ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, & SOCIAL
ROLE OF AIRPORTS
Airport management must assume responsibility for leading the A/P in positively contributing to the local economy, maintaining good working relations with the A/P’s users and surrounding community while minimizing the impacts that A/P have on the surrounding natural environment.
Transpiration Role
Relations
(1) A/P-AIRLINE RELATIONS
• From the airlines’ perspective, each A/P is a point in a route system for the loading and transfer of passengers and freight
• -In order to operate efficiently, air carriers need certain facilities at each A/P
• - These requirements are not static; they change with traffic demand, economic conditions, and the competitive climate
• A/P operators focus on accommodating interests of number of users at a single location
• - Changes in the way individual airlines operate might put pressures on the A/P’s resources, requiring major capital expenditures or making a facility obsolete
• - A/P operators must be concerned with the efficient use of landside facilities that are of little concern to the carriers
• Despite their different perspectives, both have common interest in making A/P successful economic enterprise
• A/Ps and carriers have formalized their relationship through A/P use agreements
• These agreements establish methods for setting fees and charges for use of the A/P by air carriers
• Terms of a use agreement can differ, from short-term monthly/yearly arrangements to long-term leases of 25 years or more
• Within the context of these use agreements, carriers negotiate with the A/P to get the specific A/P resources they need for day-to-day ops.
(2) A/P-CONCESSIONAIRE RELATIONS
Concession Agreement
• A/P extends to a firm the privilege of conducting business on A/P property in exchange for payment of a min annual fee or a %age of the revenues, whichever is greater
Management Contract
• Some A/Ps prefer to retain a larger share of revenues for themselves and employ an alternative arrangement called a management contract, under which a firm is hired to operate a particular service on behalf of the A/P. Gross revenues are collected by the A/P mgt, & pays firm for operating expenses plus either a flat mgt fee or a %age of revenues
At few A/Ps, A/P operator’s share of parking and car rental fees represents the largest revenue source from the terminal area—and in some cases, larger than revenue from air carrier landing fees.
(b) A/P-CONC RELATIONS FIXED BASE OPERATOR
• FBO provides services for A/P users lacking facilities of their own, primarily to general aviation
• FBO sells fuel and operates facilities for A/C service, repair, & maintenance
• FBO also handle the leasing of hangars and rental of short-term A/C parking facilities
• Agreements between A/Ps and FBOs differ because in some cases, FBO constructs and develops its own facilities on A/P property; in other cases, FBO manages facilities belonging to the A/P
Other Tenants
A/P authorities serve as landlord to other tenants such as
These firms might lease space from the A/P operator, or they might build their own facilities on the A/P property.
• Relationship between A/P mgt and these facilities is a true landlord-tenant relationship
• A/P mgt leases the land, and associated facilities, based either on market-appraised land values, or %age of revenues earned from the property, or both
• It is the responsibility of A/P mgt to maintain fruitful relationships with all tenants, by ensuring reasonable lease fees, contract terms, and an overall mix of tenants that meet the needs of the A/P and the public it serves
(3) A/P-GENERAL AVIATION RELATIONS
• General aviation is a different group as at any A/P, the GA A/C are owned & operated by a variety of individuals and orgns
• Because of the variety of ownership & diversity of A/C type and use, long-term agreements between the A/P and GA users are not customary
• GA users often lease A/P facilities, especially storage space such as hangars and tie downs, but the relationship is usually that of landlord and tenant
• Although general aviation activities make up about half the A/C ops at
ATC-towered A/Ps, the average utilization of each A/C is much lower than that of commercial A/C
• Only a small number, usually those operated by large corporations and flight schools, are used as intensively as commercial A/C
• Chief needs of general aviation are parking and storage space, along with facilities for fuel, maintenance, and repair
Whereas an air carrier might occupy a gate for an hour to load passengers & fuel, a general aviation user might need to park an A/C for a day or more
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF AIRPORTS
• Presence of an A/P, like any large industrial complex, impacts the community and surrounding natural environment in a negative manner
• Effects are result of activity at A/P which has both A/C & ground vehicles (travel to & from A/P)
• As such, it’s important for A/P mgt to understand the
• Types of environmental impacts associated with A/P activity
• Rules and regulations that govern environmental impact activity
• Political strategies that are available to A/P mgt to satisfy the needs of the surrounding community while maintaining A/P ops
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF AIRPORTS
AIRPORT NOISE IMPACTS
• Most significant environmental impact associated with A/P is that of the noise that emanates from A/C movements to and from the A/P
• Noise disturbs sleep, interferes with conversation, and detracts from the enjoyable use of property
• There is increasing evidence that high exposure to noise has adverse psychological and physiological effects
• People repeatedly exposed to loud noises might exhibit high stress levels, nervous tension, and inability to concentrate
• Due to increase in noise impacts, FAA adopted regulations on noise levels emitted from jet engines and encouraged the use of quieter A/C
• FAR Part 150—Airport Noise Compatibility Planning establishes system for measuring aviation noise in the community & provides info about the land uses that are normally compatible with various levels of noise exposure
METHODS OF MEASURING OF A/C NOISE
FAR Part 150 defines several methods, which are used to measure A/C noise and its effect on a community
• Level of sound can be measured objectively, but noise (unwanted sound) is a very subjective matter,
• - because human ear is more sensitive to some frequencies than others
• - because the degree of annoyance associated with a noise can be influenced by psychological factors such as the hearer’s attitude or the type of activity in which she or he is engage
