The Economics of Airport Use, Congestion, and Safety

Getting to and from airports and waiting while flights are delayed or rescheduled because of air and ground traffic congestion means increasing costs for users and managers of air facilities. The total cost of using airports includes not only the price of tickets and, in some airports, Unding fees, but also the costs of queueing to passengers and airlines. In other markets the prvilege of using scarce facilities at one's choosing is paid for through higher prices. A careful analysis of the problem indicates that the pricing system has not been used effectively to help solve airport congestion until such time as expanded airport capacity can be achieved. Regulatory authorities recently thought the solution might be found by rationing the use of airports during peak times on some arbitrary basis. The authors discuss the deficiencies of this rationing policy and propose instead time-and locationdifferentiated pricing systems.