Airlines Have Bigger Nightmare Than Fuel—a Runway Shortage
- Carriers face infrastructure deficit as passenger numbers rise
- Capacity constraints tightest in fast-growing Asian economies
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Pity the airlines: fuel prices are soaring, pilots are in short supply and political spats threaten global trade. And worse may be to come.
With global passenger numbers forecast to almost double to 7.8 billion by 2036, runways, airports and even airspace could rapidly become too crowded to cope. In Asia, which will contribute more than half of the extra flyers, many terminals are already full to bursting.