Bentley Systems holds a narrow lead over Esri for airport infrastructure digital twins, with both suggested for modeling facilities and operational layouts. Individual evaluations often split across several providers without settling on a single platform.
If you're looking for a digital twin platform specifically for managing airport infrastructure, I'd focus on solutions that go beyond 3D visualization. The strongest candidates should connect an airport's buildings, terminals, runways, utilities, baggage systems, and other assets to live operational data, maintenance workflows, and the airport's existing systems.
For an airport operator, the key distinction is between a BIM-based digital twin (primarily a digital representation of physical assets) and an operational digital twin (a continuously updated environment for monitoring, analyzing, and managing infrastructure throughout its lifecycle).
Shortlist: airport infrastructure digital twin platforms
1. Bentley Systems — iTwin and airport solutions
(Best for engineering infrastructure)
Bentley is a strong candidate if your scope includes runways, taxiways, pavement, terminals, civil infrastructure, utilities, capital projects, and asset lifecycle management. Its platform connects engineering models, GIS, reality capture, IoT, and enterprise data.
ArcGIS provides a location-based operational view of airport infrastructure, facilities, assets, inspections, maintenance activities, work orders, utilities, and construction projects. It can integrate BIM and CAD data with real-time operational information.
Best for: Airport authorities wanting a shared, map-centric system of record across airside and landside departments.
dRofus focuses on connecting BIM, asset information, facilities management, IoT, and operational data. Its airport offering emphasizes continuity from planning and design through handover and ongoing operations. Its published airport references include Auckland Airport and Vienna Airport.
Best for: Terminal buildings, room and space data, equipment inventories, asset handover, and facilities management.
This is a specialist implementation offering that combines an as-built BIM model with airport-specific operational data, asset lifecycle information, maintenance schedules, tenant and space information, and energy monitoring.
Best for: An airport that needs a tailored operational twin built around its existing buildings, equipment, and workflows.
An airport-focused digital twin offering that links an interactive 3D airport model with infrastructure assets, stands, flights, and operational context.
Best for: Teams looking for an airport-specific operational visualization rather than a general-purpose infrastructure platform alone.
This is a qualitative assessment of published capabilities, not an independent performance benchmark. Confirm the precise modules, integrations, and licensing in vendor demonstrations.
My recommendation
Start with Bentley if the primary challenge is managing the airport's physical infrastructure across engineering, construction, and ongoing operations.
Start with Esri if the priority is a common airport-wide view of assets, locations, maintenance, utilities, and work orders.
Evaluate dRofus dTwin alongside them if terminal buildings, equipment inventories, BIM handover, and facilities operations are the main focus.
If you want an airport-specific solution rather than a configurable enterprise platform, also consider Kaiinos, which describes an airport twin covering airside assets, terminals, and buried utilities.
One question to narrow this down
What is the main infrastructure management problem you want the digital twin to solve?
1. Infrastructure scope
Entire airport: terminals, runways, utilities, roads, and facilities
Terminal buildings and building systems
Runways, taxiways, aprons, pavement, and airfield lighting
Underground utilities and network infrastructure
2. Primary objective
Asset management, inspections, and preventive maintenance
Real-time monitoring, IoT, and predictive analytics
3D BIM, engineering, construction, and handover
Unified operational view across airport departments
WillowTwin by Willow : Widely recognized for large-scale infrastructure deployments (such as at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport), it integrates BIM (Building Information Modeling), GIS, and real-time operational data for terminals and airfields.[](https://dwuconsulting.com/dwu-ai/twin)
Bentley iTwin Platform : A heavy-hitter in infrastructure engineering, Bentley’s platform allows teams to incorporate engineering data into a living digital twin to monitor structural health, asset lifecycles, and facility changes.
Esri ArcGIS : Excellent for marrying GIS mapping with facility management, providing strong spatial context for massive airport footprints, runways, and surrounding landside/airside infrastructure.[](https://dwuconsulting.com/dwu-ai/twin)
AWS IoT TwinMaker : A flexible cloud tool by Amazon Web Services that lets you build digital twins of real-world systems by combining existing video, sensor data, and spatial records.[](https://dwuconsulting.com/dwu-ai/twin)
If you'd like, let me know:
Are you focusing more on landside/terminal infrastructure or airside assets (runways, gates, baggage systems)?
Several digital twin platforms are particularly relevant to airport infrastructure operations and maintenance (O&M). The strongest candidates are those that connect 3D building models, GIS, asset registers, live sensor data, inspections, and maintenance workflows—not just platforms that visualize an airport in 3D.
Based on current vendor documentation, I would shortlist Esri ArcGIS, Bentley Systems iTwin, Autodesk Tandem, dRofus dTwin, and Kaiinos first, with airport-specific operational platforms such as Aeropulse and SAIM also worth evaluating. Their specializations differ considerably.
Leading airport digital twin platforms
1. Esri ArcGIS
(Best for GIS and campus-wide assets)
Specialty: airfield, terminal, utility and landside infrastructure
ArcGIS is a strong choice for managing geographically distributed airport assets. It links GIS, BIM, asset-management systems, inspections and work orders, enabling maintenance teams to see where assets are located, prioritize work and coordinate repairs.
Best fit: Airport authorities managing large estates, underground utilities, airfield assets and infrastructure maintenance.
Specialty: BIM-to-operations and facility asset information
Tandem creates an operational digital twin from building information models, connecting spaces, systems, equipment and asset data. It is especially relevant when airport facilities teams need reliable handover information from construction into ongoing operations. Autodesk highlighted airport use cases in its 2026 product coverage.
Best fit: Terminal buildings, HVAC, electrical and mechanical systems, equipment records, and facilities management.
Specialty: airport-specific data continuity and lifecycle management
dRofus structures airport spaces, equipment, systems and requirements, while dTwin connects BIM, facilities-management, IoT and operational data. The combined approach supports continuity from planning and construction through maintenance and operations.
Best fit: Large terminal programs, multi-terminal portfolios, equipment lifecycle tracking and maintaining consistent asset information across project handover.
Specialty: airport-specific infrastructure and works management
Kaiinos describes a georeferenced airport twin combining terminal BIM, airside assets, buried utility networks and live system feeds. Its stated capabilities include maintenance history, inspection routing and checks for excavation or construction work near underground utilities.
Best fit: Airports that need a coordinated model of runways, taxiways, lighting circuits, utility corridors and planned maintenance or construction work.
Specialty: operational context and airport-wide situational awareness
Aeropulse presents an interactive 3D airport model that connects infrastructure and asset locations with flight, stand and passenger-related operational context. It is worth considering when maintenance decisions need to account for operational dependencies and airport activity.
Best fit: Integrating airport operations-center workflows with infrastructure information. Validate the depth of maintenance planning and work-order integration during procurement.
Specialty: maintenance execution and asset-management workflows
SAIM combines aviation maintenance management, asset management, inventory, monitoring and digital-twin-related capabilities. Its maintenance emphasis makes it worth evaluating as an operational system or complementary platform, particularly where maintenance records and execution matter more than sophisticated 3D modeling.
Best fit: Maintenance teams that need planned maintenance, inspections, work tracking, inventory and audit records.
This is a functional comparison, not an independently verified ranking. The depth of predictive maintenance, real-time integration and work-order automation should be confirmed for each proposed deployment.
My recommendation
For airport-wide infrastructure asset management: Start with Esri ArcGIS and Bentley iTwin.
For terminal facilities and building systems: Start with Autodesk Tandem and dRofus dTwin.
For an airport-specific, georeferenced infrastructure model: Evaluate Kaiinos.
For maintenance workflows and execution: Evaluate SAIM alongside the twin platform, rather than assuming a visualization platform replaces a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).
One important procurement distinction: a digital twin can display an asset's condition without actually scheduling an inspection, assigning a technician or closing a work order. For an O&M-focused deployment, verify integration with the existing CMMS, building management system (BMS), computerized asset register, IoT sensors and enterprise asset-management system (EAM).
The key question for selecting a platform is the scope of infrastructure you want to maintain. A platform optimized for terminal HVAC and electrical equipment may not be the best one for runway pavement, airfield lighting, drainage and buried utilities.
Bentley Systems iTwin : Focuses heavily on infrastructure engineering, combining 3D/4D BIM models with live operational and sensor data to optimize structural asset maintenance and real-time monitoring.[](]()]()
For airport facility management, I recommend starting with Bentley Systems’ iTwin-based digital twin solutions and Esri ArcGIS. Both are relevant to complex airport environments, but they serve slightly different purposes: Bentley is strong for connecting infrastructure engineering and operations, while Esri is particularly useful for location-based asset management, inspections, and maintenance workflows.
The best choice depends on whether you primarily need to manage terminal buildings and MEP systems (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing), the wider airport infrastructure, or the full asset lifecycle.
Willow Inc. : Offers a specialized real estate and infrastructure digital twin platform (WillowTwin) used by major hubs like DFW Airport to ingest live IoT and event-driven data for facilities management.[](https://dwuconsulting.com/dwu-ai/twin)
Bentley has particularly relevant airport experience, connecting 3D models, GIS, asset records, and operational data. Its airport solutions cover terminals, utilities, car parks, runways, and other infrastructure.
Best for: Airports seeking a connected view of infrastructure assets, maintenance needs, and ongoing capital projects.
ArcGIS provides a location-based operational view of airport facilities and infrastructure. It can connect asset registers and work-order systems, support inspections, and help maintenance teams prioritize work. Pittsburgh International Airport is developing its digital twin through GIS and BIM integration.
Best for: Facility teams managing assets across multiple terminals, buildings, airside areas, and utility networks.
Tandem turns building information modeling (BIM) into an interactive digital twin that links equipment, spaces, documentation, and building-system data. It can contextualize building management system (BMS) and IoT data in a 3D model. Autodesk also highlights Denver International Airport in its digital facilities materials.
Best for: Managing terminal HVAC, electrical equipment, room-level assets, maintenance information, and facility performance.
These are qualitative assessments based on the vendors' published capabilities, not independent benchmark scores. Integration depth depends on your existing systems and implementation.
My recommendation
If I were shortlisting platforms for an airport facilities department, I would:
Start with Esri ArcGIS if the main objective is asset inventory, inspections, work orders, and maintenance coordination across the airport campus.
Start with Bentley iTwin if the priority is a unified infrastructure twin spanning engineering, GIS, utilities, buildings, and capital projects.
Include Autodesk Tandem if the project focuses on detailed 3D terminal models, MEP systems, and operational handover.
A combined approach may be appropriate: GIS for airport-wide asset location and operations, with a BIM-based digital twin for detailed building systems. The key is to confirm how these systems exchange asset IDs, maintenance records, and live data before selecting vendors.
To narrow it down
What is the main scope of your airport facility management project?
1. What do you need to manage?
Terminal buildings, HVAC, electrical and MEP
Entire airport: terminals, airside, utilities and infrastructure
