AVF 4720 Module 1 Written Assignment: How Federal Policy Built America's Airports Example

Built by Cities, Paid for by Travelers: A Century of Federal Policy Behind America's Airports

Student Name

B.S.B.A. in Aviation Management, Thomas Edison State University

AVF-4720: Airport Management I

Mentor Name

Month Day, Year

Built by Cities, Paid for by Travelers: A Century of Federal Policy Behind America's Airports

Introduction

Most large airports in other countries were built and run by national governments, and Oum et al. (2006) found that ownership forms around the world range from government departments to private firms. In the United States, nearly every commercial airport is owned by a city, county, state or public authority, and federal money has paid for much of its growth. That pattern was set by a series of decisions made over a century. This paper traces those decisions and what they mean for a public airport today.

Airports Left to Local Governments

Prather and Steele (2015) explain that the Air Commerce Act of 1926 gave the federal government responsibility for airways, navigation aids and pilot and aircraft certification, but left airports to others. Cities and private operators built early airfields, often on the edge of town, to attract airmail and the new passenger airlines. During the Depression, federal relief programs, including the Works Progress Administration, funded construction and improvement of hundreds of airports as public works, which strengthened the idea that airports were public facilities.

The Federal Role Grows

The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 created a federal role in airline economics and safety, and World War II brought large military investment in airfields, many of which later became civilian airports. The Federal Airport Act of 1946 established the first permanent program of federal grants to public airports, with local governments paying a share. The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 created the Federal Aviation Agency, later the Federal Aviation Administration, to manage air traffic and safety as jet travel grew.

The Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970 created the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, financed by taxes on airline tickets, cargo and fuel, and used it to fund airport development grants. Travelers, not general taxpayers, began paying for the system. Wells and Young (2011) describe this shift as the foundation of today's airport financing.

Deregulation and Its Effects

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 did not regulate airports directly, but it changed what they needed. Airlines could now enter and leave routes freely, so smaller airports could lose service quickly, while large airports became connecting hubs that needed more gates and runways. Wells and Young (2011) describe how hub airports grew quickly after deregulation and soon faced congestion their runways and terminals had not been built for.

The Modern Funding System

The Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 created the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which still provides federal grants for eligible projects such as runways, taxiways, lighting and safety equipment. Airports that accept these grants agree to grant assurances, such as keeping the airport open to the public and using airport revenue only for airport purposes. In 1990 Congress authorized passenger facility charges (PFCs), a fee of a few dollars per boarding passenger that airports may collect for approved projects, giving them a local source of capital beyond federal grants.

What This History Means for Cumberland Bay Regional

Cumberland Bay Regional Airport is a composite airport used throughout this course: a county-owned commercial service airport in the Mid-Atlantic with two runways, two airlines and a busy general aviation side. Its history follows the national pattern. It began as a municipal field in the 1930s, served as a military training base during World War II and was returned to the county after the war. Its main runway was lengthened with federal grants, and its terminal was rebuilt partly with passenger facility charge revenue. Because it accepts AIP grants, it must follow the grant assurances, which limit how it can use its revenue and require it to serve all users fairly. After deregulation, it lost and regained airline service several times, which explains why the county now works actively to attract and keep airlines.

Conclusion

The history of U.S. airports explains why they are local public facilities funded in large part through federal grants and charges on travelers. Each major law added a piece: local ownership, federal grants, a trust fund, airline freedom and local fees. Any airport studied in this course, including Cumberland Bay Regional, carries that history in its ownership, its funding and its obligations.

References

Oum, T. H., Adler, N., & Yu, C. (2006). Privatization, corporatization, ownership forms and their effects on the performance of the world's major airports. Journal of Air Transport Management, 12(3), 109-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2005.11.003

Prather, C. D., & Steele, R. N. (2015). Airport management. Aviation Supplies & Academics.

Wells, A. T., & Young, S. B. (2011). Airport planning and management (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill.