Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Globalization of airport ownership
The global financial community has discovered that airports make 'excellent invest-
ments' (Momberger, 1998, p1) and a number of airport groups have begun to emerge.
Global airport groups have started to engage in airport management, consultancy,
construction and airport operation on a global scale. BAA plc, for example, has
developed a diversified portfolio of global interests. It owns seven UK airports, includ-
ing Heathrow, the busiest international airport in the world. It has ownership/man-
agement interests in seven foreign airports, two in Australia, three in the US, one in
Italy and one in Mauritius (Humphreys and Francis, 2000).
Frankfurt has a presence at some 50 or so airport sites; consultants Hochtief and
Bechtel are involved in a variety of airport projects; the French airport operator TBI
has a role at over 40 airports; and Aer Rianta has a presence at more than 15 airports.
Amsterdam owns and manages a number of airports around the world and during
the late 1990s created the world's first airport alliance with Frankfurt to jointly offer
their expertise to airports worldwide. Global airport companies will be more difficult
to regulate and guide with respect to national or regional economic, social and envi-
ronmental interests that are not likely to be congruent with commercial interests.
Airport regulation
The role of regulation will be crucial since it is one of the few policy levers that remain
for governments to guide this dynamic industry, with all its economic, social and
environmental implications. However, such regulation may have dysfunctional effects
(Humphreys and Francis, 2000). For example, regulation of aeronautical charges at
BAA London airports has made these airports some of the cheapest in the UK for
the airlines to use. This conflicts with UK government policy goals to encourage direct
air services from the regions and to minimize the concentration of environmental
impact upon Heathrow. It also discourages the development of infrastructure because
revenues generated from this are restricted (Francis and Humphreys, 2001). A wider
stakeholder view of regulation is required that is consistent with wider policy goals
and the implications for society as a whole.
C
ONCLUSION
:
FUTURE
TRENDS
AND
ISSUES
While the implications for any specific market and its stakeholders will depend upon
the particular context under examination, the general trend in the industry is one of
growth in the demand for air travel, the supply of air services and the expansion of
airport infrastructure. Control of the industry is moving away from governments
towards large corporate players.
Traffic growth, privatization, commercialization, deregulation of markets, infra-
structure congestion and globalization of airlines and alliances of airlines and airports
are forces that are likely to increase. The challenge for governments is to determine
what policies, if any, and what form of regulation could be adopted that ensure a
sustainable balance of interests to a variety of stakeholders from an economic, social
and environmental perspective at local, national and international levels.
