Organization and Administration
Introduction
1. Whether privately owned or part of a public system, there are fundamental characteristics of the administrative and organizational structure of an airport. The number of people employed at a given airport can range from as few as one, at the smallest of general aviation facilities, to as many as 50,000 at the world’s largest airport authorities.
2. Those airports that employ fewer numbers of people expect these people to accept a wider range of responsibilities. For example, an airport management employee at a small airport might be responsible for maintaining the airfield, managing finances, and maintaining good relations with the local public. At the larger airports, employees are typically given very specific responsibilities for a particular segment of airport management.
Airport ownership and operation
World Practices
3. Most of the world's airports are owned by local, regional, or national government bodies who then lease the airport to private corporations who oversee the airport's operation. For example, BAA Limited (BAA) operates seven of the commercial airports in the United Kingdom, as well as several other airports outside of the UK. Germany's Frankfurt Airport is managed by the quasi-private firm Fraport. While in India GMR Group operates, through joint ventures, Indira Gandhi International Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Bangalore and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport are controlled by GVK Group. The rest of India's airports are managed by the Airports Authority of India. In Canada, the federal authority, Transport Canada, divested itself of all but the remotest airports in 1999/2000. Now most airports in Canada are owned and operated by individual legal authorities or are municipally owned. The government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) arrangement is the standard for the operation of commercial airports in the rest of the world.
USA
5. Many in the United States commercial airports are generally operated directly by government entities or government-created airport authorities (also known as port authorities), such as the Los Angeles World Airports authority that oversees several airports in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Los Angeles International Airport. US airports lease part or all of their facilities to outside firms, who operate functions such as retail management and parking.
6. Public airports in the United States are owned and operated under a variety of organizational and jurisdictional arrangements. Usually, ownership and operation coincide: commercial airports might be owned and operated by a city, county, or state; by the federal government; or by more than one jurisdiction (a city and a county). In some cases, a commercial airport is owned by one or more of these governmental entities but operated by a separate public body, such as an airport authority specifically created for the purpose of managing the airport. Regardless of ownership, legal responsibility for day-to-day operation and administration can be vested in any of five kinds of governmental or public entities: a municipal or county government, a multipurpose port authority, an airport authority, a state government, or the federal government.
7. Municipally Operated Airport. A typical municipally operated airport is city owned and run as a department of the city, with policy direction by the city council and, in some cases, by a separate airport commission or advisory board. County-run airports are similarly organized. Under this type of public operation, airport policy decisions are generally made in the broader context of city or county public investment needs, budgetary constraints, and development goals. Some commercial airports in the United States are run by multipurpose port authorities.
8. Port Authorities are legally chartered institutions with the status of public corporations that operate a variety of publicly owned facilities, such as harbors, airports, toll roads, and bridges. In managing the properties under their jurisdiction, port authorities have extensive independence from the state and local governments. Their financial independence rests largely on the power to issue their own debt, in the form of revenue bonds, and on the breadth of their revenue bases, which might include fees and charges from marine terminals and airports as well as proceeds (bridge or tunnel tolls) from other port authority properties. In addition, some port authorities have the power to tax within the port district, although it is rarely exercised.
9. Airport Authority. Another type of arrangement is the single-purpose airport authority. Similar in structure and in legal charter to port authorities, these single-purpose authorities also have considerable independence from the state or local governments, which often retain ownership of the airport or airports operated by the authority. Like multipurpose port authorities, airport authorities have the power to issue their own debt for financing capital development, and in a few cases, the power to tax. Compared to port authorities, however, they must rely on a much narrower base of revenues to run a financially self-sustaining enterprise. Since the early 1950s, there has been a gradual transition from city- and county-controlled airports to the independent single or multipurpose authorities. The predominant form is still municipally owned and operated, particularly the smaller commercial and GA airports.
10. State-Operated Airports. State-operated airports are typically managed by the state’s department of transportation. Commercial airports are operated in this way, primarily in Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, and Rhode Island. The federal government owns and operates the airport at Pomona (Atlantic City), New Jersey, which is part of the FAA Technical Center..
11. Private Companies. Several airports in the United States are managed by private companies generally operating under a fixed-fee contract with a local government. By contrast, many U.S. airports are managed by the local government, but contract out a significant number of airport functions to private contractors, including janitorial, security, maintenance, and concession management. Neither of these situations is particularly controversial, nor are the economics of these airports unusual.
