Article citation information:
Piotrowska-Trybull,
M., Kozuba, J., Sirko, S. Impact of airports on the
environment: opinions of local community representatives. Scientific Journal of Silesian University of Technology. Series
Transport. 2022, 117, 191-209. ISSN:
0209-3324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2022.117.13.
Marzena PIOTROWSKA-TRYBULL[1],
Jarosław KOZUBA[2],
Stanisław SIRKO[3]
IMPACT OF AIRPORTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT: OPINIONS OF LOCAL COMMUNITY
REPRESENTATIVES
Summary. Research
presented in this article was undertaken to determine how representatives of
authorities and residents of communes perceive airports in the context of the
impact of these airports on the socio-economic situation in the communes. The
goal was achieved using: analysis of documentation of communes, analysis of
data on the functioning of airports, and a diagnostic survey using the
interview technique and survey technique. The research was carried out on
representatives of 5 communes located in Poland. To analyse the collected
material and present the results, Statistica v.13.3, R v.4.0.0 and RStudio
editor software were used. Results of this research proved that airports play a
pivotal role in stimulating the development of the region. They influence the
quality of life in the commune by contributing to the creation of jobs,
attracting investors, and generating income for the municipal budget through
taxes paid.
Keywords: airports,
communes, local development, local environment
1.
INTRODUCTION
Actions
taken over the years increased the reliability of aircraft, the formation of a
safety culture, improved travel comfort, reduced travel time, reduced ticket
prices, and the development of low-cost airlines have made the use of air
transport popular. The phenomenon of
globalization, the development of the internet and the way the young generation
function has also been fundamental to the increased popularity of this branch
of transport [2, 6-7, 13, 29, 37, 44].
One of the main pillars of modern transportation is
air transport, which has a major impact on the movement of people and cargo. It enables people to access leisure destinations and enjoy
exploring the cultures and traditions of distant countries. Due to
its capabilities concerning the movement of goods, new ways of doing business
for companies have also emerged [17, 30, 32],
2.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Airports are often presented as an
element influencing the functioning and investment attractiveness of particular
regions, while issues concerning their impact on entities in their local
environment are less exposed. Therefore, this research was undertaken to determine how
the socio-economic situation in the communes: Goleniów, Ożarowice,
Świdnik, Trzebownisko, Zabierzów, are influenced by the airports: Solidarity Szczecin-Goleniów Airport, Katowice,
Pyrzowice, Lublin, Rzeszów-Jasionka, and Kraków John Paul II
International Airport. This was possible as a result of analyses of socio-economic indicators
and information contained in the development strategies of communes,
reports on the state of the communes and local revitalization programmes. In
February and March 2021, surveys were also conducted among representatives of
local governments and the inhabitants of communes. Research tools
(interview questionnaire, survey questionnaire) were prepared in the second
half of 2020.
In each commune, a (structured, in-depth) interview
with a representative of a local government was carried out following the
sequence of questions included in the interview questionnaire. The interviewer asked detailed
questions if needed. The survey was conducted using the Computer Assisted
Telephone Interview (CATI) method. In each commune, an equal number of people
were drawn, considering their gender and age. Subsequently, 600 people participated in the survey. The
respondents were 52.2% female (43.5% aged 18-44, 23.8% aged 45-59, 32.7% over
59) and 47.8% male (32.6% aged 18-44, 47.9% aged 45-64, 19.4% over 64). The
respondents had higher education 11.1%, secondary education 17.7%, vocational
education 15.8% and primary education 55.4%. Of these, 8.6% worked at the
airport, or someone in their family did. The respondents lived at varying
distances from the airport. The largest group (37.0%) lived no further
than 5 kilometres, the rest between 6 and 10 kilometres (26.0%), between 11 and
20 kilometres (25.9%), and between 21 and 30 kilometres (11.1%).
Data on airports were collected in 2020. Information necessary to characterize their
functioning (number of flight operations, in 2013-2020[4]) was obtained from the Civil
Aviation Authority of the Republic of Poland (CAV) and the official website of
the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA). Also,
information about planned departures was obtained from the official airport
websites[5]. The data provided by the Local
Data Bank Statistics Poland (LDB SP) helped characterize the situation in
communes where airports are located.
The computer program Statistica v.13.3 was used to
analyse data from CAV, PANSA and LDB SP and statistical material obtained
during the survey.
The description of the statistical analyses, the results of which are included
in this article, is presented in these works (Aczel, Sounderpandian, 2018;
Weiss, 2012; Stanimir, 2005). Separate
text files were created from the interviews that were recorded by
transcription.
Using the R v.4.0.0 program and the RStudio editor, these files were used while
analysing the text contained within them (Figure 1).
Fig.
