Smart Airport Technologies Association Inc.

What Smart Airport Technologies Association Inc. does

Smart Airport Technologies Association Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(6) association headquartered in Winter Springs, Florida, founded by CEO David Tamir and dedicated exclusively to advancing technology innovation best practices across the global airport ecosystem. It serves airports, airlines, government agencies, academia, and technology providers through a structured knowledge-transfer model organized around six Best Practice Teams covering AI/Machine Intelligence (TAMI), Research and Development (RAD), User Experience (UX), Emerging Leadership (ELC), IT, and Security (SEC).

The association's product surface includes SMART Sheets (curated best-practice documentation), SMART Blue Certification (a credentialing product), ongoing webinars, a Use Cases Journal, and the Eagles Nest startup showcase. Knowledge dissemination is anchored by the annual AIRPORTECH symposium, which debuted in Orlando in February 2025 and is publicly scheduled to rotate to Miami in February 2026 and Tampa in February 2027. A global advisory team and university partnerships (with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the University of Central Florida, and Florida Institute of Technology) reinforce the research orientation of the organization.

The business model combines free primary membership for airports and government entities with paid tiers for industry participants — Associate Membership at $10,000/year and Professional Membership at tiered pricing between $400 and $10,000 — supplemented by symposium registration fees, exhibiting vendor revenue, and corporate sponsorships (e.g., Trimble's Cockpit Class sponsorship of the 2026 event). Sister-association relationships with ACI, AAAE, ACC, and FTE position the organization as a complementary rather than competing entity in the broader airport industry association landscape. Financial scale is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Smart Airport Technologies Association Inc.

Legal name

Smart Airport Technologies Association Inc.

Website

https://smartairports.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smart Airport Technologies Association Inc. is a Florida-based 501(c)(6) non-profit that curates airport technology best practices through six Best Practice Teams, an annual symposium, SMART Sheets documentation, and SMART Blue Certification, serving airports, airlines, government, academia, and technology vendors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Winter Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Tiered membership structure generating recurring revenue: Free Airport/Government membership, University memberships ($200-$10,000/year), Professional memberships ($400-$10,000/year based on company size), and Associate Membership ($10,000/year or $1,000/month). Associate membership is the highest tier with full benefits including discounted symposium costs.
2. Symposium Registration Fees: AIRPORTECH annual symposium registration fees ranging from $1,000 (Early Bird for Airport/Government/University/Associate) to $2,000 (Non-Member). Fees include 3+ days of educational sessions, welcome reception, awards banquet dinner, lunches, coffee breaks.
3. Exhibitor and Sponsorship Packages: Exhibitor rates from $3,000-$9,500 (Early Bird to standard). Sponsorship packages include Cockpit Class ($6,000-$19,000), First Class ($4,500-$14,000), and Premium Class ($2,750-$8,500). Each package includes varying levels of recognition, booth space, and complimentary registrations.
4. Certification Services: SMART Blue Certification services including Best Practices Overview & Terminology, Capabilities/Needs Assessment, Gap/Risk Analysis, Resource Analysis, Recommendations, and Training for airports, airlines, government agencies, and technology solution providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Smart Airport Technologies Association is a non-profit trade association that develops, disseminates, and certifies airport technology innovation best practices through six specialized Best Practice Teams (TAMI, RAD, UX, ELC, IT, SEC). It sells educational products and services including the annual AIRPORTECH International Symposium, SMART Sheets best-practice guideline documents, Best Practice Webinars, an annual SMART Use Cases Journal, the Eagles Nest Innovation Showcase, SMART Best Practice Libraries, Training Services, and the SMART Blue Certification program modeled on CMMI for airport technology maturity assessment.

Product overview

The Smart Airport Technologies Association is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization that provides a portfolio of educational and certification services for airport technology innovation. The core offerings include the annual AIRPORTECH Symposium, SMART Best Practice Teams (TAMI, RAD, UX, ELC, IT, SEC), SMART Sheets specification guidelines, Best Practice Webinars, the SMART Use Cases Journal, Eagles Nest innovation showcase program, comprehensive Libraries, and SMART Blue Certification. These services work together to educate airport owners, airlines, government agencies, and technology providers on best practices for airport technology applications including digital transformation, AI, robotics, electrification, and cybersecurity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AIRPORTECH: Annual international symposium showcasing state-of-the-art technology solutions for airports, airport proven use-cases with lessons learned, and best practices published by SMART's committees.

