Title: Non-discretionary output oriented data envelopment analysis for ranking airports: an Indian case study

Authors: Sudhakar Piratla; Binod Kumar Singh

Addresses: UPES, Dehradun, India ' UPES, Dehradun, India

Abstract: Understanding and enhancing airport efficiency is crucial due to the unprecedented growth of air travel and the critical role of airports. In this investigation, 39 airports spanning 21 states in India were scrutinised over a decade. Comprehensive data on eight inputs - number of cities connected, aircraft parking bays, land lease area, floor lease area, employees, runway length, operation hours, and expenditure - were compiled alongside five output variables - land lease revenue, non-aeronautical revenue, aircraft, passengers, and freight. The analysis employed an output-oriented, non-discretionary BCC DEA model to rank airports based on their efficiency. Results revealed that ten out of the 39 airports consistently maintained a perfect efficiency score of 1.00 over the ten years, while the efficiency status of the remaining airports exhibited variability. The ten-year average data indicated potential increases in output quantities for land lease revenue, non-aeronautical revenue, aircraft, passengers, and freight for approximately ten airports categorised as inefficient.

Keywords: airports; efficiency; non-discretionary and discretionary inputs; outputs; data envelopment analysis; BCC DEA model; optimisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSA.2024.140658

International Journal of Sustainable Aviation, 2024 Vol.10 No.3, pp.208 - 233

Received: 23 Feb 2024
Accepted: 02 Jun 2024
Published online: 29 Aug 2024 *

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