Airport KPIs.

Airports are aviation infrastructure facilities serving passenger + cargo flight operations. US airports are overwhelmingly publicly owned — operated by city, county, state, or regional authority (Port Authority of NY/NJ, LAWA Los Angeles, MWAA Metropolitan Washington). The economic structure layers aeronautical revenue (landing fees, gate rentals, fuel flowage fees from airlines) with non-aeronautical revenue (concessions — duty-free, F&B, retail, parking, rental car fees, advertising). Performance is measured in passenger volume (enplanements + deplanements), aeronautical revenue per enplaned passenger ($8-$15 typical), non-aeronautical revenue per enplaned passenger ($10-$25), and concession sales-per-square-foot ($1,000-$5,000 PSF — among highest retail PSF anywhere). International airports operate as public-private partnerships — Aena (AENA SM, Spanish — operates 46 Spanish airports + LHR partial stake), Aéroports de Paris (ADP FP — Paris CDG + ORY), Sydney Airport (SYD — privatized 2002, taken private 2022), Auckland Airport (AIA NZ). US airports remain authority-owned without REIT exposure. Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP) holds airport stakes globally. Ilora.ai ingests airport authority financial reports, passenger statistics, concession sales reports, airline use agreements, and capital plan + bond covenant documentation, then benchmarks against ACI World + AENA + ADP comparable airport data.

11 definitions · Sector: META · Used by Ilora.ai specialist AI agents

NOI

Net Operating Income

Total revenue minus operating expenses (excludes financing and capital costs). The primary measure of property-level profitability.

NOI = Revenue − Operating Expenses

  • profitability
  • core
Cap Rate

Capitalization Rate

Net Operating Income divided by current property value. Expresses unleveraged annual yield as a percentage.

Cap Rate = NOI ÷ Property Value

  • valuation
  • core
DSCR

Debt Service Coverage Ratio

Net Operating Income divided by total annual debt service. Lender-required cushion measure; below 1.0 means NOI cannot cover debt.

DSCR = NOI ÷ Annual Debt Service

  • lending
  • risk
LTV

Loan-to-Value

Loan amount divided by property value. Lower LTV = lower lender risk.

LTV = Loan Amount ÷ Property Value

  • lending
  • risk
OER

Operating Expense Ratio

Operating expenses divided by gross revenue. Lower is better, but varies by property type (hotels run higher than triple-net retail).

OER = Operating Expenses ÷ Gross Revenue

  • efficiency
GRM

Gross Rent Multiplier

Property value divided by gross annual rental income. Quick valuation shortcut; less precise than cap rate.

GRM = Property Value ÷ Gross Annual Rent

  • valuation
  • shortcut
IRR

Internal Rate of Return

Annualized return on investment accounting for time value of money across the full hold period.
  • return
  • underwriting
CoC

Cash-on-Cash Return

Pre-tax annual cash flow divided by total cash invested. Measures the cash yield, not total return.

CoC = Annual Cash Flow ÷ Total Cash Invested

  • return
DCF

Discounted Cash Flow

Valuation method that projects future cash flows and discounts them to present value at a chosen rate.
  • valuation
  • underwriting
TTM

Trailing Twelve Months

A rolling sum of the most recent 12 months. Smooths seasonality for KPI comparisons.
  • period
  • core
Catchment

Catchment Area

The geographic area from which a property draws its users (passengers, customers).
  • demand

Sub-types

Sub-types within Airport.

Large Hub International (LAX, JFK, ATL, ORD, DFW)
20M+ annual enplanements, major international gateway.
Medium Hub (BWI, SAN, SLC)
5-20M annual enplanements, regional gateway.
Small Hub + Non-Hub Regional
<5M annual enplanements, smaller regional service.
General Aviation Airport
Private aviation + corporate jet focus, no scheduled commercial service.
Cargo-Focused Airport
Major cargo airports (MEM Memphis FedEx hub, SDF Louisville UPS hub, ANC Anchorage).

Amenities & features

8 amenities Ilora.ai tracks for Airport.

Passenger Terminal + Gates

Main passenger terminal with airline gates, jet bridges, ticketing, baggage.

  • Gate count
  • Terminal SF
  • Annual passenger throughput
Runways + Taxiways

Paved runways + taxiway system; aeronautical capacity driver.

  • Runway count
  • Operations per hour capacity
Concession Retail (Duty-Free, F&B, Retail)

Post-security concession retail — among highest sales-PSF retail anywhere.

  • Concession sales PSF ($1K-$5K typical)
  • Sales per enplanement
Cargo Handling Facilities

Dedicated cargo terminals + apron for freight operations.

  • Cargo tonnage handled annually
Parking + Rental Car Center

Short-term + long-term parking + rental car ConRAC; major non-aeronautical revenue.

  • Parking revenue per enplanement
  • CFC revenue
Hotel + Conference (Adjacent)

On-airport hotels + conference space for transit + meeting demand.

  • Adjacent hotel revenue lift
Cell Phone Lots + Curb Management

Free cell phone waiting lots + dedicated rideshare zones.

