Photo above – Making the case for greater investment in airports during the annual conference of the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), held in Greenville, SC. are from left, Daniel Findley, ITRE, Michael J. Landguth, President and CEO, Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and Bobby Walston, Director, NCDOT Division of Aviation. The data tools mentioned in the article below were discussed and demonstrated at the conference.
Understanding flight origin and destination data can unlock a variety of benefits for airports and the systems they’re part of by supporting marketing efforts, informing planning processes, and communicating the reach of the airport, according to a presentation at the NASAO Annual Conference by Daniel Findley, Associate Director at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) at North Carolina State University.
Findley and his team at ITRE developed a set of data tools for the N.C. Department of Transportation Division of Aviation that makes the origin and destination data from Federal Aviation Administration filed flight plans easily accessible for airports. One of the tools is a dashboard showing the geographic reach of each of the state’s 72 public-use airports, including the number of filed flights to and from each airport.
ITRE also developed an effective way to bring airport flight data to life with animated visualizations, including this example from Duplin County Airport (DPL) showing the significant geographic reach of even a small airport in a rural community.
Whether your audience is the general public, local organizations, or elected officials, animated visualizations can help tell the story of your airport by clearly showing its reach and the connections it facilitates. Sharing the visualization during presentations, in your terminal, or on social media can help engage your audience, demonstrate seasonal changes through the year, and educate your community about the impact of your airport.
According to Findley, “the NASAO Annual Convention provided a fantastic opportunity to network with other states and learn about how states and airports are working to tell their story.” Through connections facilitated by the convention, ITRE plans to continue developing these tools for other states and airports across the country–so be on the lookout for new resources available in the coming months.
Contact Daniel Findley for more information about ITRE’s aviation offerings including airport data dashboards and visualizations.
