PRIVATIZATION OF NATURAL MONOPOLIES-THE CASE OF AIR NAVIGATION SERVICESPRIVATIZATION OF NATURAL MONOPOLIES-THE CASE OF AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES

Abstract

There exists a strong tendency to privatize the airports and air carriers in the air transport industry. The Turkish flag-carrier Turkish Airlines has been privatized through public offerings and some of the airports managed by State Airports Authority of Turkey have been privatized through Build-Operate-Transfer and Long Term Lease schemes. But natural monopolistic air navigation services, which are indispensable part of the air transport industry, lagged behind the corporatization, commercialization, and privatization trends not only in Turkey but also in the rest of the world. This study aims at analyzing the private participation in the provision of the air navigation services, evaluating the country cases, and discussing the Turkish context. After the analyses, it was concluded that privatizing air navigation services might not be a viable option at the moment in Turkey but the provision of such services in a more autonomous and commercial approach might lead to certain improvements.