Pakistan
12. Civil Aviation Authority. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is a regulatory authority, which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in Pakistan. Nearly all civilian airports in Pakistan are owned and operated by the CAA. CAA's head office is situated in Terminal 1 of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. At few airports, an arrangement has been done use them as civil as well as military use such as Peshawar, Quetta, Chaklala, Jacobabad, Mangla, Pasni, Sakurdu etc.
Alines in Pakistan
13. Pakistan International Airlines. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is a national airline, operating passenger and cargo services covering 82 domestic and foreign destinations. Established in 1955, PIA has a vast experience in the airline industry of Pakistan with a large fleet of about 40 aircrafts. PIA is a huge corporation with more than 17,000 employees. Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) is majority owned by the Government of Pakistan (87%) while the remainder (13%) by private shareholders. The airline falls under the direction of the Ministry of Defence. The structure is centralized with the top-levelmanagement making the decisions.The airline is managed by managing director, as well as the Board of Directors. The Board consists of nine independent non-executive members and has four sub-committees, being an Audit Committee, Brand and Advertising Committee, Finance Committee and Human Resource Committee each with its own charter and chairman. The MD leads the executive management of staff who control the running of the airline. The airline's main headquarters are located in Karachi whilst smaller sub head offices are located in several cities within Pakistan.
14. Shaheen Air International Shaheen Air International operating as Shaheen Air is a private Pakistani airline with its main base and head office at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi and with a hub at Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB), Islamabad. Shaheen Air provides passenger, cargo and charter services to major cities of Pakistan and Persian Gulf. It was established in December 1993 and on October 25, 1994, it was accorded the status of 'Second National Carrier of Pakistan', by the Government of Pakistan. Its main base is Jinnah International Airport (KHI), Karachi, with a hub at Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB), Islamabad. Besides serving major domestic routes, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar, Shaheen Air has also been operating flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain,Kuwait, Doha and Muscat from almost all the major international gateways of Pakistan. Air and the airline introduced a new livery and corporate website, as it was owned by Khalid Mehmood Sehbai of Edmonton, Canada.
Today it has about fifteen aeroplanes and is one of the fast growing airlines. It is Pakistan's second national carrier. Shaheen Air is now opening flights for Dammam. Shaheen Air is now having a large network over the middle east and lands far away as Saudia Arabia.
15. Airblue. Established in 2003, Airblue is a private airline which offers passenger and cargo transportation to both domestic and foreign destinations. There are nine destinations of Airblue. It is credited as the first private carrier of Pakistan to operate the Airbus A320 and introduce e-ticketing, wireless check-in and self check-in kiosk facilities. The major departments include: Human Resource, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Operations and Systems Support and IT. It is the first airline to have employees trained according to international standards. It is technologically advanced though the size of the fleet is not comparable to that of PIA. The fleet size of Airblue is eight. Airblue Limited (styled as airblue) is a private airlinewith its head office on the 12th floor of the Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) Towers in Islamabad,Pakistan. It is Pakistan's second largest airline with over 20% share of the domestic market. Airblue operates scheduled flights operating 30 daily services linking four domestic destinations and international services to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Muscat and Manchester. It carried 1.4 million passengers on domestic flights in the 2006–07 fiscal year. Its main base is Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.
Chartered Airlines
16. Chartered airline operating in Pakistan are as follows:-
Defunct Airlines
17. The airlines which have become obselete are as follows:-
§ Baaz Air
§ Safe Air
18. Project in Private Sector. Sialkot's industrialists in the late 80's agreed to build the airport themselves and sought the federal government's approval. On February 2, 2001, approval was granted after a decade of negotiations with the federal government and construction of an international airport at Sialkot for passenger and cargo traffic began. A team of directors was approved, under the chairmanship of Mian Mansha (three times chairman for SIAL) all of whom placed personal wealth into the project as a primary investment. Each director on the board had previous experience of running sizable and successful enterprises, therefore they were all selected due to this knowledge. Also, with Rs 5 million of personal investment in the project by each one of them, the directors had a direct stake in its profitability. As the development of SIAL went on, the number of directors had reached 250 and it was decided to close membership to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors at SIAL inspired confidence that the potential of the airport project will be fully realised. On February 26, 2001, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industary and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority with the approval of Ministry of Defence for the construction of the international airport in Sialkot.
19. On March 24 2005, Sialkot International Airport Limited (SIAL) was formed under the auspices of the Chamber. On March 26, 2005, the first plane landed on the newly constructed runway, which has been built to handle a fully loaded Boeing 747 as future plans involved dealing with heavy aircraft for cargo imports and exports. PIA test flight PK-613 landed at the Sialkot International Airport on October 20, 2007. A memorandum of understanding between PIA and Sialkot International Airport Authority for mutual cooperation and joint promotion of Sialkot International Airport was signed by Anwaar Rasul Khan, Senior Vice President (Sales), PIA, and Mian Naeem Javed, Director, Sialkot International Airport.
