Effects of Air Cargo Transport and Intermodal Transportation on Airport Efficiency

The study investigates the impact of air cargo logistics and multimodal transportation on airport operational efficiency. Six major domestic airports were selected based on domestic cargo throughput rankings and the degree of multimodal transportation. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was utilized to assess the efficacy of the chosen airports. The research findings indicate that the quality of the logistics system surrounding the airport and the degree of multimodal transportation positively influence airport efficiency. Freight transportation has a positive impact on both the technical and scale efficiency of domestic airport operations. Airports with a greater share of freight volume tend to exhibit superior levels of overall technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency when contrasted with those characterized by lower proportions of freight volume. By evaluating the operation efficiency of airport cargo transportation modes and multimodal transportation through DEA, targeted guidance is provided for airports, along with corresponding improvement strategies. This study offers relative development recommendations for the overall advancement of airports, facilitating the joint development of the cargo transportation industry and the airport sector in China.