Introduction
Airport managers face a challenging mix of factors that create uncertainty in today’s aviation industry. Among these are recovery from the global pandemic, new and ongoing capital and operating costs, shifting airline business models, and changing stakeholder expectations. As airport leaders look to the future, it is important to consider how airports will fund their operations and investments and balance the risks in providing services to their customers and users while maintaining sound balance sheets.
The Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Insight Event “The Future of Airport Finance” was designed as an in-person discussion forum for aviation leaders and stakeholders to identify new and emerging finance-related issues, explore their relevance to airport authorities, posit new strategies for funding capital and operating costs, and suggest ways the financial burden could be shared among the variety of customers, users, business partners, and stakeholders of airports. The Insight Event brought together experts from around the nation in a diverse set of areas, including economics, airlines, airports, sustainability and energy, finance, and public policy. The objective was to understand the different perspectives of the experts and promote guided discussion around the topics. The agenda incorporated a scene-setting economics briefing, panel discussions, and breakout sessions to accomplish the objective and maximize engagement.
The event’s preparations spanned several months and were led by the research team of Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. (HMMH), supported by the Steer Group (Steer). A literature review was completed to document the existing body of studies, reports, and academic works on airport finance. Thought leaders and practitioners in the industry were identified by HMMH, Steer, and ACRP staff. The project panel, including the panel chair and the other panel members, was appointed and held an initial planning meeting for the Insight Event. The project panel and the research team worked with ACRP staff to identify the format, themes, and session topics for the Insight Event as well as the members of the research team who would serve as rapporteurs, facilitators, and event planners. The project panel and research team then identified moderators and speakers for each session as well as breakout convenors.
The Insight Event was held on March 23–24, 2023, at the Keck Center of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC. Approximately 80 people registered for the event, all but a handful of whom attended. The registrants’ professional affiliations included airport leaders, airline executives, U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA officials, and a mix of finance, energy, consultancy, and academic representatives. The full list of participants is presented in Appendix A. In addition to the keynote speaker’s focus on national economic trends, five topics were addressed and discussed in panel sessions. The Insight Event also included an open forum on hot topics and breakout sessions. The full agenda is given in Appendix B.
Several key themes emerged throughout the course of the event and were discussed across multiple panels and in the discussion breakout session:
- Managing in an uncertain environment;
- Enhancing revenue generation;
- Developing innovative business models;
- Funding capital programs;
- Implementing cost- and time-saving strategies;
- Addressing airport workforce and organizational challenges; and
- Advancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.
The research ideas raised by event participants and summarized at the end of this report are categorized by these seven themes.
The Insight Event included one formal presentation; the rest of the sessions consisted of interactive panel talks, dialogues with the audience, and discussions in breakout sessions. The slide deck from the formal presentation, as well as the slides used to introduce each panel’s topics, moderator, and speakers, are available on the web page for this ACRP Insight Event at https://www.trb.org/ACRP/ACRPInsightEventFinance.aspx. Readers who are interested in more information may email ACRP Manager Marci Greenberger at mgreenberger@nas.edu.