20. First and biggest ever international airport constructed in the private sector in Pakistan, at a cost of over Rs 2.6 billion became operational on November 30, 2007. Former Presedent of Pakistan Pervez Musharaf formally inaugurated the Sialkot International Airport December 11, 2007; the country's first built by the private sector. As of today, Sialkot has the largest runaway than any other airports in Pakistan, although this will change when the new Islamabad Airport comes online
Airport Privatization
21. Privatization refers to shifting governmental functions and responsibilities, in whole or in part, to the private sector. The most extensive privatizations involve the sale or lease of public assets. Airport privatization, in particular, typically involves the lease of airport property and/or facilities to a private company to build, operate, and/or manage commercial services offered at the airport.
22 World Practices. In most other countries, the national government owns and operates airports. However, a growing number of countries, including Canada and Australia, have been exploring ways to more extensively involve the private sector as a way to provide capital for development and improve efficiency. These privatization activities range from contracting out services and infrastructure development, in a role similar to private sector activities at U.S. airports, to the sale or lease of nationally owned airports.
23. For example, Mexico passed legislation in 1995 to lease 58 major airports on a long-term basis. Most countries’ privatization efforts do not transfer ownership of airports to the private sector, but involve long-term leases, management contracts, the sale of minority shares in individual airports, or the development of runways or terminals by the private sector. Only the United Kingdom has sold major airports to the private sector. To privatize, the United Kingdom sold the government corporation British Airports Authority (BAA) and the seven major airports it operated (including London’s Heathrow and Gatwick Airports) in a $2.5 billion public share offering. Proceeds from this sale were used to reduce the national debt. Even after privatization, the airports have remained subject to government regulation of airline access, airport charges to airlines, safety, security, and environmental protection. The government also maintains a right to veto new investments in, or divestitures of, airports. BAA has generated profits every year since it assumed ownership of the United Kingdom’s major airports in 1987.
24. USA Practices. Though no U.S. commercial airport has been sold to a private entity, but publicly owned airports have extensive private sector involvement. Most services now performed at large commercial airports, such as airline ticketing, baggage handling, cleaning, retail concessions, and ground transportation, are provided by private firms. Some estimates indicate as many as 90 percent of the people working at the nation’s largest airports are employed by private firms. The remaining 10 percent of the employees are local and state government personnel performing administrative or public safety duties; federal employees, such as FAA air traffic controllers and TSA security screeners; or other public employees, primarily military personnel. Airports have been increasingly dependent on the private sector to provide services as a way to reduce costs and improve the quality and the range of services offered.
25. In the mid-1990s some public administrations contracted with private firms to manage their airports; most notably, in 1995, the Indianapolis Airport Authority contracted with a private firm, the British Airports Authority, to manage its system of airports, including the Indianapolis International Airport. Since 1995, several, but not many, airports have been contracted out for full private management.
26. More commonly a portion of the airport, such as an airport terminal, concessions, parking, and so forth, has been subcontracted for management by private sector firms. Airports are, however, relying more on private financing for capital development. Airports have sought to diversify their sources of capital development funding, including the amount of private sector financing. Traditionally, airports have relied on the airlines and federal grants to finance their operations and development. However, in recent years, airports, especially the larger ones, have sought to decrease their reliance on airlines while increasing revenue from other sources. Nonairline revenue, such as concession receipts, now account for more than 50 percent of the total revenue larger airports receive.
27. Pakistan. In the late 1990s, the Government of Pakistan considered selling the airline to the private sector due to the persistent losses suffered by the airline. The Government announced the privatisation plans but they were never implemented. Several steps towards outsourcing of non-core business have been initiated. Catering units (starting with Karachi Flight Kitchen), ground handling (starting with ramp services) and engineering, are to be gradually carved out of the airline and operated as independent companies. During 1997, Pakistan called in a team from International Finance (IFC), the consulting arm of the World Bank, to advise on restructuring and privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) however no agreement was reached. The government has many times planned the privatization of the State owned. However, no reasonable agreement or solution has been found. On 18 February 2009 the carrier was dropped from the privatisation list.
The Airport Organization Chart
28. An organization chart shows the formal authority relationships between superiors and subordinates at various levels, as well as the formal channels of communication within the organization. It provides a framework within which the management functions can be carried out. The chart aids employees to perceive more clearly their positions in the organization in relation to others and how and where managers and workers fit into the overall organizational structure. Airport management organization charts range from the very simple to the very complex, depending primarily on the size, ownership, and management structure of the airport.
