Principal Consultant - Aviation(Airport Planning)

We are seeking an Principal Consultant to contribute to concept-level airport planning, functional spatial design, multidisciplinary coordination, stakeholder engagement, and design-focused project support across major aviation projects.

The successful candidate will play a key role in shaping the future of airport design, delivering world-class facilities that enhance operational efficiency, passenger experience, and environmental sustainability.

The Principal Consultant will be an integral member of the Middle East Aviation Business responsible for winning prospects and projects, ensuring the successful delivery of innovative and efficient design solutions.

Airport Planning & Analytics

• Supporting project delivery of various scopes of work with an initial focus for the

delivery of the Concept of Operations for DWC phase 2.

• Lead analytical assessments of airport operations, including traffic profiles, flight

schedules, dwell times and operational KPIs.

• Deliver and interpret capacity and Level of Service (LoS) assessments across

terminal, airside, apron, landside and support facilities.

• Develop robust multi-scenario demand forecasts for passengers, aircraft, cargo

and GA operations.

• Build and operate simulation models (CAST, AirTOP, AviPlan analytics or

equivalent) to evaluate flow performance, system efficiency and operational

resilience.

• Translate model outputs into clear, actionable recommendations that guide

planning decisions and infrastructure priorities.

• Ensure data, assumptions and modelling workflows remain validated, traceable

and auditable.

• Contribute to the development of airport masterplans and long-term strategic

frameworks, providing evidence-based planning inputs.

• Define functional and spatial requirements for terminals, airside, landside and

support facilities based on demand, ConOps principles and regulatory

standards.

• Develop and evaluate planning options, phasing strategies, expansion triggers

and performance trade-offs.

• Consider sustainability, resilience, airspace constraints and operational

innovation in all planning scenarios.

• Provide structured planning guidance to downstream design teams to

maintain alignment with the agreed masterplanning vision.

Client & Stakeholder Engagement:

• Work closely with airport operators, airlines, regulators and internal WSP teams

to align on planning criteria, analytical assumptions and study methodologies.

• Work closely with airport operators, airlines, regulators and internal WSP teams

to align on planning criteria, analytical assumptions and study methodologies.

• Present capacity results, modelling outputs and planning insights in workshops

and multi-stakeholder meetings, ensuring complex concepts are

communicated clearly and accurately.

• Facilitate technical discussions, address stakeholder queries, and integrate

feedback into updated forecasts, simulation scenarios and planning

deliverables.

• Coordinate proactively with multidisciplinary teams—including terminal

designers, airside engineers, operations and digital specialists—to ensure

planning outputs are consistent, integrated and technically robust.

• Collaborate with other Business Units to develop and deliver a ‘OneWSP’ service

offering to aviation clients.

Design-Focused Project Support & Tender Preparation

• Support proposal preparation by contributing planning methodologies, scopes,

level-of-effort estimates, case studies and modelling insights that strengthen aviation bids.

• Contribute to enhancing WSP’s internal planning practice by refining

templates, improving analytical workflows and sharing practical lessons learned

from projects.

• Provide informal technical guidance to junior planners, helping them

understand planning frameworks, modelling approaches and project

requirements while supporting overall t