Flight delays are a part of travel and most of the time cannot be blamed on one individual or event. It’s not a conspiracy, just a fact of life. In 2007, travellers were forced to spend some 320 million hours waiting because of flight delays. The airlines must pay additional fees for the crew, fuel, and maintenance. Probably the most irritated are the passengers that routinely miss connecting flights, business meetings, transportation, and hotel reservations. A recent report from the U.S. Congress’ Joint Economic Committee estimated the total losses at $40 billion annually.

Basically, everyone hates flight delays – except the vendors in the terminal.

In 1990, approximately 30 percent of airport revenue came from parking, retail stores, concessions and other business outlets. The rest of the revenue could be attributed to the airlines, from passenger and cargo fees, security and hangar charges, landing charges, and more.

Over the past several years, the portion of revenue coming from somewhere other than the airlines has risen to 50 percent; as high as 60 percent in larger airports. An International Civil Aviation Authority study on 2005 showed that while airlines ended the year with a $10 billion loss, all but 5 of 53 major U.S. airports failed to achieve a profit. In 2005, airports reported a profit of $2 billion.

According to the 2007 edition of Airport Revenue News’ annual Fact Book, the top 50 North American airports reported $4.6 billion in sales. The two airports with the highest profits are Atlanta and Chicago, with each netting a whopping $300 million a year.

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