Airport Privatization: Issues and Options for Congress (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised March 11, 2021 |
| Report Number |
R43545 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Rachel Y. Tang, Analyst in Transportation and Industry |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
In 1996, Congress established the Airport Privatization Pilot Program (APPP; 49 U.S.C. §47134;
Section 149 of the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, P.L. 104-264) to increase access
to sources of private capital for airport development and to make airports more efficient,
competitive, and financially viable. Participation in the program has been very limited, in good
part because major stakeholders have different, if not contradictory, objectives and interests.
Only two U.S. commercial service airports have completed the privatization process established
under the APPP. One of those, Stewart International Airport in New York State, subsequently
reverted to public ownership. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico,
is now the only airport with a private operator under the provisions of the APPP.
As of August 2017, there are three active applicants in the APPP: Hendry County Airglades
Airport in Clewiston, FL; Westchester County Airport in White Plains, NY; and St. Louis
Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, MO.
Increasing interest in airport privatization is likely to require a number of significant policy
changes, including the following:
Making privatization more attractive to public-sector owners by facilitating the
use of privatization revenue for non-airport purposes.
Providing similar tax treatment to bonds issued by public-sector and privatesector
airport operators, as public-sector operators now have access to less costly
long-term finance than private operators.
Easing requirements for private owners to comply with assurances previously
made by public-sector owners to obtain federal Airport Improvement Program
(AIP) grants.
Accelerating the application and approval procedures for the APPP.