1. Use of software during data preparation and analysis
Analyses
of the text included: pre-processing the text, creating a word frequency matrix
and then counting the frequency of words in each interview, counting
correlations between words, analysing moods during the interviews, and
determining similarity between interviews. These issues
are discussed in these works (Ross, 2019; Wickham and Grolemund, 2018; Silge
and Robinson, 2017; Kwartler, 2017; Provost
and Fawcett, 2015; Schutt and O'Neil, 2015). The
text analyses were based on the solutions presented in the mentioned studies
(Figures 5 and 6). The duration of the interviews and, subsequently, the number
of words in the given files were not the same, so sometimes, for a better
perception of the results (Figure 4), they were presented in a standardized
dimension. The R program and RStudio editor were also used to analyze and
illustrate the intensity of airport departures (Figure 2). In preparing Figures 2 and 4, the solutions presented on
http://www.hellomister.com.au/data-blog/2019/7/30/creating-an-arc-plot-part-1
(20.04.2021) and https://quanteda.io/articles/pkgdown/examples/plotting.html
(18.03.2021) were used.
Analysing the number of flight operations that were
carried out in successive time units, the method of indicators used for time
series analysis with trend and seasonality was applied. Statistical hypotheses
were verified using the test c2. A
standard level of significance of α = 0.05.
was adopted.
3. CHARACTERISTICS OF
COMMUNES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PRESENCE OF AIRPORTS
The
population of the studied communes varies. The smallest, in terms of
population, is the rural commune of Ożarowice (5795), and the largest one
– the urban commune of Świdnik (39,136) (Table 1). Comparing the
population potential of the individual communes and the voivodeships capitals,
it was discovered that it ranges from 1% (Ożarowice) to 11% (Świdnik,
Trzebownisko) of the capital's potential. The analysis
of the population potential in communes in the context of the different
distances of communes from the provincial capitals determines the emergence of
complex relationships and dependencies between these units and also affects
their development potential.
Tab. 1
Selected
statistical data (for 2019) for the studied communes
|
Socio-economic indicators |
Communes |
||||
|
Goleniów |
Ożarowice |
Świdnik |
Trzebownisko |
Zabierzów |
|
|
Population |
36,088 |
5795 |
39,136 |
22,296 |
26,708 |
|
Population per km² |
81 |
126 |
1923 |
247 |
269 |
|
Population in the capital city of the voivodeship where the commune is located |
401,907 |
292,774 |
339,784 |
196,208 |
779,115 |
|
Population of non-working age per 100 people of working age |
65.5 |
63.2 |
74.5 |
60.6 |
65.9 |
|
Population of post-working age per 100 people of pre-working age |
108.7 |
122.7 |
155.6 |
110.7 |
106.7 |
|
Natural increase |
-27 |
-23 |
-12 |
99 |
-17 |
|
Total migration balance |
63 |
29 |
-202 |
305 |
280 |
|
Total revenue of the municipal budget per inhabitant in PLN |
5869 |
6656 |
5298 |
4850 |
5921 |
|
Own income per inhabitant in PLN |
3397 |
4101 |
2475 |
1157 |
3448 |
|
Total expenditures from the commune budget per inhabitant in PLN |
5885 |
6520 |
5676 |
4862 |
6037 |
|
Employed persons* per 1,000 inhabitants |
394 |
645 |
237 |
428 |
438 |
|
Share of registered unemployed in the population at working age (in %) |
2.6 |
2.6 |
4.9 |
4.3 |
2.0 |
|
National economy entities in the REGON register per 10,000 population (at productive age) |
1344 (2224) |
1232 (2011) |
931 (1625) |
895 (1438) |
1424 (2362) |
*)
Excluding business entities employing up to 9 persons and individual farms in
agriculture.
Source: compiled based on data from the website
of the Central Statistical Office http://swaid.stat.gov.pl/Dashboards/Statystyczne%20Vademecum%20Samorz%C4%85dowca.aspx;
http://swaid.stat.gov.pl/Dashboards/Portret%20terytorium.aspx.
Data on demographic dependency indicate that the
studied communes experience the ageing population phenomenon, including a
negative natural increase (except the commune of Trzebownisko in 2019). In
the ranking of communes in Poland, for the demographic dependency of the
elderly, the commune of Świdnik took 86th place (out of 2,477 communes in
Poland), the highest among the studied communes, which means that this group
has the most unfavourable situation (http://swaid.stat.gov.pl/Dashboards/Ranking%20JST.aspx).
In 2016-2019, the studied communes, except for
Świdnik, registered a positive migration balance; more residents flowed
into their territory (http://swaid.stat.gov.pl/Dashboards/Portret% 20terytorium.aspx).
