Dynamic airport pavement management for better decisions

28-10-2026
Dynamic airport pavement management connects pavement condition, operations and investment planning, helping airports decide where to intervene, when to act and how to prioritise budgets.
Airport pavement network with data visualisations illustrating condition assessment, maintenance priorities and investment planning.
Clint Nous

ClintNous

Clint Nous is a result-driven data leader with a deep passion for aviation. As Digital Lead at NACO, he spearheads digital transformation by implementing and advancing solutions across AI, Digital Twins, BIM, and Analytics, underpinned by robust data foundations.
Nicol Botha

NicolBotha

Nicol Botha is a Pavement Specialist at NACO with 16 years of experience in airport and pavement engineering. His expertise spans pavement design, condition assessment, rehabilitation and maintenance strategies, helping airports plan and prioritise pavement interventions over the asset lifecycle.

Airport pavement management in short

  • Pavement decisions need more than condition data. Maintenance priorities also depend on operational importance, deterioration rate, intervention timing and available budgets. 
  • ADAPT connects these factors. It brings pavement information, airport operations, maintenance priorities and financial requirements into one strategic workflow.
  • The strategy can evolve as information changes. New inspection and operational data can be incorporated to reassess pavement needs and priorities.
  • The objective is better-timed intervention. Airports gain a clearer basis for deciding where to intervene, when to act and how to prioritise investment. 

Why does airport pavement management need to become more dynamic?

Traditionally, airport pavement management has largely been periodic in nature. Pavement conditions are assessed, deterioration is forecasted, and the results are used to establish maintenance priorities and investment needs. These assessments provide a valuable basis for decision-making; however, the resulting understanding of pavement condition and future needs reflects the information available at that specific point in time.

The airport environment, however, is inherently dynamic. Pavement use changes as operations evolve, while environmental and climatic conditions continuously influence pavement performance. As a result, the condition and deterioration of the pavement network may develop differently from what was anticipated at the time of the assessment.

At the same time, airports are collecting increasing amounts of information about their infrastructure and operations. The opportunity is therefore not simply to collect more pavement data, but to connect changing pavement condition with operational importance, maintenance needs and investment priorities. The real value lies in translating that information into better-informed decisions about where to intervene, when to act and how available budgets should be prioritised.

This thinking is at the heart of ADAPT, NACO’s dynamic airport pavement management strategy tool.

How does ADAPT work?

Effective airport pavement management requires multiple aspects to be considered: structural condition, usage, operational importance, deterioration, maintenance requirements, intervention priorities and financials. All contribute to decisions surrounding management of the pavement network.

ADAPT brings these elements together within a connected digital workflow, linking engineering information about pavement condition with operational importance, intervention priorities and financial requirements.

As new inspection data becomes available, changes in pavement condition can be incorporated, supporting the monitoring of defects and deterioration over time.

This information can be used to forecast the expected development of individual pavement sections and identify areas where deterioration, condition trends or operational importance may warrant closer attention. Spatial analysis can further support the identification of patterns across the pavement network and inform appropriate intervention strategies at network level.

The resulting assessment is eventually translated into management priorities, linking the needs of individual pavement sections to potential interventions, their relative priority, anticipated timing and associated financial requirements.
Importantly, the approach is intended to extend beyond the preparation of a report or maintenance programme. By incorporating updated pavement and operational information as it becomes available, ADAPT supports the reassessment of pavement needs and maintenance priorities as part of a continuous management cycle. This helps airports move from periodic pavement assessments towards a more dynamic maintenance strategy.

Not every airport starts from the same position. The level of available pavement data, internal resources and asset management maturity can vary considerably. ADAPT is being developed as a flexible approach that can be tailored to the information available and the level of detail appropriate to the airport, while maintaining the same objective: supporting proactive, strategic pavement management.

What makes ADAPT different?

ADAPT is intended to extend beyond a one-off pavement assessment or maintenance report. It converts traditional pavement management strategies into a dynamic process supported by an automated digital workflow. 

Pavement condition is only one part of the decision. Airports also need to understand how operational importance, intervention timing and financial requirements shape pavement investment priorities.

Nicol BothaAirport Pavement Specialist

What are the benefits of dynamic airport pavement management?

Ultimately, ADAPT is designed to turn pavement information into three strategic questions every airport needs to answer:

1. Where should we intervene?
2. When should we intervene?
3. How should investment be prioritised?

This supports three key outcomes:

Optimised investment

Directing available budgets towards the right interventions at the right time, balancing immediate needs with long-term value.

Long-term asset performance

Supporting timely, targeted interventions that can help extend pavement life and reduce the risk of premature rehabilitation.

Operational resilience

Identifying emerging needs earlier, allowing interventions to be better aligned with operational constraints and planned maintenance windows.

How does ADAPT support airside engineers?

ADAPT does not replace engineering judgement. It strengthens it.

Instead of repeatedly assembling information from different inspections, assessments and planning exercises, airside engineers have a structured view of how the pavement network is performing, how maintenance priorities are developing and what those changes mean for the overall strategy. Supported by NACO’s airport pavement expertise, ADAPT sits within a wider engineering and strategic context rather than functioning as a standalone software solution.

Could ADAPT support your airport?

Want to understand what a more dynamic, decision-led approach to pavement management could mean for your airport? Talk to our airport pavement specialists about your current data, priorities and investment challenges.
Contact the experts -

Contact the experts

FAQs about airport pavement management