Esri Ireland has announced that its ArcGIS technology will support daa on a new digital twin of Dublin Airport, creating one trusted view of the campus's priority assets and systems. The project will help daa plan its multi-billion-euro capital investment programme as the airport scales for 40 million passengers a year.

With 50 airlines flying to almost 200 destinations, Dublin Airport is continuing to expand, and ArcGIS provides a shared foundation for major projects including a new runway, terminal extensions and a future Metro hub. The adoption places Dublin among the earliest airports worldwide to deploy digital twin technology, alongside pioneers such as San Francisco and Hong Kong.

The structural driver behind the project is bringing together CAD, BIM and IoT sensor data, previously spread across multiple systems, into one authoritative view of infrastructure spanning 307 kilometres of water pipelines to more than 8,500 airfield ground lights, enabling a predict-and-prevent approach to maintenance.

For passengers, the focus is on reducing waiting times, with the system identifying pressure points around security queues and escalators so resources can be directed to improve passenger flow. Existing ArcGIS applications already support manhole surveys, crane inspections and a Shift Handover tool used by more than 40 team leaders.

"A digital twin gives us the insight to make faster decisions by bringing together information that was previously spread across multiple systems," said Michael Earley, BIM and Digital Manager at daa. "It lays the foundations to support future growth as we serve 40 million passengers a year."

"Esri's technology helps us manage infrastructure more efficiently and enhance the passenger experience," said Damien Garry, Asset Management and IT Development Manager at daa. "Having this level of visibility will be critical to delivering projects safely and sustainably."

"Dublin Airport is demonstrating how location intelligence can provide the foundation for the airport of the future," said Padraig Quinn, Senior Account Manager at Esri Ireland, the Irish distributor of US GIS company Esri. daa is Ireland's state-owned airport operator, managing Dublin and Cork airports; Dublin Airport carried a record 36.4 million passengers in 2025.

daa is also using ArcGIS to advance its sustainability ambitions through energy monitoring, noise mapping and flight path analysis as part of its net zero commitment by 2050. For the sector, the project reflects growing use of digital twin technology by major airports to align infrastructure investment with passenger experience as traffic grows.

Source: Irish Tech News