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Air Transport Research Society honours most efficient airports

THE Air Transport Research Society (ATRS) has announced the 2017 Airport Efficiency winners that were identified through an analysis of airport operational and cost data.

The winners are Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in North America in the 40 million passenger category.

In Europe, the overall winner is Athens International Airport in the 10-25 million passenger category; in Asia the overall winner is Jeju International Airport in the 25-40 million passenger category; and in Oceania the overall winner is Sydney Airport.

In receiving the award for the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Airport deputy general manager, Balram Bheodari, stated how the airport is constantly seeking to increase efficiency in order to provide excellent cost-effective service to its passenger and airline customers, reported Hawaii's eTurboNews.

In addition to the efficiency award presentations, the ATRS had two industry and one academic keynote speakers.

European Commission director general Henrik Hololei discussed the importance of connectivity in stimulating economic activity.

A 10 per cent increase in air connectivity stimulates the GDP growth rate by one per cent. According to Mr Hololei, a key to connectivity for Europe has been the open skies agreements that have been signed by the European Union. Additional open skies agreements are being considered with countries around the world and they will lead to further economic growth.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) economist Brian Pearce discussed how policy decisions impact the aviation industry.

Protectionist policies, in particular, have likely led to a slowdown in growth in the aviation industry, especially for air cargo.

The academic keynote speaker, Kenneth Button from George Mason University, discussed how the economics field has been able to inform the development of aviation over the past five decades.

After the plenary sessions, ATRS delegates were able to attend sessions at which 225 research papers were presented.

Said ATRS president and CEO Martin Dresner: "The presentations add value to both our academic and our industry delegates. The academics learn about the state-of-the art research methodologies and discover the 'hot' topics for airline research. The industry delegates learn how various managerial policies affect organisational performance."