In 1996, Congress established the Airport Privatization Pilot Program (APPP) to explore the prospect of privatizing publicly owned airports and using private capital to improve and develop them. In addition to reducing demand for government funds, privatization has been promoted as a way to make airports more efficient and financially viable. Participation in the APPP has been very limited. Only two airports have completed the privatization process, and one of them later reverted to public ownership. The Airport Privatization Pilot Program

The Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996 (49 U.S.C. §47134; Section 149 of the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, P.L. 104-264 ) established the APPP. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, a medium hub airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the only commercial service airport operating under private management after privatization under the APPP. Active Applicants

				Hendry County Airglades Airport

Hendry County Airglades Airport in Clewiston, FL, a general aviation airport, received preliminary approval from FAA for privatization under the APPP in October 2010. St. Louis Lambert International Airport

The preliminary application from St. Louis Lambert International Airport was accepted by FAA in April 2017. They include the need for 65% of air carriers serving the airport to approve a lease or sale of the airport; restrictions on increases in airport rates and charges that exceed the rate of increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and a requirement that a private operator comply with grant assurances made by the previous public-sector operator to obtain AIP grants. Publicly owned airports have access to five major sources of funding. However, significantly increasing interest in airport privatization is likely to require structural change to the existing airport financing system. Reducing the obstacles for public-sector owners to use privatization revenue for non-airport purposes would stimulate local and state government interest in privatization.
In 1996, Congress established the Airport Privatization Pilot Program (APPP; 49 U.S.C. §47134; Section 149 of the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, P.L. 104-264) to increase access to sources of private capital for airport development and to make airports more efficient, competitive, and financially viable. Participation in the program has been very limited, in good part because major stakeholders have different, if not contradictory, objectives and interests.
Only two U.S. commercial service airports have completed the privatization process established under the APPP. One of those, Stewart International Airport in New York State, subsequently reverted to public ownership. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is now the only airport with a private operator under the provisions of the APPP.
As of August 2017, there are three active applicants in the APPP: Hendry County Airglades Airport in Clewiston, FL; Westchester County Airport in White Plains, NY; and St. Louis Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, MO.
Increasing interest in airport privatization is likely to require a number of significant policy changes, including the following:
Making privatization more attractive to public-sector owners by facilitating the use of privatization revenue for non-airport purposes. Providing similar tax treatment to bonds issued by public-sector and private-sector airport operators, as public-sector operators now have access to less costly long-term finance than private operators. Easing requirements for private owners to comply with assurances previously made by public-sector owners to obtain federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants. Accelerating the application and approval procedures for the APPP.