Airport procurement: a strategic new vision
With many mega aviation programmes underway globally, supply chains are under pressure and capable contractors are scarce. Delivering these complex programmes requires procurement processes that prioritises system authority, early market engagement and operational outcomes, not just the contract itself.
Reshaping delivery in a hyper-competitive environment
Building an airport has always been complex, but today the challenge is even greater. Global investment in airport major programmes is rapidly increasing, with a large concentration of these programmes in the Middle East and Asia.
These programmes are particularly ambitious, combining airport infrastructure with commercial and hospitality components. At the same time, rising real estate costs, limited labour and a small number of contractors who have the right financial and technical capabilities are creating a challenging delivery environment.
Airports aren’t just buildings.
They’re intricate systems where operational performance depends on seamless integration of critical infrastructure, such as baggage handling, security screening, passenger processing, runway and navigational systems.
A delay in a single system has the potential to halt operations entirely. With multiple programmes competing for the same suppliers, production lines are stretched and programme certainty is at risk.
This environment has reshaped the delivery landscape. Employers are engaging the market earlier, often with only initial designs in place. Provisional sums and multi-contractor packages are now standard practice. But without structured supply-chain governance, these strategies can lead to fragmentation, cost overruns and delays.
Can airport developers rethink procurement for optimal delivery?
Traditional procurement processes have focused on contract form, marked by fixed price, design and build, or two-stage tendering, with the goal being price certainty, programme acceleration and often sub-optimal risk transfer.
However, this approach is no longer fit for purpose.
Procurement in airport major programmes works best when it helps guide outcomes, giving developers control over key systems while keeping contractors and suppliers focused on the same goals.
Developers must accept that they can no longer shift all risk to contractors, but need to structure programmes to proactively manage uncertainty, while maintaining control over critical systems. This subtle but important change allows airport developers to collaboratively work with contractors in a way that is operationally focused and realistic.
Airport developers should be guided by best practice as they seek to embed a new normal and make procurement a tool to shape outcomes, not just a way to manage contracts. The following approaches are tried and tested.
Six steps for airport developers to create an effective procurement strategy
1. Use procurement as system control
Operationally critical systems, like security scanning, baggage handling and passenger processing can’t fail. These assets should remain directly contracted by the employer to retain authority and operational continuity.
Meanwhile, other components can be supplied through main contractors under pre-agreed schedules of rates. Under this scenario, contractors only charge for installation, handling, storage, coordination and commissioning support, with no mark-up on materials.
This hybrid approach allows developers to remain contractor-agnostic while maintaining control over systems that determine whether the airport can function.
In practice, it has enabled clients to engage multiple framework suppliers simultaneously without undermining consistency or performance. In recent Middle Eastern airport projects, this approach allowed several subcontractors to procure from the same approved rate schedule, reducing cost inflation and accelerating delivery.
2. Preserve authority by two-stage tendering
Traditional two-stage tendering often relies on the main contractor to progress design from concept to detail, which can dilute employer control. In its revised form, stage one focuses on securing the main works contractor for programme mobilisation.
Stage two then prioritises early engagement with suppliers and contractors capable of delivering assets aligned with operational requirements.
Airport developers who split tender objectives can maintain authority over systems that are critical to operational readiness.
3. Segment suppliers based on criticality
Airports have usually structured procurement around trade, discipline or cost. A more practical approach is to group systems by how essential they are to integration, how hard they are to change later and what would happen if they failed.
Crucially, this ensures that systems which could prevent airport opening if delayed are prioritised. For example, a relatively low-cost IT platform that controls boarding gates may take precedence over a higher-value fit-out package, as failure has a direct operational consequence. In this way, capital value becomes secondary to operational impact, as operational savings are made over the lifetime of the asset
4. Adjust costs as designs evolve
Early procurement often requires provisional sums and is based on incomplete designs, which introduces cost uncertainty. Developers who consider early allowances to be adjusted as scope and designs mature can prevent premature cost lock-in.
This supports contractor engagement and clear oversight, while reducing the risk of overpaying for elements that change later. On accelerated programmes, it enables early procurement of specialist systems while the main contractor is still finalising designs. This ensures readiness without stalling the wider project.
5. Prioritise early market engagement and system-level competition
By engaging specialist suppliers as early as possible, airport developers can secure production capacity, confirm delivery timelines and ensure technical requirements are understood before installation begins.
Opening competition at the system level, such as between security system providers, encourages better pricing and extended warranties.
Engaging the market early also allows airports to plan for operational readiness and maintenance from the start. It gives developers the insight to coordinate multiple suppliers, reduce bottlenecks and make informed decisions that protect programme outcomes without relying on a single contractor.
6. Incentivise based on operational readiness
Multiple contractors and framework suppliers increase the risk of misaligned incentives, with the focus often on material delivery rather than system functionality. Linking incentives to system availability and operational acceptance works to address this, aligning all parties with the airport’s priority objectives.
For example, a baggage handling contractor may receive payments tied to throughput performance during commissioning, rather than simply the installation milestone. This ensures accountability across fragmented delivery teams and encourages collaboration around operational outcomes.
Delivering airport programmes in a new landscape
As airport programmes become larger and more system-led, procurement needs to focus on long-term operational outcomes alongside delivery. This means clearly defining critical systems, setting measurable performance expectations and aligning suppliers to how the airport will ultimately operate.
For contractors and suppliers, the rules are clear.
Delivering on integration, following system ownership guidelines and focusing on operational results are essential. Success depends on collaboration within the framework, not just contract terms.
Working directly with capable manufacturers and contractors who can meet output specifications also strengthens competition and improves certainty around delivery, commissioning and lifecycle performance.
In this way, procurement supports more predictable programme outcomes, while helping airports make better informed investment decisions for complex, future-facing infrastructure.