Assessment of digital maturity levels in airports: Application in Türkiye

Digitalization in the aviation sector is a process that affects many areas, including passenger experience, operations management, security, and infrastructure management. Digitalization, which affects many areas in today's airports, also ensures that airport operations are managed effectively, efficiently, quickly, and safely. With digitalization, the concept of digital maturity, which involves a comprehensive assessment of operations, is gaining importance. In this context, it has become necessary for airport managers and stakeholders to assess and measure the digital maturity of airports in a holistic manner. The aim of this study is to develop a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework for assessing the digital maturity levels of airports and to analyze five selected airports in Turkey within the scope of this framework. First, airport-specific digital maturity assessment criteria were determined based on literature review and expert opinions. Then, the BWM method was used to calculate the levels of these criteria. Based on the determined criteria weights, the digital maturity levels of five different airports operating in Turkey were evaluated according to the opinions of their operations control center managers. As a result of this evaluation, the digital maturity level of each airport was calculated and ranked using the GIA, MULTIMOORA, and MABAC methods. According to the results obtained, it has been revealed that the best criterion in terms of digital maturity level assessment criteria at airports is security, while the worst criterion is culture. Looking at the sub-criteria, the importance of taking out cyber security insurance and receiving training on digital transformation has emerged. Finally, by highlighting the status of airports in Turkey in terms of digitalization, recommendations were provided to decision-makers to guide the development of digital transformation strategies.