Modeling Airport Catchment Areas: Using Spatial Analysis Approach

Abstract

Th e airport catchment area is the geographic area from which an airport can reasonably expect to draw commercial air service passengers. Th e purpose of this interdisciplinary research is to estimate airport catchment areas using a spatial analysis method for informed airport management. In order to ensure the comprehensiveness and reliability of the research, we chose to analyze the catchment areas for fi ve airports of diff erent sizes and in diff erent geographic locations in the United States. Th e Huff model, which is usually used in marketing, economics, and retail research, was adopted in this study. We applied this model in airport catchment analysis for the selected airports, with consideration of ground transportation distance and airport attractiveness. We identifi ed the best distance factors and parameters for modeling purposes. Th e results provided reliable information for the selected fi ve airports to estimate their catchment areas. In addition, the model can provide a good reference for other airport catchment analysis studies about the eff ectiveness of the Huff model in prediction.