Secondly, the duty free facility that can cross-subsidize cheaper landing charges for airlines is a commonplace strategy adopted by airports worldwide. Interestingly, this single-till approach has been formally advocated by the UK Competition Commission, which claimed that a dual-till arrangement (i.e. a break-up of such cross-subsidization policies) could result in “a substantial transfer of income to airports from airlines and/or their passengers, potentially undermining regulatory credibility and creating regulatory uncertainty”.

Airports are becoming more commercially minded as they increase their dependence on non-aeronautical revenue streams such as retail and car parking. This commercial practice is spearheaded by Middle East-based airports as the ACI Airport Economics Survey declares that Middle Eastern based airports derived the highest proportion of their non-aeronautical revenues from retail concessions registering 61.2% in 2012, while US-based airports garnered just 7.7%. Duty free revenues generated $6.24 per passenger at Middle East airports in 2012, the highest in the world, against $0.12 earned per passenger at US airports. This induced revenue stream from the non-aeronautical category of the business assists the Middle East airports in being able to offer lower aeronautical charges for ALL carriers, stimulating increased traffic volumes which cascades into economic prosperity.