In Świdnik, the outflow of the population
outweighed the inflow; internal flows dominated here (one of the reasons for
this could be the competitive and diverse labour market in Lublin). Considering
the number of employees in entities of more than 9 people, the most favourable
situation in 2019 was in the commune of Ożarowice - 645 people; in the
communes of Goleniów, Trzebownisko and Zabierzów, it was similar,
as the number of employees ranged from 394 to 438, while the lowest was in the
commune of Świdnik - 237. The share of the
registered unemployed in the working-age population indicates a relatively
favourable situation in the following communes: Zabierzów,
Goleniów, Ożarowice, and more difficult in the communes of
Trzebownisko and Świdnik (Świdnik ranked 96th in Poland in 2019 for
registered unemployed,
http://swaid.stat.gov.pl/Dashboards/Ranking%20JST.aspx). The
communes of Zabierzów, Goleniów and Ożarowice stand out for
their level of entrepreneurship, with the number of business entities per
10,000 population of working age being 2362; 2224; 2011, respectively. For the number of businesses per 1000 residents, in
comparison with all 2477 communes in Poland in 2019, the Zabierzów
commune ranks highest (78th).
Analysis
of the per capita income data shows that the highest income was recorded in the
commune of Ożarowice, while the lowest was in the commune of Trzebownisko.
The amount of income determines the ability to implement statutory tasks to
meet social needs. An important indicator of the
financial potential of a commune is the percentage of its own revenue in the
total revenue per capita; in individual units, it ranged from 23.86% in
Trzebownisko commune to 61.66% in Ożarowice commune (Zabierzów,
Goleniów were close to 58%). Per capita
spending increased in all communes from 2016 to 2019. The average share of investment expenditures in total expenditures
varied, and in 2016-2019, they amounted to: in Trzebownisko - 13.98%, in
Ożarowice - 17.25%, in Zabierzów - 18.11%, Świdnik - 19.03%,
and Goleniów - 21.16% (calculated based on data from http://swaid.stat.gov.pl/Dashboards/ Portret%20terytorium.aspx),
conditioning the future development of these communes.
The
communes in which the survey was conducted were located within several
kilometres to several dozen kilometres from the largest urban centres in the
region (the capital cities of the regions) (Goleniów commune-city of
Szczecin - 40 km, Ożarowice commune-city of Katowice - 26 km, Świdnik-city
of Lublin - 10 km, Trzebownisko commune-city of Rzeszów - 6 km,
Zabierzów commune-city of Kraków - 13 km). In
the development strategies of the individual communes, their location to large
cities was considered a strength, as was the airport located in their territory.
The close proximity of an airport to a large
city/town in the region, with good access to road and rail communications,
means it is a favourable location. This is the case for the airports
presented in this paper. In turn, the attractiveness of
an airport is determined by the places to which planes depart, how often they
do and which airlines serve particular routes. From
Szczecin-Goleniów, Katowice, Lublin,
Rzeszów-Jasionka and Kraków-Balice
airports, aeroplanes depart to other airports, which are generally
located in Europe. In Figure 2, the weekly intensity of flights to each
destination is shown. Some can only be reached from Katowice or Kraków.
Additionally, considering the weekly flight intensity and the number of
carriers, there is a clear advantage of Kraków-Balice airport over the
other airports.
Fig.
2. Weekly density of departures from Szczecin-Goleniów, Lublin,
Rzeszów-Jasionka, Katowice, and Kraków-Balice
Source:
Own elaboration based on data from airports
In the analysed documents of the communes, the
projected development of air transport was accepted as a development
opportunity, but the SARS-COV-2 pandemic significantly limits this development (ACI,
2020; Airport in Jasionka, https://trzebownisko.pl/?c=mdAktualnosci-cmPokazTresc-415-3151).
In the presented airports, the impact of both
SARS-COV-2 (Figure 3 - yellow background), as well as the phenomenon of
seasonality were visible (Sobczyk, 2021; Aczel and Sounderpandian, 2018;
Warżała, 2016). The decrease in
the number of flight operations was due to the introduced restrictions on the
movement of people; it also resulted in the closure of resorts, hotels,
restaurants, and companies providing other services around the airport[6]. Variable
demand for services, characteristic of air transport, resulting both from the
occurrence of seasons, weather conditions, and social habits, leads to
incomplete, sometimes excessive use of airport capacity. In each airport, in the first and second quarters, the
number of flight operations was lower, and in the third and fourth quarters -
higher than the quarterly average. While in earlier
years, the first quarter marked the beginning of an increase in the number of
flight operations performed, and in the fourth quarter, a decrease. In
2020, disregarding the significant decrease in the number of operations, an
increase was recorded from the second quarter and a decrease in the third
quarter. This phenomenon occurred at all airports presented.
