‘Case Studies on Commercialization, Privatization and Economic Oversight of Airports and Air Navigation Services Providers’ – A tool for policy-makers, policy analysts and practitioners1

This paper presents the database entitled ‘Case Studies on Commercialization, Privatization and Economic Oversight of Airports and Air Navigation Services Providers’, which is available on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) website. It describes the evolution and most recent expansion of the database, with 26 studies released during summer 2011.1 The paper goes on to explain the rationale behind the creation and expansion of such case studies by the ICAO Secretariat, as well as their structure, and content. It also puts the case studies in perspective with regard to the evolution in various states of the policies and management of airports and air navigation services providers (ANSPs), and to existing studies and articles focusing on the commercialisation and/or the privatisation of air transport infrastructure. Finally, the paper explains the purposes and advantages of these studies for policy-makers, policy analysts and air transport industry practitioners, and details the key points that emerge from these studies.