Atlanta International Named World’s Most Efficient Airport

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has been named the most efficient airport in the world by the Air Transport Research Society and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a designation ATL has earned the past 17 consecutive years.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has been named the most efficient airport in the world by the Air Transport Research Society and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a designation ATL has earned the past 17 consecutive years.

For the 17th year in a row, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was named the most efficient airport in the world as announced by the Air Transport Research Society (ATRS) and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at the 2020 ATRS Global Airport Efficiency Awards, which was held virtually this year, in early July.

As the busiest airport in the world, ATL served more than 110 million passengers in 2019.

The ATRS is a worldwide research network headquartered in the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. The annual ATRS benchmark project is compiled, organized and hosted at Embry-Riddle’s David B. O’Maley College of Business, in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“The ATRS Airport Benchmarking Project strives to provide comprehensive and unbiased information on the best practices in the industry to help advance the overall performance of airports worldwide and we are honored to showcase the winners of this year’s Global Airport Efficiency Awards,” said Benchmarking Project Manager Dr. Chunyan Yu, professor of Air Transport Management at Embry-Riddle.

The Airport Performance Benchmarking Report provides a comparison of airport performance worldwide, focusing on productivity and operating/management efficiency, unit cost competitiveness and comparison of airport charges. Service quality is not considered in the performance measurements.

“The work of Dr. Chunyan Yu and her students crafting the annual Airport Performance Benchmarking Report is indicative of our close relationships and deep understanding of the aviation and aerospace industries,” said Dr. Shanan Gibson, professor of Management and College of Business dean. “I am proud of the exceptional work this team continues to produce and the real-world experience it provided our students.”

The 2020 ATRS Global Airport Benchmarking Project report includes 204 airports and 24 airport groups of various sizes and ownership forms in the Asia Pacific, in Europe and in North America.

Contact the ATRS to order the 3-volume 2020 Global Airport Performance Benchmarking Report, over 600 pages of valuable data and analysis.

Other top performers in North America include Vancouver Airport (YVR, 25-40 million passengers per year), Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC, 15-25 million passengers), Nashville International Airport (BNA, 5-15 million passengers) and Victoria International Airport (YYJ, under 5 million passengers).

In Asia Pacific, Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) placed first in the over 40 million passengers category. Jeju International Airport (CJU, 20-40 million passengers), Gimhae International Airport (PUS, 10-20 million passengers) and A.B Won Pat International Airport, Guam (GUM, under 10 million passengers) also won the top efficiency awards in their respective categories. Auckland Airport (AKL) is ranked as the top efficiency airport in Oceania.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) was again ranked first among airports with over 40 million passengers in Europe in 2019. Other winners include Copenhagen Airports (CPH, 25-40 million passengers), Athens International Airport (ATH, 15-25 million passengers) and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL/MLH, under 15 million passengers).

View a summary of the 2020 ATRS Airport Efficiency Award Winners.

Representatives of nine winning airports attended the virtual conference and participated in a panel discussing the measures airports have taken to deal with the impacts of Covid-19 on the aviation industry. The session was chaired by Perry Miller, president and CEO of Richmond International Airport (RIC).

Members of the ATRS Global Airport Performance Benchmarking Task Force include:

Tae H. Oum (Canada), Chunyan Yu (USA), Bijan Vasigh (USA), Jia Yan (USA), Peter Forsyth (Australia), Yuichiro Yoshida (Japan), Yeong-Heock Lee (Korea), Japhet Law (Hong Kong, China), Shinya Hanaoka (Japan), Xiaowen Fu (Australia), Jaap de Wit (The Netherlands), Eric Pels (The Netherlands), Hans-Martin Niemeier (Germany) and Nicole Adler (Israel).

About Embry-Riddle’s David B. O’Maley College of Business

The David B. O’Maley College of Business provides a world-class business education, including specialized aviation-related degree programs, that meets the needs of learners seeking everything from bachelor’s and master’s degrees, to doctoral opportunities. Students at Embry-Riddle benefit from belonging to a globally connected network of alumni representing the breadth of the aviation and aerospace industries at top companies that regularly recruit Embry-Riddle students for career positions and internships.

The O’Maley College of Business also offers a range of continuing education programs, corporate training, seminars and workshops for individuals and organizations in the aviation and aerospace industry. Customized programs can be developed to ensure effective and innovative business operations and leadership success. For more information, visit Professional Education.

Posted In: Aviation | Business | Research