Topic: 14.2 Airports

The study analyses the institutional arrangements for: (1) private participation in the new Sydney Harbour Tunnel, and (2) the provision of new terminals at minor airports operated by a public-sector corporation. Commercial objectives probably secure efficient management of construction, but otherwise reap few efficiency benefits. When there are tight constraints on government budgets, commercial funding mechanisms make it easier for governments to promote their favoured schemes.

A comment on the article by Fitzgerald and Aneuryn-Evans in the September 1973 issue of this Journal.

The authors present a methodology for airport planning. They conclude that pricing should be based on short-run costs, including congestion; but care must be taken in planning dates for expansion. Airports must not be planned separately from airways and aircraft.

A comment arising from the article by V. C. Nwaneri in the September 1970 issue of this Journal together with a reply.

Construction of the Third London Airport should start two years or more later than is suggested by the Research Team of the Commission on the Third London Airport. Mr Forsyth gives reasons for this conclusion and for his contention that the starting date proposed is based on faulty estimates.

The author presents a system for measuring benefits from general aviation airports, applied to about 100 actual and projected airports within the state of Wisconsin. Users are readily identifiable and could probably bear a larger proportion of the costs than they do at present.

Mr Nwaneri examines the same assessment of short-listed sites by reference to such points as differences in social circumstances among beneficiaries and sufferers and the distinction between UK and foreign citizens. He concludes that Thurleigh is the cheapest site.

A case study on a proposed runway extension leads the author to conclude that cost-benefit studies are inadequate if they exclude benefits accruing to foreign airlines, and that if facilities provided are not reflected in charges they may distort the allocation of resources: modification of a few vehicles might cost less than the runway improvement.