The conventional wisdom about airport privatization holds that the US is different from other countries. In one sense that is true. Airports Council International reports that 75% of airline passengers in Europe use privatized airports (as do 66% in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 47% in the Asia-Pacific region). In the US it’s only 1%.
One part of this view is that there is a role for P3s, but only to add or modernize components of an airport—such as major terminal P3s at Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports, P3 rental car centers at LAX and Newark, and a P3 people-mover being installed at LAX.