What business are airports really in?

Most airports have an elevated vulnerability to aviation market fluctuations, which was emphasised during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic, when most airports experienced traffic downturns in excess of 90 per cent. This led them to batten the hatches by cutting operational costs to the bone, shelving major capital programmes and shuttering swathes of terminal infrastructure. Worldwide, terminals became ghost towns, and there were rumours of airport bankruptcy. The crisis made it patently clear that airports typically had very little alternative income with which to keep the wolf from the door during such events, leading the authors to ask the question whether the airport business is not too specialised and whether it might not benefit from diversification. In considering this question, it became apparent that the airport business as we know it today might also be in danger of major disruption within the next decade. This paper argues that it might be time for airports to reassess their business model by asking the question: What business are we really in? The proposed answer might be surprising for many airport authorities who have focused on aviation as their core business for the past century. The paper offers a range of provocative thoughts and ideas aimed at encouraging airport authorities to reassess their strategic plans and innovate towards a more resilient and sustainable business model that is integrated with their surrounding communities and regions, while staying ahead of the evolution of the mobility market.