Research Jolien Pauwels

Abstract

Regional airports face a viability problem due to the imbalance between their socio-economic role and the challenges they face. A literature review revealed four main categories of challenges: market dynamics that cause low economies of scale, finances that entail high losses, politics dealing with the discrepancy between sky-high subsidies and ecological pollution, and geolocation that creates (intermodal) competition. The primary aim of the proposed research is to address this imbalance by responding to the challenges and opportunities, thus preparing European regional airports for a sustainable future on an economic, environmental and societal level. To achieve this objective, three phases are completed. First, an exploratory cluster analysis and comparative case study analysis will be used to identify the current economic, environmental and societal challenges of regional airports according to the type of regional airport. Second, the main challenges (derived from the first phase) should be transformed into actions for the airport operators and governments that are supported by the multi-stakeholder network. In the final phase, the prioritized actions are developed into clear guidelines that airport operators and governments can follow in the short, medium and long term to promote sustainable developments and the external validity of the results is examined.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Dewulf Wouter
• Co-promoter: Buyle Sven
• Fellow: Pauwels Jolien

Research team(s)

• Transport and Regional Economics

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Regional airports face a viability problem due to the imbalance between the socio-economic role they fulfil and their negative profit and loss statement. Therefore, the primary objective of this research is to determine whether real estate developments in and around regional airports can increase this (currently negative) profit and loss statement without proportionally increasing the social costs. To achieve this, four research questions were formulated. First, a market analysis of regional airports and their (real estate) strategy uncovers the current situation and delineates the research. Second, the business models of regional airports and the linked problems are researched on the basis of a factor and cluster analysis. Third, the relationship between current land use at regional airports and their profit and loss statement is examined through (spatial) regression. Finally, descriptive examples of future real estate developments (e.g. solar panel park), that can deliver improvements in the profit and loss statement of regional airports, will be provided.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Dewulf Wouter
• Co-promoter: Buyle Sven
• Fellow: Pauwels Jolien

Research team(s)

• Transport and Regional Economics

Project type(s)

• Research Project