Best Practices for Airport Administrative Cost Allocation

Airport managers operating within larger governmental organizations often face challenges in documenting and reviewing administrative costs charged by parent organizations or other governmental entities. These costs may include legal services, procurement, human resources, finance, and other shared services. Airports organized under authorities, municipalities, counties, and other governmental structures also encounter challenges in allocating direct and indirect costs, documenting cost allocation practices, supporting cost recovery, auditing administrative charges, and understanding airport revenue diversion considerations. Research is needed to identify and document effective practices for allocating, reviewing, and supporting administrative costs and shared-service charges across different airport governance structures. The objective of this research is to develop a guidebook describing industry practices for airport administrative cost allocation. The research should address direct and indirect charges, methods for allocating administrative and shared-service costs, auditing of shared services, documentation supporting cost recovery, and relevant airport revenue diversion considerations. The research should also include examples of current airport practices, where appropriate, to provide airport managers with a practical resource for discussing administrative charges and cost allocation methodologies with governing organizations.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=6096
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $500,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 01-64

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Aviation Administration

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591
• Managing Organizations:

  Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP)

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Project Managers:

  Picciano, Tara

• Start Date: 20260831
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: Airport Cooperative Research Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Administration; Airports; Best practices; Cost allocation
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Aviation; Finance; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 02001716
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 01-64
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Sep 2 2026 4:40PM