TRANSPORTATION INSIGHTS | 3
SUMMARY OF AN ACRP INSIGHT EVENT
March 23–24, 2023 | Washington, DC
The Future of
Airport Finance
Steve Van Beek, Rapporteur
Steer
Katherine Preston, Rapporteur
HMMH
Organized by the
Airport Cooperative Research Program
Transportation Research Board
Sponsored by the
Federal Aviation Administration
Transportation Insights 3
ACRP Project 11-08(21-01)
ISBN 978-0-309-70937-8
© 2024 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Cover photo: Kodiak Benny Benson State Airport. Courtesy of Paul Khera.
NOTICE
This summary was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
This event was organized through TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) and sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
Suggested citation: Transportation Research Board. Transportation Insights 3: The Future of Airport Finance. Summary of an ACRP Insight Event, March 23–24, 2023. Washington, DC: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2024.
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ACRP Insight Event Project Panel
Cindy Nichol, Director of Airports, Sacramento County Department of Airports (Chair)
David Bannard, Partner, Kaplan Kirsh & Rockwell LLP
Henrietta Brown, Deputy Director, Finance & Administration, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
Lois Kramer, CEO, Kramer Aerotek, Inc.
Mukesh (Mookie) Patel, Chief Business & Finance Officer, Austin–Bergstrom International Airport
Amanda Zhang, Managing Director, Airport Affairs and Properties, American Airlines, Inc.
Liaison
Cathy Nelmes, Financial Program Manager, Federal Aviation Administration
Transportation Research Board Staff
Marci A. Greenberger, Manager, Airport Cooperative Research Program
Brittany Summerlin-Azeez, Program Coordinator
Publications Staff for Transportation Insights
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications
Janet M. McNaughton, Senior Editor
Jennifer Correro, Assistant Editor
ACRP OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE*
CHAIR
Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge
St. Louis Lambert International Airport
VICE CHAIR
Marianne Csaky
LanzaJet
MEMBERS
Gloria G. Bender
TransSolutions, LLC
Balram “B” Bheodari
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Darryl Daniels
Jacobsen Daniels Associates
John Dermody
Federal Aviation Administration
Kimberly A. Kenville
University of North Dakota
Lance Lyttle
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Chad Makovsky
City of Phoenix (AZ)
Scott McMahon
Morristown Municipal Airport
Frank R. Miller
Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority
Ramon Ricondo
Ricondo and Associates, Inc.
Cathryn Stephens
Eugene Airport
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Justin Barkowski
American Association of Airport Executives
Sabrina Johnson
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Laura Rinaldi McKee
Airlines for America
Christopher J. Oswald
Airports Council International–North America
Gregory Pecoraro
National Association of State Aviation Officials
T.J. Schulz
Airport Consultants Council
Victoria Sheehan
Transportation Research Board
SECRETARY
Victoria Sheehan
Transportation Research Board
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2023 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
OFFICERS
CHAIR: Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Transportation, Trenton
VICE CHAIR: Carol A. Lewis, Professor, Transportation Studies, Texas Southern University, Houston
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Victoria Sheehan, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC
MEMBERS
Michael F. Ableson, CEO, Arrival Automotive–North America, Detroit, MI
James F. Albaugh, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Boeing Company (retired), Scottsdale, AZ
Carlos M. Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City
Douglas C. Ceva, Vice President, Customer Lead Solutions, Prologis, Inc., Jupiter, FL
Nancy Daubenberger, Commissioner of Transportation, Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul
Marie Therese Dominguez, Commissioner, New York State Department of Transportation, Albany
Ginger Evans, President, Tower Consulting, LLC, Arlington, VA
Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr., Chief Executive Officer, Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Jacksonville, FL
Chris T. Hendrickson, Hamerschlag University Professor of Engineering Emeritus, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Randell Iwasaki, President and CEO, Iwasaki Consulting Services, Walnut Creek, CA
Ashby Johnson, Executive Director, Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), Austin, TX
Joel M. Jundt, Secretary of Transportation, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Pierre
Hani S. Mahmassani, W.A. Patterson Distinguished Chair in Transportation; Director, Transportation Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Scott C. Marler, Director, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames
Ricardo Martinez, Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA
Michael R. McClellan, Vice President, Strategic Planning, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, VA
Russell McMurry, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta
Craig E. Philip, Research Professor and Director, VECTOR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Steward T.A. Pickett, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
Leslie S. Richards, General Manager, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia
Susan A. Shaheen, Professor and Co-Director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Michael R. Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC
Shailen Bhatt, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Amit Bose, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Washington, DC
Tristan Brown, Deputy Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Ann Carlson, Acting Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, DC
Steven Cliff, Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento, CA
Nuria I. Fernandez, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Germantown, MD
William H. Graham, Jr. (Major General, U.S. Army), Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
John T. Gray II, Senior Vice President, Policy and Economics, Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC
Robert C. Hampshire, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Robin Hutcheson, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Washington, DC
Eleftheria Kontou, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, and Chair, TRB Young Members Coordinating Council
Karl Simon, Director, Transportation and Climate Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary of Transportation and Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC
__________________
Contents
Victoria Sheehan, Cindy Nichol
Keynote: National Economic Trends and Aviation
Session 1: Public Funding and Financing
Lois Kramer, Moderator, Ken Warriner, Michael Landguth, Tatiana Starostina
Session 2: Needs vs. Wants: What Do We Really Need to Build and How Should We Pay for It?
