Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) recently released its study summarizing the economic benefits to the national economy made by the country’s 493 commercial airports.
The study, Taking America Beyond the Horizon: The Economic Impact of Commercial Service Airports in 2017, found the airports contributed $1.4 trillion to the economy, the equivalent of more than 7 percent to the GDP. The airports also supported 11.5 million jobs with a payroll of $428 billion.
“America’s airports are powerful economic engines, and this study reaffirms the valuable role airports play in job creation and economic growth in local communities,” ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke said. “But airports have significant unmet infrastructure needs that threaten their ability to serve their passengers and support their local communities. With travel only expected to rise in the upcoming years, we must continue our work to provide airports with the tools they need to meet the growing demands of the future with safe, competitive, and modern facilities.”
The study was last conducted in 2013. Since then, total economic output has spiked 24 percent.
In 2017, global traffic surpassed 8.2 billion passengers while North American traffic exceeded 1.8 billion passengers.
ACI-NA forecasts global airport traffic will double by 2034.