Factors affecting airport route development activity and performance

Airports have become increasingly active in route development as a means of attracting, growing and retaining air services. However, little is known about the different levels of route development activity at airports, or the extent to which route development activity affects performance. Based on the findings of a survey of 124 airports worldwide, this study finds that larger airports are significantly more active than smaller airports. It also finds that private airports are more active than public airports, and that airports in Europe are more active than airports in other world regions, although differences according to ownership and location are not significant. Route development activity has a significant positive effect on performance. Factors associated with the airport business environment (market turbulence, competitive intensity, market growth and airport constraints) were not found to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between route development activity and performance. However, two factors were found to have a significant direct effect on performance; market growth has a significant positive effect while airport constraints have a significant negative effect

Speaking of Contradiction

Whereas McGovern calls for a moratorium on the ever increasing (ab)use of the word ‘contradiction’, principally because scholars of work and employment fail to connect different levels of analysis and/or demonstrate how and why contradiction(s) lead to widespread instability and upheaval, it can be demonstrated how both can be achieved through the ‘system, society, dominance’ framework. In what follows, the empirical focus is on the safety-critical work of airport ground service providers (GSPs), where key elements of the employment relationship embody contradictions that can be traced to the (sub-)system (mode of production) of a Single European Aviation Market (SEAM) that is now dominated by low fares airlines (LFAs). Instead of a moratorium, scholars of work and employment need to reconnect with society and theoretically ground their analysis in a (capitalist) system beset with contradictions between the forces and relations of production

Ultrafine particles in four European urban environments: Results from a new continuous long-term monitoring network

To gain a better understanding on the spatiotemporal variation of ultrafine particles (UFPs) in urban environments, this study reports on the first results of a long-term UFP monitoring network, set up in Amsterdam (NL), Antwerp (BE), Leicester (UK) and London (UK). Total number concentrations and size distributions were assessed during 1e2 years at four fixed urban background sites, supplemented with mobile trailer measurements for co-location monitoring and additional short-term monitoring sites. Intra- and interurban spatiotemporal UFP variation, associations with commonly-monitored pollutants (PM, NOx and BC) and impacts of wind fields were evaluated. Although comparable size distributions were observed between the four cities, source-related differences were demonstrated within specific particle size classes. Total and size-resolved particle number concentrations showed clear traffic-related temporal variation, confirming road traffic as the major UFP contributor in urban environments. New particle formation events were observed in all cities. Correlations with typical traffic-related pollutants (BC and NOx) were obtained for all monitoring stations, except for Amsterdam, which might be attributable to UFP emissions from Schiphol airport. The temporal variation in particle number concentration correlated fairly weakly between the four cities (rs = 0.28 0.50, COD = 0.28 0.37), yet improved significantly inside individual cities (rs = 0.59-0.77). Nevertheless, considerable differences were still obtained in terms of particle numbers (20-38% for total particle numbers and up to 49% for size-resolved particle numbers), confirming the importance of local source contributions and the need for careful consideration when allocating UFP monitoring stations in heterogeneous urban environments

Impact of COVID-19 on air transport passenger markets: Examining evidence from the Chinese market

COVID-19 is an unprecedented situation and its impacts are expected to be significant, especially for the travel and tourism industry. This study contains a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of air transport capacity, traffic and revenue changes in domestic and international markets involving China with a focus on airlines, route networks and airports during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data from OAG and MIDT were used to analyse the Chinese domestic market, the traffic China to Europe and China to the rest of Asia. The analysis found that domestic markets, those served by well financed/funded air carriers, those less exposed to the highest rates of Covid-19 infection and those that are seeing the least restrictive lockdown and travel measures have been least impacted by the pandemic and are those that are most likely to rebound first. Less well financed/funded carriers whose networks are focussed on international markets, premium traffic and discretionary leisure travel have been found to be impacted most by the pandemic and are those that are likely to take the longest to recover. In terms of Chinese airports, performance has varied according to airlines served, characteristic of the airport/city, and the severity of the outbreak