Aeronautical Infrastructure Optimization to Enhance the Strategic and Operational Business Performance of Small Airports

Airport business management literature commonly evaluates the performance of these organizations based on the number of passengers and cargo processed, aircraft movements, number of runways, number of employees, and passengers’ terminal dimension, among other factors concerning commercial aviation, commonly applied to large structures, with gaps being identified in the literature of small airports. The identification and analysis of the main factors that interfere with the performance of airport business, and the strategic and operational management of small public airports have been analyzed from 24 small Brazilian airports. The study employed the Data Envelopment Analysis method based on the Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes model, as well as the Banker, Charnes, and Cooper model, adapted for Visual Basic Analysis. The main results demonstrate that infrastructural characteristics, such as runway width, pavement classification number, runway length, buldings' age, maximum take-off weight of the critical aircraft, passenger terminal size, and air cargo and passengers processed, show significant relevance to the operational performance of small airports. The main theoretical implications of the study are the definition of strategic and operational parameters that impact the performance of small airports, which can be used as a reference by air transport decision-makers.