiation between the stakeholders in the airport business, and there are no simple solutions. The fundamental choice in the privatization is how the government should sustain the public interest in open access to and fair rates for airport services. The major alternatives are ( a) government regulation, an inherently adversarial process; or ( b) government ownership and partnership in the development of airports, a more collaborative approach. The partnership approach, applied by airport authorities throughout the United States and Canada, is arguably the better alternative in practice. It assures the public interest in fair operations and permits local communities to express their needs for sufficient airport capacity.
Airport Privatization: Issues for the United States
Transportation Research Record
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board ; 1662 , 1 ; 24-31
1999-01-01
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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