The airport access gap in Latin America and the Caribbean

We estimate the investment gap in the provision of adequate levels of access to airports in Latin America and the Caribbean. Based on georeferenced data for population centers and existing airport locations, we estimate the region requires USD 10 billion in investments to close the gap for 23 million people living in localities of more than 100,000 inhabitants who currently lack sufficient access to airports offering adequate service standards within reasonable travel times. The gap is equivalent to approximately 18% of total investment in transport in Latin America in 2019, but is quite sensitive to variations in the criteria chosen to define access in terms of maximum access time and minimum population center size thresholds.