  • Curbside management revenue
Air Traffic Control + Navigation

FAA-operated ATC tower + navigation aids.

  • Operations per hour

Industry reference

How the airport sector operates.

Market segments

  • Domestic passenger commercial aviation
  • International passenger commercial aviation
  • Cargo + freight operations
  • General aviation (private + corporate jet)
  • Concession retail + F&B
  • Rental car + ground transportation
  • Adjacent hotel + commercial real estate
  • Government / military aviation

Operating models

  • City / county / state authority owned + operated (US standard)
  • Regional airport authority (multi-jurisdiction)
  • Public-private partnership / privatized (international standard — AENA, ADP, SYD, AIA)
  • Federal-aviation-administration general-aviation airport
  • Joint civilian + military airport

Regulatory frameworks

  • FAA Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR)
  • TSA security requirements
  • Airport Improvement Program (AIP federal funding)
  • FAA Part 139 airport certification
  • CBP (Customs and Border Protection) for international airports
  • NEPA + FAA environmental review
  • EPA + state environmental compliance
  • Federal Anti-Head Tax Act (cap on passenger facility charges)

Industry organizations

  • ACI (Airports Council International)
  • AAAE (American Association of Airport Executives)
  • IATA (International Air Transport Association)
  • A4A (Airlines for America)
  • Skytrax (passenger airport ratings)
  • Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA)

Comparable public REITs / operators

  • No US public REIT pure-play. International airport operating companies (publicly listed): AENA SM (Aena — Spain, 46 airports + LHR partial), ADP FP (Aéroports de Paris — CDG + ORY + 25 international airports), AIA NZ (Auckland International Airport), Fraport AG (FRA DE — Frankfurt + global), Beijing Capital International Airport (HK 0694)
  • Sydney Airport (SYD AU) was taken private 2022 by IFM + AustralianSuper consortium
  • Adjacent: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP) holds airport infrastructure stakes globally

Documents Ilora.ai ingests

  • Airport authority annual financial report
  • Passenger statistics (enplanements + deplanements + cargo tonnage)
  • Aeronautical revenue report (landing fees, gate rentals, fuel flowage)
  • Non-aeronautical revenue report (concessions, parking, advertising)
  • Concession sales-PSF report
  • Airline use agreements + master leases
  • Capital improvement plan + bond covenants
  • FAA Part 139 certification
  • Master plan + capacity analysis
  • Customer Facility Charge (CFC) reports

Industry tools (we integrate with these)

  • Sabre AirVision (airport operations)
  • Amadeus Altea (airline IT)
  • Cirium (aviation data + analytics)
  • OAG (airline schedules data)
  • AviationStack (flight data)
  • Skytrax (passenger reviews)
  • ACI ASQ (airport service quality benchmarking)
  • AENA Open Data
  • OAG Aviation
  • Mead & Hunt (aviation planning)

Frequently asked

Common questions about airport.

Are airports owned as REITs?
No US REIT operates airports — US airports are overwhelmingly publicly owned by city, county, state, or regional authorities (Port Authority of NY/NJ, LAWA Los Angeles, MWAA Metropolitan Washington). International airports often operate as public-private partnerships and are publicly listed: AENA (AENA SM, Spain, 46 airports + LHR partial stake), Aéroports de Paris (ADP FP, Paris CDG + ORY + 25 international), Auckland Airport (AIA NZ), Fraport AG (FRA DE, Frankfurt + global), Beijing Capital International Airport (HK 0694). Sydney Airport (SYD) was taken private 2022. Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP) holds airport infrastructure stakes globally. The US airport authority financial structure (general obligation + revenue bonds) does not lend itself to REIT conversion.
How do airports generate revenue?
Airports generate two streams: aeronautical revenue (landing fees, gate rentals, fuel flowage fees from airlines, jet bridge fees) typically $8-$15 per enplaned passenger; non-aeronautical revenue (concessions — duty-free, F&B, retail, parking, rental car CFC fees, advertising) typically $10-$25 per enplaned passenger. Major international gateway airports (LAX, JFK, ATL, ORD) generate $35-$60+ total per enplaned passenger. Concession sales-per-square-foot at major airports ($1,000-$5,000 PSF) are among the highest retail PSF anywhere — even higher than top luxury malls. Customer Facility Charges (CFCs on rental cars) and Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs, capped at $4.50) provide additional capital funding.
How are international airport operators valued?
International airport operating companies are valued on EBITDA multiples (8-15x typical) reflecting passenger growth + concession growth + capital plan execution. AENA (~$22B mkt cap) trades at ~12x EBITDA reflecting Spain market dominance + post-COVID passenger recovery. ADP (~$13B mkt cap) trades at ~10x EBITDA. The valuation methodology incorporates regulated aeronautical revenue (often capped by national regulators), unregulated non-aeronautical revenue (commercial), capital expenditure cycle, and concession contract renewal cycles. Privatized airports typically trade at premium to authority-owned because of operating efficiency + commercial revenue maximization.

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