Privatize Dulles and National Airports

The Trump administration is proposing to privatize two airports owned by the federal government in Virginia, Dulles and Reagan National. William Murray discussed some of the advantagesin theWashington Post, and noted that Australia provides a good model for such reforms.Policymakers can also look to Europe, which has embraced airport privatization since Margaret Thatcherprivatized London ’s Heathrow in 1987. Todayhalf of Europe ’s commercial airports are private, including the main airports in Antwerp, Birmingham, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Lisbon, Liverpool, Naples, Rome, Vienna, and Zurich.Some of the advantages can be:Self-financing without government subsidies.Higher productivity, more innovation, reduced delays, and better service.More competition between airlines and for gate space, to the benefit of passengers.Airport expansion as aviation demand rises with fewer political/bureaucratic/funding roadblocks.Airports Council Internationalsays there is “no denying the tangible benefits” of market-based reforms in Europe’s airport industry, including “significant volumes of investment in necessary infrastructure, higher service quality levels, and a commercial acumen which allows airport operators to diversify revenue streams and minimize t he costs that users have to pay.”Privatizing D.C. ’s airports would be back to the future. The main airport serving D.C. during the 1930s was the private Washington-Hoover Airport in Virginia.The m...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs