My Airport as a Job Center

The first way in which airports generate direct economic impacts within a regional economy is by serving as job centers themselves. Airports may host a variety of activities related to the management of the airport and to the provision of air services. The scale and type of on-airport activities will vary considerably by type and size of airport. For example, GA airports may have no scheduled commercial air service and therefore no associated airline employment and support activities, but will have pilots and on-airport employment (of varying magnitudes) involved in the support of air cargo and based aircraft. The direct impacts of these activities can be summarized in terms of the level of jobs, payroll, and operating revenue supported by any given activity. Common sources of on-airport impacts include:

Airport Operations & Administration: Facility management, security, legal services, accounting, communications, and repairs and maintenance.
Airlines & Airline Support Services: Baggage-handling, customer service agents, and fueling and maintenance.
Concessionaire Services: Restaurants, retail shops, and other personal service establishments.
Ground Transportation: Rental car, taxi, and limousine services.
Air Cargo and Freight Services: Dedicated air cargo carriers, couriers, customs brokers, freight forwarders, logistics services providers, and warehouse services.
Military and Other Government Activities: Military, FAA, TSA, CBP, and other federal, regional, and local government entities.
Other On-Airport Activity: Hotels, fixed-base operators, pilot shops and non-aviation businesses.

In addition to activities associated with airport operations, an airport’s ongoing construction activities will also create economic impacts by supporting jobs in design, engineering, and construction industries.

As with all direct economic impacts, on-airport economic activity can be traced through the economy to additional impacts on suppliers, as well as re-spending of worker income. For more information, investigate economic impact assessment approaches under The Value of My Airport.

Resources

ACRP Report 132 The Role of U.S. Airports in the National Economy
Chapter 4, National Economic Impact of Airports in the NPIAS reports the national economic impact of NPIAS airports including air transportation services, support activities for air transportation, public sector on-airport activity, construction spending, and concessions.
ACRP Report 26 Guidebook for Conducting Airport User Surveys
Chapter 7, Tenant Surveys addresses the topic of airport tenant surveys as a means of collecting information about on-airport activities.

Appendix I, Sample Questionnaire for Tenant Surveys has a sample questionnaire used to collect information on airport tenants in support of an economic impact evaluation.
ACRP Report 16 Guidebook for Managing Small Airports
Chapter 2, Airport Finance includes a section titled Economic Impact of an Airport, along with a list of direct on-airport impacts.
ACRP Report 33 Guidebook for Developing and Managing Airport Contracts
The types of contracts outlined in this guide correspond to the universe of on-airport activities that may generate economic impacts.
ACRP Report 109 Improving Terminal Design to Increase Revenue Generation Related to Customer Satisfaction
Chapter 5, Ancillary Land Development Considerations addresses development on ancillary airport land.
ACRP Synthesis 7 Airport Economic Impact Methods and Models
Discusses various analysis methods, models, and tools available for assessing airport economic impacts.
2013 Economic Impact Study of San Francisco International Airport
Chapter 3, On-Airport Impacts presents an economic evaluation of on-airport impacts.
ATL 2013 Economic Impact Study Executive Summary
Pages 9 and 10, Flow of Economic Impacts explain the flow of economic impacts from direct on-airport activity to indirect and induced impacts elsewhere in the economy.
The Economic Impact of Aviation in Arizona (2012)
Section 2.5, Military Aviation specifically addresses the impacts of military aviation and how Arizona’s military aviation installations are some of the most critical components of the nation’s air defense system.