Cindy Nichol, Moderator, Lance Lyttle, Steve Sisneros, Lutz Weisser
Session 3: Environmental, Social, and Governance Reporting and Airports
Katherine Preston, Moderator, Jill Blickstein, Chris Poinsatte, Kurt Forsgren, Chris Bergstrom
Session 1: Audience Choice/Hot Topics
Session 2: Future of Business and Commercial Arrangements at Airports
Mukesh (Mookie) Patel, Moderator, Candace McGraw, Dave Edwards, Eric Smith
Session 3: Financing the Energy and Electrification Transition
Cathy Nelmes, Moderator, Mike Nakornkhet, Angela Shafer-Payne, Juan Macias
Preface
“The Future of Airport Finance” [ACRP Project 11-08(21-01)], held March 23–24, 2023, at the Keck Center of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC, convened airport practitioners, consultants, policymakers, and financial sector experts to consider important topics for airport financial professionals and upcoming trends likely to have an impact on airport funding and finance in the near to mid future. The Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) organized the Insight Event as part of its series of convening activities titled “ACRP Insight Events.”
ACRP is an industry-driven, applied research program that develops near-term, practical solutions to problems faced by airport operators. ACRP is managed by TRB, a part of the National Academies, and is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). ACRP Insight Events are forums that foster dialogue among professionals across sectors, institutions, and industries. ACRP Insight Events convene airport industry leaders and subject matter experts in various fields to encourage discussion and promote broader and deeper insight on topics of significance to airport operators. These in-depth, face-to-face gatherings are designed to promote communication and collaboration, foster innovation, and help identify areas of future interest and research, especially for topics of emerging importance.
These proceedings, prepared by Rapporteur Steve Van Beek of Steer with assistance from Principal Investigator Katherine Preston of HMMH, are a compilation of the presentations and a factual summary of what occurred at the Insight Event. The project panel for the Insight Event was solely responsible for organizing the event, identifying speakers, and coordinating activities during the event. The views contained in this report are those of individual ACRP Insight Event participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all participants, the project panel, TRB, FAA, or the National Academies.
This document was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purposes of this independent review are to provide candid and critical comments that will assist TRB in making the published summary as sound as possible and to ensure that the document meets institutional requirements for clarity, objectivity, and responsiveness to the project charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
TRB thanks the following individuals for their review of the summary: Janet Harrah of Northern Kentucky University and Cindy Nichol of the Sacramento County Department of Airports. In addition, TRB thanks Maryann Terra, the National Academies staff reader of this summary. Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they did not see the final draft of the summary before its release. Responsibility for the final content of this summary rests entirely with the rapporteur and the institution.
Acronyms
| AAM | Advanced Air Mobility |
| ACI-NA | Airports Council International—North America |
| ACRP | Airport Cooperative Research Program |
| AIP | Airport Improvement Program |
| AMT | alternative minimum tax |
| CVG | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport |
| DBE | disadvantaged business enterprise |
| DEN | Denver International Airport |
| DFW | Dallas Fort Worth International Airport |
| ESG | environmental, social, and governance |
| EV | electric vehicle |
| eVTOL | electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle |
| F&B | food and beverage |
| FAA | Federal Aviation Administration |
| FBO | fixed-based operator |
| GDP | gross domestic product |
| GHG | greenhouse gas |
| GSP | Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport |
| JFK | John F. Kennedy International Airport |
| LAX | Los Angeles International Airport |
| PANYNJ | Port Authority of New York and New Jersey |
| PFC | passenger facility charge |
| PPP | public–private partnership |
| RDU | Raleigh–Durham International Airport |
| SAF | sustainable aviation fuel |
| SAN | San Diego International Airport |
| SMF | Sacramento International Airport |
| TIFIA | Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act |
| TRB | Transportation Research Board |
| WBE | women’s business enterprise |
