The consortium in the deal to lease Midway Airport is no stranger to operating airports. The core party in the consortium, Vancouver-based YVR Airport Services, has been operating airports for more than 12 years, ranging from its home base Vancouver International Airport to small and mid-size airports in British Columbia and other parts of Canada. YVRAS also operates airports in Santiago, Chile; the Dominican Republic; the Bahamas, and Montego Bay, Jamaica.

In May, New York-based Citi Infrastructure Investors, a unit of financial services giant Citi, partnered with YVRAS to provide capital for investment in additional airport leases. Citi Infrastructure bought a 50 percent stake in YVRAS. The third party in the Midway consortium is John Hancock Life Insurance Co. Sources said insurance companies are increasingly turning to investments beyond real estate, and airport operations are one option.

Privatization of airport operations isn't always successful. Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, N.Y., was operated by UK-based National Express Group, but that lease was sold to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey because it was not generating enough revenue, sources said. British Airports Authority gave up the Indianapolis International Airport lease for the same reason.

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