Wendt, PhilippeVoltes-Dorta, AugustoSuau-Sanchez, Pere2020-09-102020-09-102020-07-08Wendt P, Voltes-Dorta, Suau-Sanchez P. (2020) Estimating the costs for the airport operator and airlines of a drone-related shutdown: an application to Frankfurt international airport. Journal of Transportation Security, Volume 13, Issue 1, June 2020, pp. 93-1161938-7741https://doi.org/10.1007/s12198-020-00212-4https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/15778Commercially-acquired drones threaten airport operations due to limited knowledge of airspace safety regulations or deliberate action by drone operators. This study aims to determine whether the investment cost of a drone-defence system can be justified in relation to the financial cost of a drone-related shutdown. To that end, a case study of Frankfurt Airport is carried out with simulations of different disruptions during a peak-activity period similar to the 2018 Gatwick drone incident. With data on passenger traffic and airline schedules, we developed a passenger recovery algorithm to determine the amount of delays caused by the disruptions and the costs for the airport operator and the airlines. Results show that the investment in a drone-defence system is offset by the costs of a 48-h continued closure or several smaller closures, but since the largest share of costs is borne by the airlines, investments should be shared between both stakeholdersenAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Passenger recoveryCost estimationAirport closureDrone attackArticle