Impact of Hub Airports on a Community or City Research Paper

Impact of Hub Airports on a Community or City - Research Paper Example The concept of the Hub-and-spokes system was to concentrate traffic to one airport- the major hub from smaller national airports (known as the spokes) or other means of transport, and then the gathered group of passengers would be transported from the major hub to another major hub.† (AviationKnowledge, 2010) In addition to commercial airline hubs, companies such as FedEx, DHL, UPS, and other major carriers of air freight & cargo services may also operate airport hubs to facilitate the efficient delivery of their parcels and goods for transport. Some airports will be integrated commercial and air freight operations, while others will be dedicated and specialized to only one mode of operation dependent on the location. Furthermore, some airport hubs will be operated by a single or limited number of carriers, while other hubs will serve multiple carriers at the same location. Along with these main characteristics, hub airports also impact the local community and cities surroundin g them through: Requiring infrastructure development – hubs are typically larger than other airports and require more land for their operation, along with the building & roads to serve the facility, placing an investment requirement on the community. Jobs and business expansion – airport hubs promote an entire ecosystem of support businesses to serve the people who work in them – these include hotels, restaurants, stores, gas stations, shopping facilities, transportation, etc. Environmental Concerns – hub airports and frequent passenger air jet travel can have significant impact on local environments, including wildlife, air, water, and sound pollution, waste disposal management problems, etc. A step by step overview of the development of a hub airport shows the degree to which the effects of the construction and operation will ripple into the community. At the first stage, there is location, architectural design, and construction of the