Evaluation of airport sustainability by the synthetic evaluation method: A case study of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China, from 2008 to 2017

Abstract

Although the concept of sustainable development has made certain achievements in many fields, airport sustainability (AS) has not yet formed a unified and comprehensive theory and evaluation method. According to the connotation of sustainable development, this paper proposes the definition of airport sustainability by considering China's national conditions and airport characteristics. Secondly, this paper identifies four AS dimensions of economy, environment, society, and operation and selects and screens evaluation indicators for each dimension. Thirdly, a synthetic evaluation index model of AS is constructed based on the benefit of the doubt (BoD) model, and the process of evaluation method is planned according to a synthetic evaluation method. Finally, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) is selected as a case study to evaluate the AS from 2008 to 2017, and the influencing factors of AS are discussed to predict AS in 2018. The evaluation and prediction results are consistent with the actual operational characteristics of CAN.