The Quality of Life in Airport Regions – How to Sustain a Good Marriage

By Olaf van Tol

All the larger European airports are situated in densely populated metropolitan areas. Obviously, airports affect their surrounding regions – both in a negative and in a positive way. Apart from the most obvious negative impacts such as noise, safety concerns and health-related issues, an airport’s positive aspects are often less known to the general public. This is not likely to change in the coming years. In today’s market, the contribution of airports to national and regional economies calls for more support for growth in the civil aviation sector.