The accurate, properly formatted, and timely reporting of airport activity and financial data is critical to effectively managing today’s airports.  These data are necessary (and often legally required) to meet operational needs properly, make informed business decisions, and forecast operational and financial trends.  Integrating these data within existing and future electronic systems is also necessary to improve accuracy and productivity. Currently, industry practices for identifying, gathering, processing, and reporting this information vary significantly across airport categories or even among airports within the same category.

A lack of consistent, accurate, and timely information results from a lack of applied technology and overall standardized industry practices to define and gather information.  Fully integrating these data into other systems offers effective enhancements in productivity that are often overlooked.  In addition, although large, complex airports have a need for more sophisticated data, airports of all sizes have a demonstrated need for certain minimum data to manage their facilities effectively.

Issues related to identifying, gathering, processing, and reporting data keep airports from realizing the full value of completely integrated information.

The objective of this research is to develop a handbook of recommended practices to identify, gather, process, and report an airport’s financial and operational data.  The handbook shall provide useful information and resources for airports as they implement systems necessary to meet operational needs properly, make informed business decisions, and forecast operational and financial trends.

The handbook shall (a) identify current airport industry best practices; (b) examine technologies that can be used to timely, efficiently, and accurately gather, process, and report financial and operational data; (c) develop cafeteria-style technical specifications that can be used by airports to procure appropriate technologies; (d) develop minimum voluntary performance guidelines for practices and technologies used to identify, gather, process, and report financial and operational data; (e) describe a vision for a fully integrated airport-business data system, based on new desirable practices, and needed technology; and (f) describe a process that can be followed to put this vision into practice.

Status:  The report was published as ACRP Report 13. A summary of the efforts associated with the development of ACRP Report 13 was published online as ACRP Web-Only Document 1: Analysis and Recommendations for Developing Integrated Airport Information Systems.