Management strategies for regional airports: A study applied to -Lleida-Alguaire airport (original) (raw)

Regional Airports, Tourism And Development: Two Portuguese Case Studies

Air transport underwent profound changes in recent decades. Some airport facilities were privatized although others remained under public control, all pursuing commercial purposes through specialization/diversification of its business models, which proved to be quite profitable for infrastructures above a certain traffic threshold. For smaller ones, public funding proved indispensable to their survival. Stockholders, including tourism organizations, saw increased potential for regions with investment realizations in regional airports. This paper presents the Portuguese case studies of Évora and Bragança, and illustrates different models of attracting investments to develop regional airports, thus attracting air services and facilitating economic development, tourism in particular.

Local low-traffic airports in Spain : problems and the necessary reorganisation of the territorial network

Boletin De La Asociacion De Geografos Espanoles, 2015

Throughout the last four decades in Spain, the network of airports with exterior connections has significantly expanded. In fact, the total number of airports has increased from 20 to just over 50. The airport-building process has been particularly vigorous in recent years, all within a framework of intensive construction of a transportation infrastructure as a basis for economic growth. In the case of airports, a desire to increase tourism stands out as a primary motivating factor for growth. Generous financial support from the European Union, cheap financing and a national decentralisation policy have also contributed to the airportbuilding phenomenon. Such politics, however, have given more priority to local interests than to the interests of the country as a whole. Furthermore, the liberalisation of the air traffic market, new organisational systems for air traffic and the rise of Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs) have all contributed to the airport boom. But the recent economic crisis has significantly reduced passenger traffic in the majority of the small local airports in Spain. This crisis situation calls for a thorough reorganisation of the Spanish airport system, with a particular focus on these small local airports. Ultimately, the airport system should better serve the territorial urban network and reflect a more open and competitive aviation market.

Success factors of regional airports: The case of Oporto airport Fatores de sucesso dos aeroportos regionais: o caso do aeroporto do Porto

2020

Oporto Airport (OPO) is a success story among European regional airports. This success is expressed, among other ways, in the rapid expansion of routes and the strong growth in demand, as well as in the recognition of the airport's quality by its users. Over the past decade, the volume of traffic increased by almost 3.4 million passengers, from the 2.6 million recorded in 2002 to over 6 million in 2012. In this paper, we analyse some of the factors that influenced the success of Oporto Airport, namely the expansion of capacity and improvements to infrastructure, the increase in the number of routes and the increased demand in response to the new capacities of this airport-airlines set. Particular emphasis is given to the role of low cost carriers (LCC) in the growth of Oporto Airport and to strategies of attracting more traffic. Some of the main opportunities and challenges that this airport will face in the coming years are also discussed. Keywords: Air transport, airports, lo...

The role of airports in the tourist market development on the example of Spain

European Journal of Service Management

The role of air transport in the development of tourism has been crucial for the last decades. Among others, it opens the tourist market for new destinations, and induces the development of tourist infrastructure and tourist services. The main purpose of the article was to investigate the influence of air transport on tourism in one of the world's most important tourist destinations -Spain. A brief historical background was provided. The authors then analyzed the functioning of the most important part of the infrastructure, i.e. airports in Spain, in the context of passenger transport, tourist motivations or preferred tourist destinations. The study indicates that Spain, located peripherally on the European continent and receiving more than 60 million international tourists per year, owes its success to the air connections. New destinations appeared on the tourist map of Spain that had earlier been less accessible for international and national tourists. Tourism in Spain is based in 80% on air transport, which is the reason for its dynamic development. In 1970, a wide-bodied aircraft Boeing 747-100 was introduced, thus increasing the capacity of passenger airplanes. In 1967, Boeing 737 could accommodate only 130 persons, while the capacity of the next versions

Success factors of regional airports: The case of Oporto airport

Oporto Airport (OPO) is a success story among European regional airports. This success is expressed, among other ways, in the rapid expansion of routes and the strong growth in demand, as well as in the recognition of the airport’s quality by its users. Over the past decade, the volume of traffic increased by almost 3.4 million passengers, from the 2.6 million recorded in 2002 to over 6 million in 2012. In this paper, we analyse some of the factors that influenced the success of Oporto Airport, namely the expansion of capacity and improvements to infrastructure, the increase in the number of routes and the increased demand in response to the new capacities of this airport-airlines set. Particular emphasis is given to the role of low cost carriers (LCC) in the growth of Oporto Airport and to strategies of attracting more traffic. Some of the main opportunities and challenges that this airport will face in the coming years are also discussed

Tourism and air transport - an economic evaluation of the Oporto Airport expansion project

Tourism & Management Studies

Over the past few years the rate of air transport use has increased, making it a crucial sector of activity in economic and tourism development. It has become essential to adapt airport infrastructures to the new requirements of demand. This study aims evaluate and quantify, in socioeconomic terms, the impact of investment of an airport infrastructure expansion project. This research focused on a case study of the Oporto Airport, the investment in expanding the capacity of the entire airport infrastructure from three to 11 million passengers the expansion project of this airport, which ran from 2000 to 2007 and involved a total investment of €407 million. The methodology used is based on the economic evaluation, concretely applying the cost-benefit analysis method, which compares the social benefits and decision costs. According to the results obtained, the expansion project of Oporto Airport is expected to be a good investment from a socioeconomic viewpoint.

Small regional airports operation: unnecessary burdens or key to regional development

Transportation Research Procedia, 2017

Regional airports represent not only important points of access to remote locations and parts of country with limited or lengthy ground access but also have significant economic impact on the surrounding region. On the other hand, every public airport with commercial operations must fulfil strict requirements with respect to international safety and security requirements, including operational readiness of the airport infrastructure and airport personnel qualifications. These requirements, which are virtually the same for small and large airports results in high operational costs. Small airports have problem to break even not only due to low throughput volumes but also limited other resources of income, e.g. non-aeronautical services, car park fees; which are substantial part of middle and large airport revenues. It is considered that a small airport with annual throughput under 200 000 passengers is not able to cover its operational costs and needs to be subsidized. At the same time, airports are important stimulators and catalysts of regional economic growth and development. Determining whether the indirect, induced and catalytic impact of an airport on a region outweigh the cost of regional airport subsidies would contribute to informed regional development policy and decisionmaking.

The Contribution of Regional Airports on Tourism Enterprises. The Perspective of Tripoli Airport, in Greece

Journal of Air Transport Studies

Air transport and tourism development are considered to be two closely related concepts. According to international literature, one of the most important modes of passenger transport around the world is air transport, thus affecting the economic development of many areas, especially those isolated geographically and touristically, as well as local tourism businesses. Understanding the scale of these impacts is important not only for the development of tourism businesses and the local economy, but also for policy makers who make strategic decisions. Most studies focus on the impact of large airports on the national and regional economy, while much less attention has been given to the impact of airports on regional destinations. This study, exploring the potential of the Tripoli military airport in Greece as a civilian airport, seeks to analyse the functional relationship between small regional airports and local tourism businesses, the results of which can contribute to the financial...