William Rankin, Ph.D.
Adjunct Faculty | College of Aeronautics Florida Tech
- Melbourne FL
Dr. Rankin's research focuses on airport management and security and runway safety.
Areas of Expertise
About
He also teaches airport management and transportation logistics at the University of Technology Panama's College of Aeronautics, and teaches at the University of Phoenix College of Business.
Dr. Rankin’s scholarly activity includes over 20 refereed journal publications, one book, two chapters in a book, and numerous refereed and non-refereed presentations. His scholarly works have been cited in Europe, Australia, Asia, South America and North America.
Dr. Rankin has also served as an airport management expert witness for several law firms and has testified in numerous airport litigation actions.
Research Focus
Dr. Rankin's primary research focus is on Multi-Airport Logistics Systems (MLS). This research compares the performance of cargo and passenger transport modes in U.S. MLSs. Other research explores terrorist attacks affecting airports and airlines, and runway incursions in the U.S. airports system.
Media Assets
Media Appearances
You’re Right. You’re Spending More Time Sitting on That Plane.
New York Times
2019-09-17
“Airports are constrained by capacity,” said William Rankin, associate professor of airport management at the College of Aeronautics at the Florida Institute of Technology.
How getting picked up from the airport became such a congested mess
Vox
2019-11-04
“People are going to have to understand that as airports get busier and busier, they’re going to become less convenient, especially the larger airports,” says William Rankin, a professor at the Florida Institute of Technology with 29 years of airport management experience.
Airlines suspend numerous flights from CVG, with several returning in June
Cincinnati Enquirer
2020-05-20
William Rankin, an associate professor of Aviation Management at the Florida Institute of Technology and former airport manager of 29 years, said the formula airports use to calculate how they use their planes and where they plan routes is complex, and the COVID-19 pandemic has created unforeseen complications with their calculations.
Think Airport Crowds Are Bad Now? Wait ’Til Summer
Wired
2022-05-24
Staffing cuts at airlines and airports, and among government security agents for air travel, have been unprecedented, largely due to the steep drop in demand for flights in 2020 and 2021 as Americans stayed home. There’s no telling how long it will take to staff back up, says William Rankin, a professor of airport management at the Florida Institute of Technology. The closest we’ve seen to this situation was after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
Holiday air travel: Experts say come prepared and early for flights in the coming week
FOX 35 Orlando
2022-06-28
"We’re trying to get back into a situation where we have enough pilots to meet the current demand," said Dr. William Rankin, a Florida Institute of Technology Professor in Airport Management.
Education
Middle Tennessee State University
B.S.
Aviation Management
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
M.A.S.
Aeronautical Sciences
Northcentral University
Ph.D.
Business Administration
Selected Articles
Increasing Airports' On-Time Arrival Performance Through Airport Capacity and Efficiency Indicators
International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace2020
Tiny houses and their usefulness in addressing logistical challenges associated with operating a permanent 50-person Martian colony
Inaugural Two-day Workshop at the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute (BASI)2016
Self-education of agents in the Multi-Airport Logistics System: A multiple cases study
Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems2016
Astronauts as Audiences: Characteristics of the First Space Communities
International Journal of Applied Aviation Studies2005
The ultimate edge: the case for planning media for sustaining space communities
Settlements at the Edge2016
Affiliations
- American Association of Airport Executives : Executive Emeritus
