DESCRIPTION OF AIRPORTS

     The number of airports is much greater than most people would guess because passengers are familiar to going to their local passenger airport. Almost all major airports are run by a public agency, usually a local government. This is because airports are important to a community and more likely to be a natural monopoly. The many small airports, though more likely to be privately run. There has been talk of privatizing airports to make them operate more efficiently. The best known example is the Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd that is run by a private company. 


      Airport administrations tend to look like small town.  They have all the departments of a company as well as their own fire and police departments. Airports are usually divided into two areas, called groundside operations and airside operations. The groundside is what the passengers see, including airline arrival and departure areas, public parking, the restaurants and so on. But there is another area, often bigger, the airside. This is where the airlines operate, the baggage is handled and the cargo moved. The airside tends to be invisible to those who do not work in flight.

      Money earned by an airport comes from a variety of sources. The two most important sources are concessions and carrier fees. The carrier fees, the primary source is landing fees. Although a major income area for airports, it is a small part of a carrier’s costs. Concessions are the companies that rent space in and around the aiport to provide goods and services, such as restaurant and gift stores. Even a small booth in a major airport can earn big amounts of money because of its good location. These concessions then pay the airport a percentage of their revenue.

    Carrier fees can be calculated in two ways. First, there is the balance method. An airport calculates its overall expenses, minus non-airline revenue and charges the airlines remaining the costs. The second way to calculate carrier fees is the compensation method. Airlines pay for the parts of the airport they use. They would pay rent for all the space used. Most importantly, landing fees are charged to the airlines every time a plane lands at the airport.

  Capital improvements to airports can be paid for either by selling bonds or special taxes. Passengers are often charged a fee for arrival or departure. This is usually overseen by the federal authorities because they do not want airports to create special costs for entering or exiting a country that would affect international relations.

   Airport capacity refers to the amount of passengers and cargo that can move through an airport. It is determined by the runway, terminals and facilities and is one of the most critical issues for airports today. Groundsides capacity refers to the number of passengers or cargo that can get to the airport, including parking space. Airside capacity refers to the number of planes that can be handled, including the number of planes that can arrive and take off in a certain period of time. Runway capacity is based on air traffic control, demand, weather, design and configuration of runways.