Government Influence In Airports

Airports are categorized by their ownership, but their management is determined through its governance structure. The governance structure defines how an airport will be managed, operated, and developed. For example, an airport can be owned by a municipality, but operated by a regional or city-controlled airport authority. The majority of public airports in the United States are governed by airport authority. For instance, Dulles and Reagan Nation Airport are both owned by the federal government and operated by an airport authority, while states such as Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Rhode Island operate individual service airports. The latter airports’ public entities that govern them are considered rare or unique. According …show more content…
The federal government’s role is to regulate, and it also holds the power to transfer or delegate control of the airport. Federal law operates by regulating the operation of particular types of airports and denying rights to public entities that may disrupt airport operations and their decision-making process. It does not provide any limitations or restrictions on decision or the type of public entity an airport may operate under. The federal government also operates by transferring control to a private operator, which is becoming a commonality between airports throughout the …show more content…
In 2015, the local Nashville newspaper, The Tennessean, obtained consultant reports that the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority’s governing structure is too “top-heavy.” This information was publicized amid the Authority’s simultaneous restructuring. The Tennessean characterized the restructuring, ending oversight by the nation’s biggest airlines, which previously held approval and veto power over the Authority’s budget and major investments at the airport. Consequently, the restructure places all oversight in the hands of local airport executives. The governing structure had faced criticisms that its body’s power is too centralized and paternalistic. The criticisms have come from within the Authority from employees and outside from partners. To address the criticisms as proactively as possible, they transferred the Authority to a business-centric governing philosophy. The Authority funneled more of its power to top executives. Additionally, as compensation for the split between the Authority and airline representatives, the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority agreed to taken on two hundred million dollars in debt to improve airport infrastructure. Rob Wigington, Vice President of the Airport Authority as of 2012, describes the situation directly to the public via The Tennessean as being “a more balanced partnership,” which