Guide to Analyzing Economic Impact of Changes in Air Service Connectivity (RFP)

Air service connectivity is a critical driver of regional economic growth, affecting jobs, business attraction, tourism, healthcare access, and supply-chain competitiveness. Yet many U.S. airports, especially small, nonhub, and rural facilities, face persistent service losses. Existing resources, including ACRP Report 132: The Role of U.S. Airports in the National Economy (2015), provide national-level insights but offer limited utility for individual airports due to generic multipliers, static models, and the inability to incorporate local catchment areas, leakage, industry mix, or unique community assets. Airports require credible, accessible resources to quantify the economic impact of route changes or justification of new service or infrastructure investments. Research is needed to enable airport practitioners to rapidly and credibly measure the regional and national economic impacts of air service changes and produce professional outputs for airline negotiations, grant applications, and stakeholder advocacy. The objective of this research is to develop a guide and an interactive web-based analytical tool that enables airports of all sizes, demographics, and geographic regions to quantify changes in air service connectivity (passenger and cargo) and assess their impacts on regional economic productivity and national economic contributions.