Abstract

International airports have increasingly become important components of modern transport infrastructure and regional economic development. Beyond their primary function of providing air connectivity, airports influence employment generation, investment, trade, tourism, land markets, business activity, accessibility and urbanisation. The relationship between airport development and regional economic growth, however, is complex and varies according to airport size, connectivity, regional economic structure, institutional conditions and the characteristics of surrounding communities. This article reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on the economic impact of international airports on regional development, with particular relevance to the study of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru. The review examines major theoretical perspectives including infrastructure-led development, endogenous growth theory, accessibility theory, agglomeration economies and growth-pole theory. Empirical studies from developed and developing economies indicate that airport activity can contribute to employment, income, output, investment and population growth, although the magnitude of these effects varies across regions. Evidence also suggests that airports can generate spatial spillovers and improve regional accessibility, while simultaneously producing challenges relating to land-use change, rising land values, displacement pressures, congestion and environmental externalities. Recent studies demonstrate that the relationship between air transport and economic growth may be bidirectional and that the benefits of airport infrastructure are not automatically distributed equally across local communities. The review identifies a research gap concerning the integrated assessment of economic and social effects of a major international airport on local communities in an Indian metropolitan region. In particular, limited research simultaneously examines employment, household income, land values and quality of life around Kempegowda International Airport. The article proposes an integrated conceptual framework for examining the economic and social transformation associated with airport-led development and provides a research agenda for future empirical investigation.

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