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Most commercial airports in the United States, as well as throughout the world, were developed by governmental authorities.  They were laid out when the airline business was in its infancy and required substantial government subsidies.  Governments built them because private enterprise could not earn an acceptable rate of return on them.Most transportation systems, including the railways, required significant government investment to get a start.  Governments argued rightly that investing in transport systems was a key step in developing the country's economy.  The ability to move people and goods is critical for economic development.Most enlightened governments recognized that railways were an improvement over canals, which were an improvement over wagons, etc.  This is why they invested in them before they became viable operations.  The same concept applies to airplanes.  They are a better way to move people and select goods, especially over long distances.  Failure of a country like the United States to facilitate the development of better forms of transport, e.g. commercial air  that were being developed by other countries would have consigned it to second class status with significant economic ramifications.  Most airports in the United States are operated as not for profit enterprises.  They operate like a business, i.e. cover all costs and maintain or increase the balance in the general fund, which is akin to the shareholders equity in a private business.  Privatization requires a buyer who believes that he can earn a satisfactory return on the investment required to buy the airport and/or take over its operations.  There are basically two ways for a private operator to perform better than a public operator.  He must increase revenues or decrease costs or a combination thereof.  Otherwise, there is no incentive to invest in the airport or its operations.If an airport is not being managed properly, a private owner/operator can usually do better than a government operator.  But if it is managed properly, a private owner/operator cannot do any better than the public owners.    There are two reasons why a significant number of airports in the United States have not been privatized.  One is political.  Turing an airport over to a private operator goes against the conventional wisdom for many people.  They other is an inadequate return on the investment, which may say that many U.S. airports are managed rather well, and the potential private operators know that there are not enough improvements (increased revenues and decreased costs) to generate the returns their shareholders require.
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