Use of Photogrammetry and Laser Scanning Technologies in Runway Inspections

Runways are among the most important assets for many airports due to their high life-cycle costs and functional importance. Runway inspections are mainly conducted through manual inspections requiring visual identification of distresses. These practices may suffer from potential inaccuracies and biases due to the time- and resource-consuming nature of these inspection procedures. Manual data collection procedures also hinder the potential for adopting more sophisticated approaches to asset management featuring artificial intelligence and digital twin technologies. In this paper, the potential of photogrammetry and laser scanning—two emerging methods to construct 3D models—in improving runway inspection procedures is examined. Results obtained from online surveys of airport authorities and industry leaders and semi-structured interviews are presented. A road map is presented to assist airport authorities with adopting photogrammetry and laser scanning technologies to improve their condition assessment procedures. While these technologies have found applications in other domains, their adoption in the aviation sector has been somewhat limited. It is anticipated that this paper and other publications in this area will foster further research and practical applications in the 3D modeling of airport infrastructure, resulting in considerable improvements to airport asset management practices.