Airports are among the hardest environments in which to maintain an accurate picture of existing conditions. Record drawings are incomplete, infrastructure is aging, access windows are short, and construction never really stops. Yet the operational decisions made in these environments leave very little room for uncertainty.
This session brings together three perspectives on that problem. Speakers cover mobile lidar and downward-facing imagery used to produce high-resolution pavement orthomosaics on active runways, taxiways and aprons during a runway rehabilitation, a scan to BIM workflow at a major international airport extended into a connected digital thread that supports the facility through its lifecycle, and an airport GIS team building applications that carry geospatial data into asset management, construction coordination, field operations, emergency response and executive decision-making. Two consultant views and one owner view, with time for the longer discussion the subject deserves.
This session will include the following presentations:
Mobile Lidar and Downward-Facing Imagery for High-Resolution Orthomosaic Development on Active Airfield Pavements
Presented by Matt LaLuzerne, McKim & Creed
In support of runway rehabilitation at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Ft. Myers, Florida, this project integrates mobile lidar and downward-facing imagery to produce a high-resolution topographic dataset and orthomosaic of active airfield pavements. Data collection covered Runway 6-24, Taxiways A and F, and the Air Cargo Apron, with survey control tied to established airport datums to ensure geospatial accuracy. Lidar acquisition was performed through multiple overlapping passes, while a vehicle-mounted imaging system with downward-facing cameras and illumination captured detailed pavement conditions during nighttime operations, minimizing disruption to airfield activity and maintaining alignment between datasets.
A core focus of this approach is the generation of a lidar-aligned orthomosaic using imagery collected under controlled illumination. The downward-facing camera configuration enables consistent capture geometry and visibility of pavement features such as striping, cracking, and transitions, while also introducing considerations such as shadows and glare that are addressed in processing. The integrated lidar and imagery dataset supports detailed feature extraction and 3D surface modeling, providing an accurate representation of airfield conditions for design and asset management. This presentation highlights nighttime mobile mapping operations, orthomosaic development from downward imagery, and key lessons in data calibration and integration.
Building a Digital Thread for Airport Facilities from Scan to Operations
Presented by Prateek Sharma, Woolpert
Airports are complex, continuously-evolving environments where incomplete record drawings, aging infrastructure, restricted access, and ongoing construction can make it difficult to maintain an accurate understanding of existing conditions. A scan-to-BIM workflow can address the immediate need for reliable documentation, but its greatest value emerges when the resulting information becomes part of a connected digital thread that supports the facility throughout its lifecycle.
Using Boston’s Logan International Airport facility as a real-world case study, this presentation will examine the digital capture workflow from initial planning and field collection through the development of an operational digital twin. The session will explore how terrestrial laser scanning, mobile mapping, imagery, survey control, and other capture methods can be coordinated to document active airport environments safely and efficiently. It will then follow the data through registration, quality assurance, point-cloud management, scan-to-BIM production, model validation, asset attribution, and integration with geospatial and facility-management systems.
More importantly, the presentation will demonstrate how captured data can move beyond a static project deliverable. By establishing consistent data standards, ownership, governance, and update processes, the BIM becomes a foundation for a living digital twin—connecting trusted spatial information with asset records, maintenance activities, renovation planning, design coordination, construction verification, and future reality-capture efforts.
Attendees will see how the digital thread carries information from existing-condition capture through planning, design, construction, operations, maintenance, and renewal. The Massport example will illustrate both the technical workflow and the organizational considerations required to preserve data integrity across platforms, projects, consultants, and facility teams. The session will provide a practical roadmap for organizations seeking to capture once, use the information many times, and transform fragmented facility data into a sustainable digital asset that evolves alongside the physical environment.
How DFW Airport Uses App Development to Support Operations, Assets, Planning, and Field Teams
Presented by Adan Banda, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
At a complex airport environment like Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, geospatial applications must support far more than traditional mapping. They need to connect asset management, construction coordination, field operations, emergency response, planning, and executive decision-making into practical tools that staff can use every day.
This session will showcase how the DFW Airport GIS team is developing and deploying a wide range of GIS-based applications to support departments across the organization. Examples may include asset management workflows, staging yard tracking, operational dashboards, field data collection, project coordination tools, indoor mapping, and real-time visualization. The presentation will highlight how GIS applications help turn authoritative spatial data into usable business solutions for both technical and non-technical users.
The session will also discuss lessons learned from working with multiple departments, gathering requirements, choosing the right Esri tools, designing applications for different audiences, and maintaining governance so that GIS remains the authoritative source of spatial data across the airport.
