Des Moines City Manager Rick Clark is asking the City Council to establish an airport authority that would oversee Des Moines International Airport.

Clark said in a memo that about 50 percent of U.S. airports are operated by such authorities. He cited research that claims the governance structures result in a “principled business operation, including lower costs to the airlines and streamlined corporate and private leasing to all tenants.”

The Omaha airport is governed by an authority, and Clark noted that it is a direct competitor with Des Moines.

The council will be asked tonight to approve a resolution signifying the city’s intent to create an airport authority and set a public hearing.

Clark points out in the memo that the Des Moines airport loses customers to airports in Kansas City, Mo., Omaha, Minneapolis and Cedar Rapids, which frequently offer better fares and more choices of airlines.

With an authority, whose members would be appointed by the City Council, the Des Moines airport “would be able to react more quickly to air service concerns, be better prepared to address air cargo decline, begin work on an update to the existing master plan to address the age of the terminal building, and have the potential to become an economic growth engine.”

The airport currently operates under a board of directors, with the city providing administrative and support services. Clark said that operating under a single authority would “streamline processes.”