Designing the future of air travel

We’ve designed and delivered some of the world’s most famous airports, from JFK, LAX and Boston Logan International Airport in the United States to Changi Airport in Singapore and Jorge Chavez International Airport in Peru.

Our global aviation team provides architecture, design, program management, technical infrastructure and ESG advisory services to airport owners, investors and clients around the world to deliver transformative solutions and designs that enhance the passenger experience.

We bring together teams of engineers, planners, environmental specialists, economists and consultants, as well as cost, construction, project and program managers — all of whom are dedicated to finding the most innovative and appropriate solutions and improving the ease with which passengers can travel the world.

Our experience in taking projects from planning through construction allows us to develop facility programs that anticipate the realities of functional planning, design, construction and commissioning — all in balance with financial and economic feasibility. Our aviation professionals are constantly looking for more efficient, safer and sustainable ways to move people across states, countries and continents.

Our experience spans several decades and includes landside and airside projects at all types of airports, large and small alongside many military installations. We have a full understanding of aviation regulations and are skilled at working within fully operational airports to keep passengers moving.

AECOM Aviation key facts:

  • Over US$100 billion of completed airport projects
  • 30 million square feet of built terminals
  • 750,000 feet of built runways
  • A team of more than 1,000 aviation professionals in 150 countries
  • Transformational outcomes delivered

Airport masterplanning and passenger terminal design

From concept to construction, our expert team of aviation planners and economists, terminal architects, airport engineers, modelers and other specialists take a comprehensive, integrated approach to planning and designing new airports, as well as improvement projects for existing airports.

Our experienced architecture team designs all our terminals from the inside out, putting the passenger and their transit experience at the heart of everything we do. We plan, design and develop operational layout strategies for airport terminals and understand the relationship of airside and access interfaces, and their integral role in terminal requirements programming.

We offer facilities space planning, landside and airside capacity analyses, and apron and gate layouts for maximum efficiency of operations, as well as passenger baggage and vehicle flow studies. Examples include our work at Philadelphia International, Houston Intercontinental and BWI Thurgood Marshall airports.

Case Studies

ESG Advisory and Decarbonization

Our ESG and decarbonization services are supporting global civil aviation operations to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Some of our services and solutions include but are not limited to:

  • Planning for airports to grow sustainably – our swing concept helps to reduce maximum walking distances
  • Energy usage strategy / design initiatives – energy reduction, Energy monitoring/auditing, Alternative energy specifically electrification of ground handling vehicles and Central Utility Plants
  • Energy transition to renewables strategy / on-site installations such as solar
  • Sustainable water use/supply – strategy/plant/design initiatives such as greywater recycling and desalination
  • Intelligent Building Management Systems
  • Waste management strategy / plant / design initiatives – waste to energy plants
  • Design for manufacturing / assembly (DfMA) – using BIM and parametric analysis in the process of airport facility design and construction
  • Low-carbon pavement mixes R&D / design – such as heavy-duty low-carbon asphaltic mix design
  • Aviation fuel infrastructure – SAFs / hydrogen – as part of fuel infrastructure planning and design
  • Sustainable landside development / smart mobility – ensuring landside development is planned to be walkable, and designed around public transport facilities
  • Scope-X – calculating/reducing carbon impact / achieving net zero – embodied carbon calculations and the use of low carbon materials
  • Climate change resilience – including nature-based solutions – the identification of all heat, wildfire, storm and flooding hazards
  • Airport Landscape design and guidelines – including plant type recommendations to minimize any hazard to aircraft operations from wildlife or birds
  • Life cycle costing – sustainability option analysis and lifecycle costing as part of cost consultancy support during master planning stage through to design stage(s)
  • Operators ESG compliance framework(s)
  • Project level ESG – project stakeholder chartering sessions
  • Environmental / social impact assessment; independent checking and due diligence – simple scoping studies, through to the team supporting complex multi-stage regulatory approval processes
  • Noise assessment – rezoning of land use
  • PFAS remediation – our treatment technology system DE-FLURO

Case Studies

Vertiports and eVTOL

As leaders in vertiport design, urban air mobility, zero emissions technologies and transportation planning, our team is advancing the adoption of new mobility technologies.

  • Vertiport Design – Combining traditional passenger terminal design and logistics expertise to new UAM technologies
  • Modularity – Creating scalable solutions that can prefabricated
  • System Impact Analysis – Understanding the broad impact of eVTOL on the overall system
  • Technology – Integrating eVTOL charging technology with existing infrastructure
  • Infrastructure Flexibility – Adapting existing systems to support eVTOL
  • Multi-Modal Transport Integration – Planning for eVTOL as part of a larger system
  • Network Planning – Scaling efficient transportation across networks
  • Aviation Planning – Passenger processing, air space analysis, procedure and route planning

Digital transformation

We employ a range of digital tools and solutions to transform, reshape and enhance the passenger experience.

Our technology systems specialists provide solutions to improve airport efficiency, safety and security. We apply modern technology to offer clients intelligent solutions for more effective business processes and workflows. We help airports meet increasing demands for common use processing of passengers and baggage, life-safety and security, communications infrastructure and wireless devices, enterprise electronic content and geospatial asset management.

Case Studies

Program management

Beyond increasing organizational capacity, we partner with our clients to develop and execute a fit-for-purpose delivery strategy that increases the certainty of achieving successful outcomes.

Our Integrated Programmatic Approach ensures that our programs not only deliver on time and on budget but also support the delivery of wider transformational outcomes, stakeholder alignment, early efficiencies and transparency and a competitive edge.

Our Program Management Delivery System and project controls mean our teams minimize disruption and keep airports and terminals open whilst under construction or renovation.

Case Studies

  • Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, USA
  • San Diego International Airport, California, USA
  • Hamad International Airport, Doha, Qatar
  • King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Our services include:

  • Airport Master Development Plans
  • Passenger Terminal Planning and Design
  • Hangar Design
  • Air Traffic Control Tower Design
  • Aviation System Planning
  • Air Cargo
  • Pavement Evaluation, Rehabilitation and Management
  • ESG Advisory
  • Decarbonization and Energy Advisory
  • Environmental Impact Assessment and Mitigation Design
  • Systems Design for Fueling
  • Alternate Delivery
  • Emerging contaminant mitigation and treatment, such as PFAS

Insights

Aviation

Airports and connecting transportation links are vital to the continued growth and economic prosperity of cities, regions and countries. With air travel set to double over the next two decades, investment in airport infrastructure will become ever more critical to sustaining cities and regions.