Techniques to measure single events in units
• dBA (A-weighted sound level in decibels) or
• EPNdB (Effective Perceived Noise Decibels)
• These measure the levels of noise in objective terms, giving extra weight to those sound frequencies that are most annoying to the human ear
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE
FAA has established dBA as the single-event unit and the Ldn system as the standard measure of cumulative noise exposure to be used by A/Ps in the preparation of noise abatement studies
• - Annoyance owes not only to intensity of a single event, but also to the cumulative effects of exposure to noise throughout the day
• - Methods to measure this effect objectively include aggregating single-event measures to give a cumulative noise profile by means of such techniques as
- Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF)
- Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL)
- Day/Night Average Sound Level (Ldn)
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE
• Ldn noise levels are calculated by
• Considering the loudness of any one single A/C operation
• Altitude and flight path of the A/C at the location of the noise measurement
• Number of such events that occur throughout the day and the number of such events that occur at night (10:00 P.M & 7:00 A.M)
Ldn system places additional emphasis on the noise burden of night ops on a community by adding 10 dB to the measured loudness reading of any ops occurring during night hours
• FAA has suggested guidelines for determining land uses that are compatible with a given Ldn level
• Residential uses should be located in areas below 65 Ldn
• Parking, transportation facilities, mining/extraction, & similar activities are the most compatible in high noise impact areas (Ldn 80 to 85 or more)
• FAA suggests noise contour map be created to identify locations surrounding an A/P where different noise levels exist
• Map is created by collecting noise data around A/P vicinity, then processing data through use of noise contour modeling software program
FAA’s software, Integrated Noise Model (INM), is one such program AIR QUALITY
• A/C engine emission constitutes less than 1 % of the total air pollutants in city area but its environmental impact cannot be overlooked in development of A/P master plan
• Federal regulations concerning air quality date back to the Clean Air Act of 1970, established to protect the nation’s air quality and protect the public’s health
• Act recognizes five major pollutants requiring emissions regulation
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
• Suspended particulate matter
• Nitrogen oxide (NOx)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Volatile organic compounds such as hazardous asbestos
• Majority of emissions that contribute to pollution in air quality around A/P are from A/C engines & ground vehicles operating both on and to and from the A/P property
WATER QUALITY
Reduction of Air Quality Impacts from Airports
• Associated with raising the efficiency of A/P ops
For example, more efficient A/C taxi ops, which minimize the total time and distance A/C are burning fuel on A/P property, will reduce the volume of pollutants from engine operations
• Use of mass transit systems, rather than private automobiles for travel to and from A/P property, by passengers and employees, will contribute to reduced emissions generated from automobile use
WATER QUALITY
• Airport can be a major contributor to water pollution if suitable treatment facilities for A/P wastes are not provided
• Sources of water pollution are domestic sewage from A/P facilities, industrial wastes such as fuel spills, and high temperature water degradation from various power plants at the A/P
• In addition, runoff from deicing ops contributes to the collection of pollutants in the surrounding water table
• In 1977, Congress passed the Clean Water Act as an amendment to the 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Act
• Act authorized the issuance of regulations to prevent discharges of pollutants into navigable and non-navigable waterways, rivers, streams, and creeks
• In accordance with the Clean Water Act, A/Ps are required to prevent the discharge of any contaminated runoff into any drainage system that empties into these water sources unless a specific permit is obtained by the Environmental Protection Agency or other authorized body
HAZARDOUS WASTE EMISSIONS
• Environmental Protection Agency defines waste as any solid, liquid, or contained gaseous material that is no longer used, and is either recycled, thrown away, or stored until enough is accumulated to treat or be disposed in another manner
• Hazardous wastes are those that can cause injury or death to people or animals, or damage or pollute land, air, or water
• Waste may also be considered hazardous if it exhibits any of four characteristics:
• Ignitability
• Corrosiveness
• Reactivity
• Toxicity
• A/Ps are sources of various emissions that may be considered hazardous waste, including fuel, deicing & other liquid runoff, used oil, corroded electric components, chemicals, paints, solvents, lavatory waste
• A/Ps that accumulate hazardous waste must provide storage containment units that prevent the release of waste into the surrounding environment
• Hazardous waste may be stored on A/P property only temporarily, typically for no longer than 180 days, before it must be disposed of in a certified location off-site, or properly treated
EXTERNALIZES
• A/P mgt should also be concerned with the environmental impacts that occur as a result of ops from other sources, as an indirect result of an airport’s presence. These impacts are known as externalities
• One example of an externality would be the environmental impacts resulting from the operation of a factory, which had been located in a region near the A/P simply because of the A/P presence
• Another example includes the increase of automobile traffic in the vicinity of the A/P, created as a result of the operation of hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and other facilities that tend to appear near A/Ps
• Although these activities are hardly the responsibility of the A/P manager and the A/P manager does not have any authority over the operation of these activities, the A/P operator typically is charged with these environmental issues in the form of externalities
Careful and strategic negotiations with local facility operators, as well as with the local metropolitan planning organizations, may help manage external activity, which in turn may lead to the reduction in external environmental impacts
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