The presence of an airport in communes is crucial in
the context of communication accessibility of particular regions and their
capitals, affecting the investment attractiveness of these locations and
subsequently attracting other economic entities to the territory of the
communes. The analysis of the documents shows that the
authorities of the communes in which the research was conducted were striving,
within their capabilities, to provide an integrated communication
infrastructure of high quality, enabling the efficient movement of people and
goods. Road and railroad infrastructure were built or modernized in the
communes, connecting the region's capitals with airports located in their area.
Fig.
3. Number of performed air operations at airports, in individual quarters, from
2013-2020
Source:
own elaboration based on data from CAV and PANSA
The
Goleniów commune is well connected. Through its area runs Express Road
S3, located at a distance of 24 km from the junction with motorway A6 and
National Road No 10. Railroad
and air connections complement the road connections (Report on the state of
Goleniów commune..., 2020). Through the area of the commune runs the Szczecin Metropolitan Railway
(118 km), which is to be fully opened in 2022[7]. Railroad
stops serving the Goleniów Industrial Park (GIP) is to be established in
the commune, which will improve commuting for people from outside the commune (Development Strategy of
Goleniów Commune..., 2014). Companies located in the GIP create about 5000
jobs in the commune and provide revenue to the budget. These are companies representing various industries:
agricultural processing, food production, leather processing, packaging and
processing of decorative stones, production of trailers and semi-trailers,
yacht hulls, blades for wind power plants, e-commerce and others (Report
on the state of the commune..., 2020). The presence of the airport is essential from
the perspective of increasing the investment attractiveness of the region and
the commune, providing companies with shorter delivery times, among other
things.
The commune of Ożarowice has a well-developed
road network and is well connected with the National Road 78, Provincial Road
913, Express Road S1 and the A1 motorway. The
International Airport located in the commune is conducive for investments (for
example, reconstruction of the Tarnowskie Góry-Siewierz railroad line
supplementing transport connections between urban centres in the voivodeship (Report on the condition of the Ożarowice commune..., 2020). In the area of the commune, there is
an economic activity zone, the activities of which, according to the intentions
of the authorities, are aimed at counteracting unemployment, striving to tidy
up and develop the area after the military unit, as well as supporting
entrepreneurs through temporary property tax exemption. The
existence of the zone, in combination with the presence of the airport, is a
factor conducive to the development of entrepreneurship (Strategy for
solving social problems of Ożarowice commune ..., 2016). Consequently,
trade and services develop, especially parking, transport, hotel and catering,
providing a source of economic development and an incentive for new residents
to settle.
The
Świdnik commune is an industrial centre located about 10 km east of
Lublin. The proximity to the regional capital creates
opportunities for the commune's residents to benefit from higher-end services
and a diverse labour market (Development strategy of the Świdnik
commune..., 2015). Świdnik lies on a route
marked by National Road – No. 12 and 17. It
has access to a railroad line connecting, among others, Lublin and Świdnik
with Warsaw, as well as in the eastern direction with Kyiv and Lviv. Port Lotniczy Lublin S.A., located within the commune,
operates air transport on domestic and international lines (Development
Strategy of the Świdnik commune..., 2015). Regionalny
Park Przemysłowy sp. z o.o. has been operating in the territory of
Świdnik since 2005 (http://www.park.swidnik.pl/, aimed at
supporting restructuring and regional development, in particular, labour market
activation. The Local Revitalization Programme of Świdnik
identifies areas with negative social phenomena that require actions supporting
the development. One such area is the Economic Activity Zone (Local
Revitalization Programme..., 2017), located close to the airport and
connected to the road and rail network. Business surveys indicate that the zone is attractive for
entities in the following industries: aviation, logistics and business services
(https://www.swidnik.pl/strefa-coraz-bardziej-aktywna/. The economic structure of the
city is dominated by the industrial plant WSK PZL Świdnik S.A., whose
economic condition influences the functioning of the city. It plays the role of the largest employer and a large
payer of property tax to the commune's budget (Development
Strategy of the Świdnik commune..., 2015). The presence of WSK PZL Świdnik S.A. and the airport
(Local revitalization programme of the city of Świdnik..., 2017),
developed technical infrastructure, high qualifications of the local community,
level of entrepreneurship and high quality of education are considered as
strengths of the Świdnik commune.
The Podkarpackie Science and Technology Park
Aeropolis, which is part of the Special Economic Euro Zone-Park Mielec, is adjacent
to the Rzeszów-Jasionka airport, located in the Trzebownisko commune. The presence of the special economic
zone and the airport, in the opinion of local authorities, is a fundamental
factor for its socio-economic development (Development strategy of Trzebownisko
commune..., 2016). The
above-mentioned factors determine the changes in the profile of the commune's
economy from agricultural-industrial to industrial. The
aerospace, electro-mechanical, electronic and IT industries are developing in
the commune (Strategy..., 2017). Its
development determines new jobs and increases the local government's income. In
the commune of Trzebownisko, due to the well-developed transportation network
and proximity to the regional capital, residents have wider access to secondary
and higher education services, as well as cultural and other services offered
in the regional capital - Rzeszów.
