WAIS has been established to support a more consistent and comprehensive understanding of the world’s aviation system through structured data, analytical publications and transparent methodological approaches.

Initial publications

The first stage of the project introduces two publications.

WAIS Publication 001 — Airport Functional Classification: Concepts, Systems and Methodology

This publication presents the conceptual foundations and methodology of the Airport Functional Classification System (AFCS), an analytical framework designed to complement existing regulatory, administrative and statistical airport classifications.

WAIS Publication 003 — World Airports Ranking 2025

This publication examines the global airport system through passenger traffic statistics and a geographically structured analytical approach.

It is available in two editions: a free Public Edition introducing the principal findings and methodology, and a Complete Edition providing more extensive reference and analytical content.

World Airports Dataset 2025

Alongside the publications, WAIS introduces a structured dataset designed to support comparative airport research, aviation market analysis and professional applications.

The dataset provides machine-readable information for further analysis and integration into independent research workflows.

An evolving information system

WAIS is conceived as a developing information resource rather than a single publication series.

Future work will focus on expanding the coverage, improving data consistency, developing classification frameworks and providing additional analytical resources for the international aviation community.

The project is intended for aviation researchers, transport geographers, airport planners, analysts, educational institutions and other professionals working with global aviation information.

Explore WAIS

The website provides information about the project, its methodological foundations, available publications and datasets.

Website: https://wais.world

Published by: WAIS Publishing
Project author: Vadim Stepanov

World Aviation Information System — Standards | Data | Software | Publications