ABSTRACT
The key questions faced by government and airport directors in western Europe during the 1970s was whether their airports should be run as commercial enterprises and whether they should try to make a profit. As we have seen, many European governments concluded that the major airports, at least, should try to recover their costs from the users and should not be subsidized out of general taxation. During the late 1980s governments and airport managers in the developing world had to resolve the same issues. Up to that time little attention had been given to the unprofitability of their airports. Airports like roads were assumed to be essential public services to be provided by governments at whatever cost.
