Airports and territory : emergence of a new strategic actor in the air transport system

• Main Author: Horn, Catharina
• Language: English
• Published: Université Paris-Est 2010
• Subjects: [SHS:GEO] Humanities and Social Sciences/Geography; [SHS:GEO] Sciences de l'Homme et Société/Géographie; Spatial and territorial embeddedness; Airport business; Liberalisation; Nuisance; Airport strategies; Airport taxonomy
• Online Access: http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00601271; http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/60/12/71/PDF/TH2010PEST1107_complete.pdf

This thesis deals with the emergence of the airport as a new strategic actor in the air transport system which has undergone profound changes since its liberalisation and within which the airport turned out to be a major player. Considering the airport as an actor in the air transport system, even if it is affected by its environment in a large sense, this work proposes a contribution to current discussion about airport economics. This contribution refers to two levels : an analysis of the European airport business within which the airport emerges as a full player and an analysis of the link between airport strategy and the spatial and territorial context into which the airport is embedded. Based on the differentiation of airport strategies according to the airports' commitment to certain market segments, the analysis of the spatial and territorial context into which the airports are embedded showed its influence on the development of airports but confirmed also that the latter is not automatic but subject to the dynamics arising from the interactions between the different actors. The emergence of the airport as a new strategic player in the air transport system places the emphasis on the complex relation between airport and territory which is reflected in a number of issues connected with the airport activity