29. The duties, policies, and theories that govern the job of airport management vary widely over time. In addition, many such policies vary from airport to airport on the basis of individual airport operating characteristics. As a result, it is difficult to say that any organization chart is typical or that the chart of one airport at any particular time is the one still in effect even a few months later; however, all airports do have certain common functional areas into which airport activities are divided. Understandably, the larger the airport, the greater the specialization of tasks and the greater the departmentalization. Figure shows the major functional areas and typical managerial job titles for a commercial airport.
Job Descriptions
30. The following is a brief job description for each position shown in Figure
a. Airport director or General Manager, or MD. The airport director is responsible for the overall day-today operation of the airport. He or she reports directly to the airport authority, the airport board, or governmental commission charged with the development and administration of the airport. This individual directs, coordinates, and reviews through subordinate supervisors, all aircraft operations, building and field maintenance, construction plans, community relations, and financial and personnel matters at the airport.
b. Assistant director—Finance and Administration. The assistant director finance and administration is charged with the responsibility for overall matters concerning finance, personnel, purchasing, facilities management, and office management.
c. Personnel Manager. The personnel manager is responsible for administering the airport personnel program. In such capacity, this individual’s duties include dealing with personnel problems involving position classification, compensation, recruitment, placement, transfers, layoffs, promotions, leaves of absence, supervisor-subordinate relationships, and working conditions.
d. Chief Accountant. The chief accountant is responsible for financial planning, budgeting, accounting, payroll, and auditing.
e. Facilities Chief. The facilities chief establishes criteria and procedures for the administration of all airport property. In this capacity, he or she is responsible for inventory control of all equipment and facilities.
f. Chief Purchasing Agent. The chief purchasing agent directs the procurement of materials and services to support the airport; he or she prepares, negotiates, interprets, and administers contracts with vendors.
g. Manager of Public Relations. The manager of public relations is the chief liaison officer between the airport and the surrounding community. In this capacity, he or she is responsible for all public relations activities including the development of advertising and publicity concerning the airport. This individual is also responsible for handling all noise and other environmental matters.
h. Assistant Director Planning and Engineering. The assistant director planning and engineering provides technical assistance to all airport organizations, and ensures the engineering integrity of construction, alteration, and installation programs. This individual also establishes industrial safety standards.
j. Assistant Director—Operations. The assistant director operations is responsible for all airside and landside operations including security, and crash, fire, and rescue operations.
k. Chief—Airside Operations. The chief airside operations is responsible for all airfield operations.
l. Chief—Landside Operations. The chief landside operations is responsible for all landside operations..
m. Security Chief. The security chief enforces interior security, traffic, and safety rules and regulations and participates in law enforcement activities at the airport. This individual also works closely with federal security officials assigned to the airport.
n. Aircraft Rescue/Fire Fighting Chief. The aircraft rescue/fire fighting chief develops procedures and implements accident, fire, and disaster plans.
p. Assistant Director—Maintenance The assistant director—maintenance is responsible for planning, coordinating, directing, and reviewing the maintenance of buildings, facilities, vehicles, and utilities.
q. Buildings and Facilities Chief. The buildings and facilities chief is responsible for ensuring that buildings are adequately maintained with a minimum of cost. Types of maintenance required are primarily electrical, mechanical, plumbing, painting, carpentry, masonry, and cement work.
r. Grounds Chief. The grounds chief is responsible for ensuring that the grounds are maintained in good repair and that the landscape is adequately maintained.
s. Vehicle Chief. The vehicle chief is responsible for the maintenance of all vehicles utilized by the airport. Vehicle maintenance includes tune-up, minor maintenance, washing and polishing, tires and batteries, lubrication, and fueling.
