Airport Financing

This report answers the following questions about airports' capital development projects: (1) How much are airports of various sizes spending on capital development and where is the money coming from? (2) If current funding levels continue, will they be sufficient to meet capital development planned for the 5-year period from 1997 through 2001?; and (3) If a difference exists between current funding and planned development, what is the potential effect of various proposals to increase airport funding? Includes testimony by Gerald Dillingham, Assoc. Director, Transportation Issues, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Div., General Accounting Office.

This book was written as an introductory text discussing the basic elements of airport finance. The material presented and the matters discussed are drawn from an international scene, reflecting the international nature of aviation and the need for those involved in the airport industry to understand the structure of airport finance in this context. The authors have selected the content based on their joint knowledge of airport administration and postexperience aviation training. The draft manuscript was used as a teaching text at the airport finance course at Loughborough University in May 1990 with twenty-four postgradu ate/postexperience participants. Based on that experience and comments from a number of readers and reviewers, the final form of the text is that presented here. Chapter 1 deals generally with the patterns of airport ownership on a world wide basis and describes the sources of revenues and expenditures, the manner in which they are reported, and the form in which airport accounts are re ported. Because systems and practices vary among countries, the material is presented on a comparative basis. In Chapter 2, Harry Kluckhohn describes the manner in which U.S. airports are financed. Not only will this be of interest to U.S. readers, but it will serve as a useful guide for others who may have little knowledge of how this highly developed financing system works.

This report presents the results of ACRP project 11-03, S01-01. It explores alternative financing options and revenue sources currently available or that could be available in the future to airport operators, stakeholders, and policymakers in the United States. The report examines common capital funding sources used by airport operators, a reviews capital financing mechanisms used by airports, describes various revenue sources developed by airport operators, and a reviews privatization options available to U.S. airport operators.

While there are a multitude of publications on corporate finance and financial management, only a few address the complexity of air transport industry finance and scant attention has been given to airport financial management. This book deals exclusively with airport issues to rectify this. It does this with an analysis of the theoretical concepts relevant to the subject area combined with a detailed investigation of current practice within the industry. Airport Finance and Investment in the Global Economy bridges the gap between much academic research on airports published in recent years – lacking much managerial relevance – and real-world airport financial management. This is achieved by featuring expert analysis of contemporary issues specific to airport finance and funding strategies, illustrated by worked examples from a wide range of different countries to enhance understanding and create a global perspective. The book is designed to appeal to both practitioners and academics. Airport-specific topics include: performance measurement and benchmarking, valuation, tools for financial control and management, alternatives of financing, privatisation, competition and implications of economic regulation.