Due
to its location and natural assets, the Zabierzów community is perceived
as an attractive place to live, with direct access to a large labour market and
specialized services. The airport is located in Zabierzów,
which is one of the factors contributing to the growth of economic activity in
the area and is conducive to the growth of tax revenue for the local
government. For potential
investors, the attractiveness of the Commune (Development strategy for the
Zabierzów commune..., 2014) is influenced by the proximity of a
large retail market, transport accessibility which determines the development
of trade, a diversified and highly specialized labour market, and access to
high-quality services. Thus, the commune's favourable location, convenient communications and
up-to-date local zoning plans create advantageous conditions for investors to
operate.
4. OPINIONS OF LOCAL
GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES ON THE ROLE OF THE AIRPORTS IN THEIR COMMUNE
When referring to the influence of the airport on the
socio-economic situation in their commune, representatives of local authorities
said that they perceive its role as a factor enhancing the attractiveness of
the commune and attracting investors from various sectors, a taxpayer, an
employer, and a provider of transport services. This
is indicated by the interviewees' frequent use of the following words: companies, taxes, money, work, parking, and
service. In their
sentences, the word commune often appeared together with such words as impact,
built, taxes, service, and economic.
On the one hand, the interviewees perceived the role
of the airport as a factor that contributes to positive changes in the commune.
However, on the other hand, they pointed to the negative impact of aeroplanes
on the natural environment and living conditions of the inhabitants (the effect
of sound intensity) and the occurrence of restrictions on the development of
areas around the airport[8]. This is evidenced by the following words: noise, area,
build, and road. The word noise occurred
together with such words as compensation, birds, planes, companies, traffic,
and roads. Analysing the statements of
the representatives of the communes, it was also found that, with varying
intensity, they used particular words that referred to the presence of an
airport in their commune (for example, Figure 4).
Fig.
4. Frequency of selected words in commune representatives' statements
During the interviews in Goleniów,
Ożarowice, and Świdnik, a good mood prevailed (Chart
5). This is because of the occurrence in the statements
of the municipal representatives, among others, such words as work, good, great, happy, and attractive.
Fig.
5. Change of mood during the interview in individual communes
In the commune
of Goleniów, the good mood was a result of the impact of the port on
improving transport accessibility of the commune, including for investors
operating in the Goleniów Industrial Park, and on increasing
opportunities for the development of new directions in economic activities,
such as logistics, e-commerce, airline services. In addition, as
emphasized by the interviewees, the presence of the port contributed to the
development of infrastructure, including rail, and also had a positive impact
on the image of the commune.
In
the commune of Ożarowice, the airport is seen as a source of economic
activity. Its existence is a developmental impulse for
companies in the vicinity which provide services around the airport or work for
the airport. Moreover, the presence of the airport
is seen as an asset in pulling new businesses to the commune. The commune of Świdnik also emphasized the role of
the airport in attracting investors to the economic activity zone and the
implementation of investments in technical infrastructure, which improved
driving comfort and accessibility to the commune. In the opinions
of representatives of the Trzebownisko and Zabierzów communes, words
expressing emotions were more often connected with negative associations than
words used in other communes: problem,
noise, hard, and difficult. In Trzebownisko commune, despite the
use of negative words, the airport is perceived as a large employer in the
local labour market. Its importance has been growing in recent years due to the
development of road infrastructure, which improves access to the airport. Currently, the
airport's traffic is not large enough to be a source of noise nuisance to
residents of the community (and before the SARS-COV-2 pandemic, an airport of
such size was not perceived to cause noise nuisance either). In the Zabierzów commune, attention was drawn to
the transport difficulties associated with the increase in traffic due to the
location of the airport and the noise nuisance (the approach path to the runway
is partially located over urban areas). At the same time,
the indirect impact of the port on the emergence of new businesses in the
commune was highlighted, which benefits from the investment attractiveness of
the commune (developed infrastructure, proximity to a large sales market) and
contributes to the local government budget through tax revenues.
Fig.
