From mere providers of airline infrastructure, airports have become poles of economic development and genuine gateways to growth for their airline customers and the regions they serve. Airports therefore represent a significant asset for their local community, acting as magnets to a wide range of industrial and commercial enterprises. They create wealth and employment in their own right and they provide high value communication and distribution links between developed, interdependent markets. Many industries locate close to airports specifically to gain easy access to air transport and the ground-based infrastructure, such as road and rail links, created to serve them. A region cannot be marketed as a centre for establishing major new businesses without an efficient air transport infrastructure, nor will it attract major investment.
Airports are thus active partners in developing dynamic, vital economies.