The ACN / PCN method as a management tool for airfield pavements

In 1981, ICAO proposed to its member states the ACN-PCN method as a standardized system to publish the information on the strength of airfield pavements.

This method results of a desire to unify the standards for accommodation of aircraft globally. It resides in a simple comparison between two classification numbers, one assigned to the pavement (PCN – Pavement Classification Number), the other to the aircraft (ACN - Aircraft Classification Number).

This note aims to explain what the ACN-PCN method is and how it is used in France.