6. Emotions as expressed by representatives of particular communes
Emotions connected with expectation, trust, and joy in
the context of new opportunities and development plans based on the current
strengths of the commune (high-quality technical infrastructure, developing new
economic zone, the activity of companies in the Goleniów Industrial
Park, good situation on the labour market) dominated in the opinions of
representatives of the Goleniów authorities. The commune started to create a new zone – around
the airport, which is supposed to attract investments in e-commerce
(warehousing and forwarding) and companies serving the aviation industry,
making various types of repairs and providing aircraft service. It was emphasized that the development of companies
servicing the aviation industry is also vital in the context of the proximity
of Berlin airport. Moreover, in case of difficult
weather conditions, aeroplanes from Berlin can be redirected to Goleniów
to organize an alternative bus transport. Concerns
(sadness, fear), in turn, were expressed in the background of the outflow of
young people from the commune and the phenomenon of demographic decline. The
commune of Ożarowice was also dominated by expectation, trust, and joy resulting
from the increase in activity in the commune since the arrival of the airport,
having the ability to overcome difficulties in the development process by
residents and local authorities. Emotions expressing
anger, on the other hand, were to some extent related to insufficient
coordination at the regional level in connection with the use of opportunities
created by the airport for the surrounding area and the restrictions imposed by
the Civil Aviation Authority on the scope and use of the land in the area
around the airport. Similar emotions accompanied the interview conducted in
the commune of Świdnik, where expectations and trust were dominant,
resulting from the benefits brought by the location of the port in the commune,
the investments that have been made, which have contributed to improving the
quality of life in the commune, while concerns related to the potential closure
of the port and the consequences of this for the labour market. In the
Zabierzów commune, the emotions expressed - expectations and confidence
- were related to the businesses being established within the commune because
of transport accessibility and the proximity to a large market, having a
prominent employer and the planned investments. Disappointment
and sadness were associated with the reduced importance of the commune in the
name of the port, which caused a negative response among residents, as well as
the possible outflow of residents after the rebuilding of the airport runway
due to increased noise. In the commune of Trzebownisko, in turn,
positive emotions resulted from the role of the port concerning the labour
market and economic recovery, as well as the quality of transportation
infrastructure. Concerns were dictated by the future of the airport, which
requires support from the owner, as the number of operations makes it
impossible to maintain its profitability and leads to reduced working hours for
its employees.
5. IMPACT OF THE AIRPORT
ON THE COMMUNITY – RESIDENTS’ ASSESSMENT
Of those who took part in the survey, most respondents
(44.8%) were satisfied with living in an area with an airport (37.5% from
Goleniów commune, 48.3% from Ożarowice commune, 48.7% from
Świdnik commune, 47.5% from Trzebownisko commune, 41.8% from
Zabierzów commune). Others (26.2%) were not satisfied
with this (31.7% of respondents from the Goleniów commune, 26.7% from
the Ożarowice commune, 24.0% from the Świdnik commune, 22.5% from the
Trzebownisko commune and 26.2% from the Zabierzów commune) or were
indecisive (29.0%). The distribution of responses by men and women was similar.
Responses to this question were differentiated by the respondents' distance
from the airport (statistically significant relationship, p=0.00025). It was assumed that the distance of residence may be related to
respondents' perception of the sound generated by the landing and taking off
aeroplanes as transportation noise (for example, the location of the residence
to the runway is relevant here).
It was found that the highest percentage of satisfied respondents
(55.2%), and the lowest percentage of dissatisfied respondents (13.4%), was in
the group of those who lived farthest from the airport. Further
analysis revealed that every fourth respondent among those living closest to
the airport and every third respondent among those living between 6 and 10
kilometres away from the airport expressed dissatisfaction. Lack of information about the location of the respondents'
homes, for example, regarding the runway from which planes take off and land,
does not allow for a clear interpretation of the responses obtained.
In the opinion of most respondents (55.9%), the
presence of an airport improves the quality of life for residents in their
location (50.0% in Goleniów commune, 57.5% in Ożarowice commune,
57.0% in Świdnik commune, 55.8% in Trzebownisko commune and 59.0% in
Zabierzów commune). The opposite opinion, indicating
that the port lowers the quality of life, was expressed by 18.7% of the
respondents (21.7% in the commune of Goleniów, 19.2% in the commune of
Ożarowice, 16.5% in the commune of Świdnik, 16.7% in the commune of
Trzebownisko, and 19.7% in the commune of Zabierzów). The remaining
respondents did not take a definite stand. The distribution of responses by men
and women on this issue was similar. Differences were
evident when analysing respondents' answers considering their distance from the
airport (a statistically significant relationship, p=0.00601) –
Figure 7 – and their education (a statistically significant relationship,
p=0.00239).
