I’m from Philadelphia and fly out of PHL quite often. I’m currently sitting at BNA in Nashville and am shocked about how nice the airport is. I’ve never breezed through security faster and with such helpful staff. Who funds airports? How are some so bad and others so great?
Comments
I don’t know the answer but I just wanted to share my frustration with PHL as well. It’s such a nasty, dumpy airport. I’ve been traveling a little farther to Newark just as a change of scenery.
Airports are mostly private businesses. Sometimes a city and or a state will kick in some money or some tax breaks to get it built.
Local operated, so locally funded. Different passenger volumes. Politics. BNA has also has undergone a major renovation in the last decade.
Airports are like international business, some even trade on stock exchanges. It is up to the conglomerate of (international) owners what they make of it.
Also if an airport is a hub for one or more airlines it is more likely to be upscaled.
I think you’ll find that they are a lot more standardized than you think, they all have to provide the same services and functions, and there is a finite way of doing so.
Airport terminals are funded by passenger facility fees. in the US, that’s $4.75 per airport on your ticket. The airfield operations are funded by landing fees and fuel taxes.
PHL is a dingy hellscape, McDonald’s there even serves Pepsi.
Airports are private and they can even be staffed differently by location and company. For example JetBlue terminals in Philly might use in house staff for certain things from maintenance to cleaning which are staffed and funded by JetBlue. However JetBlue in Florida for example may be using outsourced workers for the same set of jobs meaning they’re contracting out the work to different businesses in the area so the quality might vary
America is based on capitalism not communism. Some airports get international so they have duty free luxury goods. Also 9-11 changed how all airports are run.
Most airports were built pre-9/11 so the reality is a lot of the extra security and TSA checks had to be added after the fact
Not even terminals within the same airport are standardized..
Half a century ago, there was this half-wit named Reagan who was used to convince other half-wits that “government is the problem.” And here we are.
I flew out of BNA yesterday. It’s a fantastic one isn’t it. The TSA staff are a wonderful bunch too. Friendly and helpful.