OREANDA-NEWS. Charlotte Douglas ranks as the most cost competitive and second most efficient large size airport in North America, according to a ranking of global airports conducted by a team of international aviation academics at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business.

The Air Transport Research Society's (ATRS) Global Airport Benchmarking Report compares the operational and management efficiency, as well as cost competitiveness of 200 airports and 26 airport groups in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. Results are based on 2012 data.

An airport's cost competitiveness is attributed to its operating costs, including labor, contracts, commodities per cargo tonnage and number of passengers served.

An airport's efficiency is based on the number of gates, runways, employees and other inputs used to process passengers and cargo.

CLT's high efficiency and cost competiveness allows Charlotte Douglas to charge low aircraft landing fees and passenger terminal charges.  

The Airport was also noted by ATRS for having the lowest cost per enplaned passenger in North America for large airports. It was 87 cents in fiscal year 2012.