Crowded airports are often sources of stress and frustration for travelers. What about an empty airport? It may be bliss for passengers, but it is a depressing sight for the community.

In operations management, there is much discussion about expanding capacity and little about shrinking it. In this article, Memphis International Airport undertakes the challenge of shrinking its existing capacity while trying to bring in new business just in case.

This post is based on the New York Times article, The Trouble with the Memphis Airport: No Crowds, by A. Blinder, May 23, 2018. Image source: Danil Melekhin/Getty Images.

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the external forces that led to the decline of Memphis International Airport (MEM)?

Guidance: Discuss the 2008 merger of Northwest and Delta. Northwest had a joint venture with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Delta had its own with Air France. After the merger, Delta, the larger of the two airlines, consolidated its capacity in Atlanta, and MEM, once Northwest’s hub, was no longer designated as such. Besides the merger, several other central cities in the US have enjoyed increased traffic, at the expense of MEM. Furthermore, it appears that fewer passengers make Memphis Continue reading →