ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the air transport system that consists of three main components: airports, air traffic control, and airlines. Air transport plays a significant role in the movement of passengers and cargo between countries, and this chapter provides a historical outline of civil aviation, including the past, present, and future trends. The circumstances leading up to air transport deregulation are explored and changes in the structure of the industry and new airliners entering the market in the post-deregulation period are analysed. Along with the main characteristics of the commercial air transport industry, the environmental impacts of air transport operations and strategies that can be adopted by all participants at a global level are examined. Overall, this chapter discusses the main trends impacting global air transport to provide the basics that will help in proceeding with other chapters in the book. Thus, some information provided in this chapter will be repeated in the following chapters and discussed in more detail.
