Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is in the running to be named the most efficient airport in the world for the sixth straight year.
Since 2001 the Air Transport Research Society has measured 148 airports and 16 airport groups for operating efficiency and cost competitiveness, naming regional winners from Asia, Europe, and North America and crowning a global leader each year.
The awards will be distributed at the society’s annual meeting in Sydney on June 30. Hartsfield officials will be on hand to accept should the airport win in any category.
In 2010 airports in Oslo, Norway, and Hong Kong won for Europe and Asia in the large airports category, respectively. Raleigh, N.C.‘s airport was the most efficient airport handling less than 15 million passengers per year.
Long holding the title as the world’s busiest passenger airport, Atlanta has come out on top for efficiency during the past five years partly thanks to its ability to coax spending from the nearly 90 million travelers passing through each year, according to the society’s research.
Airports that glean a significant slice of revenues from “non-aeronautical” sources such as parking, retail stores and office rentals operate more efficiently and rely less on takeoff and landing fees, Tae Oum, a University of British Columbia professor and president of the society, said in a news release announcing last year’s winners.
Non-aviation activities accounted for 58 percent of Hartsfield-Jackson’s revenues in 2008, according to the society’s annual Global Airport Benchmarking Report.
The airport announced June 6 that the Atlanta City Council approved a plan to add 60,000 square feet of new space to Concourse D. The move is expected to ease congestion and add new restaurant and retail options.
In years past Hartsfield has attracted as much as a third of its revenue from parking.
Visit www.atrsworld.org for more information about the Air Transport Research Society.
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