It was found (omitting those living within 6-10
kilometres of the airport) that as the distance of residence increased, the
percentage of those who believed the airport increased the quality of life of
the residents increased, and at the same time, the percentage of those who
thought it had a negative impact on their quality of life decreased. Except for those with high school education, in the
remaining groups, it was noted that as education increased, the percentage of
those perceiving a positive impact of the airport on the quality of life of
residents in their locality increased. In the group
of people with primary education, there were 55.9% of such people, with
vocational education 56.8%, with secondary education 44.9%, and with higher
education 71.6%. At the same time, in the
aforementioned groups, with the increase in education, the percentage of those
who assessed that the presence of the port lowers the quality of life of residents
decreased (primary 18.7%, vocational 11.6%, secondary 30.8%, and higher 10.4%).
Further analysis found that people with high school
education living within 6-10 kilometres of the airport were most likely to
speak critically about the airport's impact on their quality of life. No statistically significant relationship was found
between respondents' opinions on the impact of the airport on their quality of
life and their place of employment (working at the airport or not).
In each of the communes surveyed, opinions that the
airport is conducive for job creation for the local population were prevalent
among respondents (Goleniów 53.3%, Ożarowice 56.7%, Świdnik
58.7%, Trzebownisko 60.8%, Zabierzów 65.6%). These
opinions, regardless of age, education and place of residence, were expressed
equally by women (58.4%) and men (59.7%). Also, except for the Goleniów
commune (40.8%), most respondents felt that the airport offered well-paid jobs
(Ożarowice 56.7%, Świdnik 52.1%, Trzebownisko 54.2%, Zabierzów
54.9%). These responses were given by both men and women from
each age group, irrespective of their education and place of residence.
The presence of an airport, in the opinion of most of
the surveyed, is a magnet for investors who open businesses in its vicinity,
seeking to strengthen their competitive advantage based on the transport
accessibility of the particular location (Goleniów 53.3%, Ożarowice
55.0%, Świdnik 57.0%, Trzebownisko 56.7%, Zabierzów 60.7%). According to
most respondents (Goleniów 55.0%, Ożarowice 55.0%, Świdnik
56.2%, Trzebownisko 58.3%, Zabierzów 65.6%), women and men alike,
regardless of their age, posited that the airport also contributes to the
development of local businesses (such as hotels, motels, parking facilities,
bars, car rental companies, cleaning companies) that provide airport-related
services.
Respondents
reported varying degrees of perceived importance of the airport as a taxpayer
contributing to the municipal budget (35.8% from Goleniów commune, 24.2%
from Ożarowice commune, 32.2% from Świdnik commune, 22.5% from
Trzebownisko commune, 21.3% from Zabierzów commune). These benefits were usually perceived by those who
declared a connection with the airport. At the same
time, it should be noted that according to the Act on Local Taxes and Fees[9], buildings, structures and land
occupied by them within the area of parts of public-use airports are exempt
from property tax. Furthermore, revenues
from this tax come from companies that have been established as a result of the
revival of economic activity in the commune due to the presence of the airport
or are engaged in cooperation with the airport. The
local government budget receives income tax from individuals and legal entities
according to the rules outlined in the Act on Income of Local Government Units[10].
The presence of an airport is, on the one hand, a
favourable factor, but on the other hand, it is a place associated with noise
generated by aircraft engines. This problem is not present to
the same degree in every commune. Noise nuisance was reported by 42.5% of
respondents in the Goleniów commune, 58.3% in the Ożarowice
commune, 38.0% in the Świdnik commune, 35.0% in the Trzebownisko commune
and 48.4% in the Zabierzów commune. They were indicated by respondents
of all ages, irrespective of their education. The
survey confirmed that noise is more disruptive to people living closer to
airports: 79.6% of respondents living within 5 km of the airport, 46.2% within
6-10 km, 21.2% within 11-20 km, and 10.6% within 21-30 km (a
statistically significant relationship, p=0.0000) indicated noise-related
problems (Figure 8).
Fig.
8. Assessment of noise impact on quality of life and distance from airport
Survey
participants also perceived a negative impact of the airport on the
environment. In each of the communes, respondents (33.3% Goleniów, 34.2%
Ożarowice, 21.5% Świdnik, 31.7% Trzebownisko, 30.3% Zabierzów)
perceived some deterioration in air quality, both men and women, regardless of
age, education and distance of their residence from the airport (it can be
assumed that they do not experience this relationship and this is a general
perception). In the opinion of some respondents (Goleniów 22.5%,
Ożarowice 22.5%, Świdnik 8.3%, Trzebownisko 14.2%, Zabierzów
26.2%), the airport contributes to increased car traffic. In this group of people, there were women and men,
representatives of all groups considering their age and education. As the distance between their residence and the airport
increased, the percentage decreased (up to 5 km 21.7%, 6-10 km 19.7%, 11-20 km
17.9%, 21-30 km 10.5%).
6.
