Dear Colleagues,

In the aviation sector, the need for service quality and safety is increasing in order to offer an efficient transport system that needs routine verification of compliance with the requirements and rules specified by the national and international authorities. Indeed, an airport is a complex infrastructure composed of many functional subsystems that should satisfy the expected traffic demand over time by means of an appropriate airport master planning process. Having regard to the air side, a pavement management policy permits receiving certification by the national aviation authorities, to ensure the required level of service, to reduce the risk of accidents, and to maximize the benefits deriving from pavement works. On the other hand, economic and functional challenges involve land side structures, where the problems that need dealing with are complex. Therefore, management companies define appropriate tools in order to draw up maintenance programs for different areas. The Airport Pavement Management System (APMS) is the tool usually implemented to manage airport pavements, and similar decision support systems are adopted to manage structures and infrastructures in the service of the airport. Particularly, the landside management plays a pivotal role with economic consequences in managing the current health crisis: the restoration of air connections is subject to the possibility of maintaining the necessary separation distance between passengers who must transit through the terminals. However, it is not possible to overlook the environmental implications of technical and economic choices in planning activities for airports, which have growing importance in decision-making processes at all levels.

This Special Issue, entitled “The Art and Science of Economic Evaluation and Maintenance Planning for Airports”, addresses the most important topics in these very frontiers and the way they could be implemented.

Prof. Dr. Laura Moretti
Guest Editor

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• airfield pavements
• airport pavements
• life cycle analysis