Multiple-Airport Systems: The Development of Older Airports in View of Environmental Adverse Impacts

Existing research on multiple-airport systems (MAS) has mostly focused on passengers’ be-haviour (airport/airline choice), management issues, efficiency assessments and the complex governance of planning new main airports. In contrast, trends in traffic at the airport level within MAS have not often been investigated, although this is critical especially in case of adverse environmental impacts around older airports located close to city centres. In this context, this paper investigates the development of older airports within MAS and will assess whether and how aircraft noise issues have been considered at those older airports that have experienced increase in traffic. The analysis of trends in traffic is based on long-term statistical series of passengers and movements. The politics of related noise issues are investi-gated through case studies and interviews with relevant stakeholders. First findings on traffic changes suggest that in several MAS, traffic at the older airport has experienced significant traffic growth despite the opening of new airports. Trends include sharp and nearly continuous increase (e.g., Shanghai Hongqiao and Paris Orly); drop in traffic then re-development (e.g., Milan Linate and Osaka Itami); and re-development after a lethar-gy (e.g., Rome Ciampino). The novelty in this paper relies in the large set of case studies thanks to an international team; in the specific focus on the older airports rather than the new ones; in revisiting MAS through the lens of airport noise issues