CONCLUSIONS
Airports,
playing a pivotal role in the transport system as a link between air transport
and land transport, to a greater or lesser extent, influence the socio-economic
situation in their surroundings. The presence of an airport significantly
broadens communication opportunities for residents of particular communes and
has a positive influence on the investment attractiveness of the commune and
the region. Industrial parks/business activity zones are developed in the
vicinity of airports, allowing the potential of an attractive location to be
capitalized in space. More important is the location of
the airport to large cities and access to road and rail transportation. All the airports presented in this article are located within a
few to several dozen kilometres from the capitals of their particular regions,
with good access to expressways and railroad connections. The analysis of the documents of
individual communes shows that their authorities recognize these opportunities.
They perceive the presence of the airport as an asset and the forecasted
development of air traffic as a chance for growth. This
approach was also evident in the statements of communes’ representatives,
who saw the positive impact of the airport on the socio-economic situation in
their communes. Benefits associated with the
presence of the airport in their commune were also noted by most of the
communal residents who participated in the study, judging that it improves the quality
of life in the commune by contributing to the creation of jobs, attracting
investors, generating income to the municipal budget through taxes paid. The analysis shows that the benefits were usually
perceived by respondents from those communes where airports carry out more air
operations and offer better opportunities for passenger movement.
Moreover, airports also impact the environment because
of the number of flight operations performed and the number of passengers
served. Publications often draw attention to the noise
generated by aircraft engines and increased car traffic around airports. These disruptions are intensified at certain times due to
the seasonality characteristic of air transport. This
adverse effect was evident in the responses of residents of communes, where the
distance of residence from the airport differentiated their opinions on the
impact of the airport on the situation in their commune. The problem of
noise was also highlighted in the statements of the communes’
representatives.
DECLARATION OF COMPETING INTEREST
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Received 22.07.2022; accepted in
revised form 19.10.2022
Scientific Journal of Silesian University of Technology. Series
Transport is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License
[1]
War Studies Academy, Faulty of Management and Command, al. gen. A.
Chruściela "Montera" 103, Warsaw, Poland. Email: m.trybull@akademia.mil.pl. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3174-0725
[2]
Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, The Silesian University of
Technology, Krasińskiego 8 Street, 40-019 Katowice, Poland. Email: jaroslaw.kozuba@polsl.pl. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3394-4270
[3]
War Studies Academy, Faulty of Management and Command, al. gen. A.
Chruściela "Montera" 103, Warsaw, Poland. Email: s.sirko@akademia.mil.pl. ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5154-8522
[5] http://www.airport.com.pl,
https://www.katowice-airport.com, https://www.airport.lublin.pl,
https://www.rzeszowairport.pl,
https://www.krakowairport.pl
[6]According
to data presented by PANSA and the
International Air Transport Association (IATA), other airports in Europe
have also seen a decline in flight operations and connections. According
to IATA data, European carriers saw a 73.7% decline in passenger
traffic in 2020 compared to 2019. Cf. Air
Passenger Market Analysis
https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/publications/economic-reports/air-passenger-monthly-analysis---december-2020/
20.02.2021; 2020
Worst Year in History for Air Travel Demand
https://www.iata.org/en/ pressroom/pr/2021-02-03-02/ 24.02.2021. The negative
impact of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic on operations is also confirmed by
statistics presented by the Air Transport Action Group - Aviation
benefits beyond borders, 2020.
[7] The investment encompasses 40 hub
stops, including 31 existing ones that will be modernised and expanded, and 9
new stations, all adapted to the needs of the disabled and elderly. Nearly 2580 new parking spaces will be created, and 37
facilities will be modernised or built, including bridges, railroad overpasses
and footbridges, as well as 12 crossings under the railroad tracks. The value of the
undertaking - PLN 741.2 million, including PLN 512.2 million from the EU funds;
Zachodniopomorskie.pl, PRK24.pl,
https://portalkomunalny.pl/szczecin-bedzie-mial-swoja-kolej-metropolitalna-za-740-mln-zl-377924/.
[8] The President of the Civil Aviation Authority, in
accordance with Article 87(2) of the Act of 3 July 2002 Aviation Law (Journal
of Laws of 2018, item 1183, as amended), May Issue, at the request of the
applicant, an opinion on the possibility of locating the investment according
to the level of the development,
https://www.ulc.gov.pl/pl/lotniska/uzgadnianie-lokalizacji. Some
airports, for example, Chopin Airport in Warsaw, due to its proximity to
residential zones, have a ban on night flights. Chopin Airport has
had a "curfew" from 11:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m. since March 25, 2018, and is
generally in effect on all days of the week. https://www.lotnisko-chopina.pl/en/news/0/771/szczegoly.html.
[9]Journal of Laws of 1991, No. 9, item
31, as amended, art. 7.1
[10]Journal of Laws of 2003 No. 203,
item 1966, as amended, art. 3.2., 4.2., 4.3