Folks who run the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport have a reason to smile. That's because the Air Transport Research Society has given MSP its 2013 Airport Efficiency Excellence Award as the most efficiently managed large airport in North America.
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport was named the world's most efficient airport for the 10th straight year during the society's annual conference in Bergamo, Italy in June.
Souel-Gimpoin Asia and Copenhagen in Europe also won awards for efficiency for airports that serve more than 15 million passengers. Oklahoma City earned the award for airports with fewer than 15 million passengers.
The society looked at the efficiency of 195 airports in North America, Europe and Asia. ATRS looked at metrics such as aircraft operation, passenger volumes, the ability to generate revenue that comes from other sources than the airlines, the number of airport employees and other operational expenses.
The MSP airport generates more than $10 billion a year for the local economy and serves more than 33 million passengers a year, said Jeff Hamiel, executive director and CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission.
"I am particularly proud of this one because it so clearly reflects our Minnesota values: operating a safe, welcoming, no-nonsense facility that is as big on amenities and services as itis short on waste and ostentation," Hamiel said. "We strive to manage MSP in ways that are financially, environmentally, socially and operationally sustainable long term."
The society headquartered at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia is an international association of air transport academics.
