The rapid development of information technology in the mid-to-late 20th century and its penetration into various industries and sectors of society has promoted the construction of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). As key nodes in integrated transportation systems, intelligent airports have received widespread attention, and their development has begun to flourish. However, current intelligent airports in China mainly focus on the application of information technology with diverse scopes and objectives. This indicates a lack of a unified understanding of the concept of intelligent airports, which urgently demands the establishment of an intelligent airport system architecture that can clarify the contents and objectives of intelligent airports and thereby promote their coordinated and standardized development. Therefore, a system engineering approach is adopted to address this requirement. In this study, four types of physical entities in 17 areas were identified, including business production facilities, business production equipment, business coordination centers, and transportation vehicles. Three types of users in 20 departments were categorized, including production operation support users, management users, and social users. Nine major functional domains were classified, including airspace management, flight area management, passenger service, aviation logistics, emergency support, operation management, commercial management, road traffic management, and enterprise management. Subsequently, a top-level logical architecture consisting of nine logical subsystems and the corresponding information flows was designed for an intelligent airport. Building upon this logical architecture, a top-level physical architecture with eight physical centers and the corresponding information flows was designed. Finally, an intelligent airport system architecture that encompasses all aspects of airport operations is proposed. The proposed intelligent airport system architecture will help clarify the understanding of intelligent airports, promote the development of their basic theories, and drive their standardized and collaborative development. © 2024 Chang'an University. All rights reserved.
