For very long our airports have been deliberately planned outside city limits. One can’t say they have been neglected, but surely they were never top priority. But going by some important facts, it’s compelling to take a re-look. Consider this: 40 per cent of the value of world trade now goes by air (and this is just under 2 per cent of the total trade, by weight).

* in German Airport Cities are economic shining towers, job engines, points of attraction for industrial settlements, an ideal situation for real estate networks and business connections and at the same time present a positive image for municipalities and regions, improving scientific structures without stopping national subsidies.

Chairman, Macquire Airports Management Limited Last month the New York Times nominated the "aerotropolis" as one of the "Ideas of 2006." It seems that everyone is talking aerotropoli or aerotropolises: it is an idea whose time has come.

Led by a convergence of aviation, globalization, digitisation and time-based competition, the worlds of air commerce and supply chain management are rapidly merging.

Terminal-based retail has been sufficiently successful that many airport operators are considering enlarging their facilities in order to increase revenues. On the basis of data on the retail sales and rental revenues for 75 of the US’s most important passenger airports, we demonstrate the significant impact of passenger demography on the volume and nature of airport retail sales. A method is outlined for combining information on the demography of passenger flows with construction costs in order to evaluate appropriate capital investments for terminal retail expansions.

This paper summarizes how the air cargo industry is changing and what the future holds. It covers emerging air cargo sectors, the new geography of air cargo, how air cargo in fostering global economic development, and the need for aviation liberalization if air cargo is to achieve its full development potential.

The new model recognizes the fact that in addition to their core aeronautical infrastructure and services, major airports have developed significant nonaeronautical commercial facilities, services and revenue streams. At the same time they are extending their formal reach and impact well beyond airport boundaries.

Airports have historically been understood as places where aircraft operate, including the runways, control towers, terminals, hangers and other facilities which directly serve aircraft, passengers and cargo. This historical understanding is giving way to a broader, more encompassing concept which recognizes the fact that in addition to their core aeronautical infrastructure and services, virtually all major airports have increasingly developed non-aeronautical commercial facilities and services.

Business writer Greg Lindsay examines the efforts of John Kasarda to plan, promote, and develop aerotropolises around the world for urban and national competitive advantages. The challenges Kasarda has faced are highlighted.

Airports are no longer simply places where airplanes land and passengers and cargo transit. Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport ia a case in point. About 58,000 people are daily employed on the airport grounds. Its passenger terminal—containing an expansive mix of shopping, dining, and entertainment arcades—doubles as a suburban mall that is accessible both to air travelers and the general public. Amsterdam residents regularly shop and relax in the airport's public section, especially on Sundays and at night when most city stores are closed.

It has taken nearly half a century to transform a place once called Nong Ngu Hao (Cobra Swamp) into a leading international airport named Suvarnabhumi, or Golden Land. Now, Thailand has a one-time chance to coordinate development around its new airport to create a truly "Golden Land" that can boost the nation's well-being for the next half century. At stake is no less than Thailand's potential for higher economic standing and more sustainable development around the airport.

Led by a convergence of aviation, globalization, digitization, and time-based competition, the worlds of commerce and supply chain management are rapidly changing.