SWOT Analysis in Strategic Management and a Case Study at Gaziantep Airport

Introduction

The aviation market has developed rapidly over the last decade, and many changes have affected the aviation market, especially after 2011. Considering traffic trends after 2008, air traffic increased by 10% from 2014 to 2017 after the interruption between 2008-2013 due to financial recession and economic recession. According to the most likely scenario of Eurocontrol, European up to about 16 million flights are expected. This increase in air traffic will put pressure on airport capacity and will direct airport operations to a situation analysis assessment (ACI, 2019).

Air transport stands out as a rapidly growing sector, and privatization policies for the sector have increased the desire of enterprises to move to this sector. On the other hand, increasing competition among airline companies in terms of transporting passengers in a more comfortable, more economical and more reliable manner has led to the necessity to turn to different and modern practices in the field of aviation, that is, to create different and correct strategies (Kanbur & Karakavuz, 2017).

Airports are important part of the air transport system; they operate as infrastructure providers in the system. Especially in recent years that liberal policies which have been signed bilateral agreements has make Turkey important center in terms of the geographic area of passenger transport. In the last decade airport passenger traffic in Turkey has increased significantly. In terms of geographical location, Turkey is positioned as a transit point between Asia, Europa and the Middle East. In terms of the air transport industry and the development of the industry; to understand the dynamics of Turkey's economy is important (Şengür, Uzgör and Ustaömer 2018: 811).

Airports are one of the basic elements of the air transport process. Air transportation is a system consisting of units providing all kinds of infrastructure, support and complementary services related to aircraft operators, airports and air navigation in order to transport people, other things and goods safely and effectively (Kuyucak, 2007: 6). Airport services types consist of passenger services, flight operation, transportation, catering service, cargo control and communication, ramp, aircraft line maintenance, supervision and management, and control plane private security services (SHY-22: 2-4) The role of airports in the functioning of this system is to physically bring all system elements together and to ensure the uninterrupted flow of the process. In other words, airports are the heart of air transport.

Turkish civil aviation sector, located at the top among sectors showing growth in Turkey. In order to respond to this development, airport and airline companies, ground handling services, aircraft manufacturers and all subsidiaries operating in this sector have started to look for ways to improve their quality. Before attempting to improve quality, firms attempted to analyze their current situation. In parallel with this aim, they used SWOT analysis to determine the strengths and weaknesses of enterprises at the present time and also to analyze the opportunities and threats that may arise from the external environment.

The current strategic position forms a very important point of departure for the development of a future strategy. It is very difficult to understand the current strategy if a formal planning system was previously absent.

The studying of the competition, the current strategic prospects, performances from the past, the business possibilities and the market environment provide us with insight concerning information required for the indication of strengths and weaknesses. Where possible these strengths and weaknesses are to be represented in objective terms. It must be commented that most strengths concern the capabilities of certain personnel members or the resources at hand. A distinction can accordingly be made according to the present product/market combinations. It is therefore sensible to make a distinction according to the extent to which these strengths and weaknesses are of a critical nature. As regards the critical factors, an attempt must be made to sort them according to industry.