Can US Metropolitan Areas Use Large Commercial Airports as Tools to Bolster Regional Economic Growth?

Abstract

Local governments own and operate most large US commercial airports. They have long considered air traffic development and airport expansions as essential tools to support regional economic growth. This literature review investigates the validity of this claim. Recent econometric studies estimated airports’ economic benefits, while geographers cautioned that airport expansions cannot trump macroeconomic trends. The burgeoning knowledge on the economic and environmental risks of airports and air service sheds critical light on airport-based economic development strategies. Planning scholarship should investigate airport planning practices, analyze the variations of airports’ economic effects between metropolitan areas, and measure the impacts of airport expansions.

Access to Small Airports and the Impact on Regional Growth in the UK

“…Regional development plans have included airports to boost opportunities, aiming at improving infrastructure around a region. There is a general understanding that airports play a complex role in regional development and are beneficial to a region's growth, based on social and economic indicators (Mosbah & Ryerson, 2016).…”

“…Expansion highlights the benefits that would include trade and passenger increases, leading to the knock-on effects for population and employment in a region. Therefore, airport growth is important for the economy and the variation in air services increases the social development in the region (Mosbah & Ryerson, 2016). Airport expansion does not always guarantee improvements, there are multiple ways to increase the size of an airport, for example, air route development and planning new connective networks in order to enhance the variety of destinations and sustainable ways to access airports.…”

“…Airports have been recognised in their role of influencing planning decisions and land developments in an area, acting as catalysts for regional economic growth (Halpern & Graham, 2016;Kazda et al, 2017;Niewiadomski, 2019;Cidell, 2014). Airports have been described as growth engines by governments and as such, politics and planning bodies have supported airports to increase local economic activity and to stimulate new investment for the region (Mosbah & Ryerson, 2016;Robertson, 1995). Airports are assumed to be a significant factor in social and economic development and that regional development plans should place high importance on airports (Tveter, 2017;Halpern & Bráthen, 2010;Redondi et al, 2013).…”

“…Linking regional production to a wider market has had an influential role in the development of many countries' economies. The effects of accessibility on major airports have been studied by many scholars (Mosbah & Ryerson, 2016;Green, 2007). However, with the drive towards increasing size and capacity of airports to access global markets, many smaller airports have not had the same level of success as their larger competitors .…”

“…Planners can link regional growth to the aviation industry with the infrastructure to drive growth capabilities and opportunities. This could be developed further, to consider smaller airports as a way to direct future planning proposals closer to the airports, reducing the distances that goods and services have to reach the global market (Mosbah & Ryerson, 2016).…”