The development and formulation of a design procedure for rigid airport payments are presented. The design criteria used in the procedure are based on the tensile stress in the portland cement concrete (PCC) slab as computed by layered elastic theory and the strength of the PCC slab as measured in the flexural beam test. The criteria were developed by the analysis of some 60 test sections. Procedures are given for the characterization of the pavement materials both by laboratory testing and by typical values and/or correlation studies. The thickness requirements as determined by the new criteria are compared with the thickness as determined by present Corps of Engineers-Federal Aviation Administration design procedures. (Author).