Airport management practices can be distinguished from two different perspectives. Firstly, an entity can manage airports as an integrated network. On the contrary, airports can be managed by an autonomous entity that is responsible for a low number of airports. Secondly, airport authorities can be owned either by public institutions, by private firms or a mix of both. These practices have a wide range of effects on the ability of an airport authority to attract the most convenient airlines for it.
In addition to this, any competitive airline strategy depends fundamentally on airport access. In this way, Rome airport management trends to have effects on airline and italian airports competition. Although international services are still highly regulated, it can be said that travelers enjoy currently of a greater choice of alternatives to chose, a higher service frequency and low prices. There is a consensus that the achievement, maintenance or increase of these benefits in the post- liberalization period depends fundamentally on the existence of an effective competition on the route.
Most airports in the EU, like Rome airports, have been traditionally considered as public service organizations and most of them have not escaped from privatization policies implemented in the last decades; since 1996, and particularly in the recent years, a range of different airport ownership types have arisen due to the different historical and political approaches of EU countries so that it is possible to find any type of airport ownership model in these areas. This fact makes of great interest to study the EU case, taking into account that airport finance and airline access to airports follow common features all over the world with the important exception of US.
About the Author
Stefano Sandano is an archaeologist of Rome and the owner of the website http://www.rome-airport.org where you can find more informations about Rome airports.
