Current accounts of Japanese airports

The paper examines the current account of 41 major airports. When we exclude depreciation costs, only seven airports are profitable. When depreciation is excluded, only three airports are making profits. Airports managed by local governments are very difficult to sustain financially without subsidies. Airports with more than 5.2 million passengers are profitable when depreciation is taken into account, however most local airports have fewer than 2.5 million passengers. When depreciation costs are excluded, airports need at least 2.7 million passengers to be viable.

Research highlights► Looks at the finances of Japanese civil airports. ► Finds that few Japanese airports recover their full costs after allowance for depreciation. ► To be financially excluding depreciation costs, airports need about 2.7 million passengers annually. ► Full long term financial viability of airports in Japan requires over five million passengers annually.