31. Although the aforementioned positions represent a typical managerial structure at a commercial airport, there are numerous employees with a wide variety of job skills reporting to them. Some of the typical job titles found at major airports includes the following:
· Accountant Buyer
· Administrative assistant Carpenter
· Air-conditioning mechanic Cement finisher
· Airport guide Civil engineer
· Airport noise abatement officer Construction inspector
· Architect Contract analyst
· Auditor Custodian
· Auto mechanic Drafter
· Bus driver Electrician
· Elevator mechanic Plumber
· Equipment mechanic Public relations representative
· Equipment operator Secretary
· Facility planner Security officer
· Financial analyst Sheet metal mechanic
· Firefighter Software engineer
· Groundskeeper Student intern
· Heavy-duty equipment operator Supervisor of operations
· Industrial engineer Tile setter
· Maintenance and construction Tool room keeper laborer
· Maintenance foreman Traffic painter and sign poster
· Operations assistant Tree surgeon
· Painter Truck operator
· Personnel representative Welder
· Plasterer Window cleaner
Airport Management as a Career
32. Today an airport manager must be primarily a skilled and experienced executive with a broad background in all facets of aviation and management in general. It is no longer necessary that the manager be a pilot. Almost every airport manager’s job situation is unique in some major respects because of the wide variety of size of airport and type of ownership and operation. There are also wide variations in government procedures in different communities. This sometimes causes the responsibilities, salaries, and authority of airport managers to be completely different from one city to the next. Even the job title varies. Director of aviation, airport superintendent, executive director, airport director, general manager, and other titles are often used instead of airport manager.
Career Opportunities in Airport Management
33. The major requirement for the job of airport manager is business and administrative ability; this means the ability to make decisions, to coordinate details, to direct the work of others, and to work smoothly with many kinds of people. Perhaps the best university program to follow is one that leads to a degree in aviation management, which is good preparation for a career in airport management. A number of the primary airports in the United States have 1- or 2-year internship programs that train college graduates for various aspects of airport management.
34. Other individual starts at a small airport where they become involved in all aspects of airport management—from maintenance and repair to attending city commission meetings. Some college graduates have taken jobs with aviation or airport consulting firms and after several years have moved into airport management. Many others have acquired experience in some other area of aviation before entering the field.
35. Many career opportunities in airport management should become available in the years ahead because of expansion of facilities and attrition. As the number of new airports increases and the facilities of many existing airports expand, new managerial positions will be created. Many of these will not be top jobs, but the airport of the future will require assistant managers specializing in one part of the huge operation. Also, qualified people will be needed to replace those who retire.
36. Because the job of managing a medium-to-large commercial airport is a fascinating one that requires high qualifications, there will be tough competition for jobs; however, the motivated individual with a solid educational background and varied experience in the fields of aviation and management will find openings in a field of work that is and will remain comparatively small—but one that provides an interesting and challenging profession.
The airport Manager and Public Relations
37. Unquestionably, one of the most important and challenging aspects of an airport manager’s job is that of public relations. Public relations is the management function that attempts to create goodwill for an organization and its products, services, or ideals with groups of people who can affect its present and future welfare. The most advanced type of public relations not only attempts to create goodwill for the organization as it exists, but also helps formulate policies, if needed, that of themselves result in a favorable reaction. Public relations must interpret the airport interests to the public, and should be a two-way flow with input and interpretation of public opinion to airport management and community leadership. Public relations must use many means of reaching the various segments of the public interested in airport operations, and must try to instill the public relations spirit into all facets of the airport’s operation.
Public Relations Objectives
38. The primary objectives of an airport’s public relations activities are as follows:
a. Establishing the airport in the minds of the external public as a facility that is dedicated to serving the public interest.
b. Communicating with the external public with the goal of establishing and building goodwill.
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c. Answering general and environmental complaints on an individual basis:
It is important that the airport develop a good rapport with its neighbors and concerned citizen groups.
d. Establishing good working relationships with internal business publics whose interests are similar to those of airport management.
e. Promoting programs designed to enhance and improve employee morale.
The airport and its Public
39. Basically, every airport has four “publics” with which it deals, and despite the wide variance in size and scope of activities of airports, these publics are basically the same for all airports:
a. The External Business Public. These are the past, present, and future airport customers for all the services offered on an airport. It includes all segments of the business, government, educational, and general flying public.
b. The External General Public. These are the local citizens and taxpayers, many of whom have never been to the airport but who vote on airport issues or who represent citizen groups with particular concerns.
c. The Internal Business Public. These are the businesses and enterprises whose interests are tied directly to the airport—the airlines, FBOs, other members of the general aviation community, government officials, and other aviation and travel-oriented local businesses and trade organizations, and the employees of all of these enterprises.
d. The Internal Employee Public. This group includes everyone who works for the airport and its parent organization.
40. These are the most important airport publics. These are the sources of vital information that management must have in order to know what and how it is doing, and they are the ones who must be informed and persuaded if any airport objective is to be achieved.
Concluding Remarks
41. The great challenge in airport management is to establish an ownership and organizational structure that meets the needs of each of the airport’s “publics,” from direct users of the airport, to airport employees, to the local community. In addition, the ownership and organizational structure of an airport must be flexible to adapt to the changing needs of the airport’s publics. This is not an easy task, although it is one that maintains the excitement of airport management.
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