Products and services

• AIRPORTECH Annual International Symposium Annual multi-day international educational symposium showcasing state-of-the-art technology solutions for airports, proven use cases with lessons learned, and SMART-published best practices. Includes presentations, panels, short courses, demonstrations, awards banquet, and Eagles Nest innovation showcase; rotates among cities (Orlando 2025, Miami 2026, Tampa 2027).
• SMART Blue Certification Program CMMI-style certification program specific to airport enterprise process improvement via technology innovations. Includes Best Practices Overview & Terminology, Capabilities/Needs Assessment, Gap/Risk Analysis, Resource Analysis, Recommendations, and Training. Assembles Subject Matter Experts to assess airport technology innovation capabilities and outline recommended improvements for various maturity levels.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40 presentations, panels, and short courses across three parallel tracks at AIRPORTECH 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• EPIC Engineering & ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured Associate Member providing digital transformation solutions for airport business process improvements. Offers Simplify i3 cloud-based platform integrating Microsoft, Google, Esri, Apple, Android technologies. Most recently applied to enable airports Safety Management System (SMS) compliance.
• x-SpatialcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured Associate Member providing Airport Enterprise Geospatial Information System (AEGIS) serving as common denominator for airport digital twins. Integrates Autodesk and Esri data structures, providing single source of truth for spatial data.
• PDBM ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured Associate Member providing Building Information Modeling (BIM) best practice standards, processes, procedures, and tools for airport owners and AEC providers.
• Silent Falcon UAS TechnologiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured Associate Member providing precision-driven data analytics solutions including high-resolution digital twins, AI-powered analysis, and visualization tools for airports.
• TrimbleflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerCockpit Class top-level sponsor of AIRPORTECH 2026. Global technology company connecting physical and digital worlds with positioning, modeling and data analytics solutions for airports.
• MappedincoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFirst Class sponsor providing indoor map software and airport wayfinding & passenger experience solutions. Single platform for venue operations, discovery, and personalization.
• Safe SoftwarecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFirst Class sponsor providing FME All-Data, Any-AI Platform for airport data integration, extract-transform-load, and spatial BI+AI enablement.
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner coordinating with SMART for research and education. Represented on Advisory Team by Dr. Aaron Glassman, Department of Management Chair.
• University of Central Florida (UCF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner coordinating with SMART for research and education. Board member Dr. Mansooreh Mollaghasemi is UCF Professor with academic and commercial R&D experience.
• Florida TechminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner coordinating with SMART for research and education in airport technology innovations.
• ACI (Airports Council International)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComplementary sister airport association with whom SMART coordinates efforts to avoid duplication and amplify best practice education.
• AAAE (American Association of Airport Executives)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComplementary sister airport association with whom SMART coordinates efforts, particularly on technology committees and working groups.
• ACC (Airport Consultants Council)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerComplementary sister airport association with whom SMART coordinates efforts on technology best practices.
• FTE (Future Travel Experience)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerComplementary sister airport association with whom SMART coordinates efforts on airport innovation and technology.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International Air Transport Association (IATA): Global trade association for airlines that also produces standards and guidance relevant to airports (e.g., passenger experience, baggage, digital identity). Comparable in structure (industry association, working groups, events) but serving the airline rather than airport side of the same ecosystem.
• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO): UN specialized agency that sets international aviation standards and guidance, including for airport technology and security. Operates at a regulatory/policy level above SMART's best-practices remit, but for the same global aviation constituency.
• American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE): US-based professional association for airport executives. AAAE partners with SMART on technology committees and working groups (including the Airport Digital Twin Working Group) and represents an overlapping airport-owner audience but with a broader executive/operations mandate.
• Airports Council International (ACI): Global trade association representing the world's airports. SMART explicitly coordinates with ACI as a sister association on technology best practices, and ACI operates in the same airport constituency but at broader scope (operations, policy, advocacy) rather than technology-only specialization.

Direct peers

• Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP): US research program that produces applied research and guidance documents for airports, sponsored by the FAA. ACRP is named as a SMART Best Practice Team participant and overlaps directly with SMART's research-and-best-practice remit for the US airport-owner audience.
• Airport Consultants Council (ACC): Industry association representing consultants, suppliers, and service providers to airports. ACC is a named partner of SMART for technology best-practice coordination, serving an overlapping constituency of technology providers and consultants targeting airports.
• Future Travel Experience (FTE): Events and community platform focused on innovation in passenger experience and airport technology. FTE partners with SMART on airport innovation topics and operates overlapping digital transformation, AI, and biometrics programming for the same airport ecosystem.

Others

• SITA: IT and communications solutions provider owned by the air transport industry, serving airports and airlines with networking, passenger processing, and operational technology. Operates adjacent to SMART's IT and SEC Best Practice Teams as a vendor whose products the association's guidance directs airports toward.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smart-airport-technologies-association

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smart Airport Technologies Association Inc.