Precast concrete systems,characterized by their environmental sustainability and rapid construction,demon-strate significant potential for expedited airport pavement construction and maintenance.The inherent lowthickness-to-size ratio of the thin precast slab leads to localized stress concentrations at joint interfaces,makingthe configuration and mechanical performance of joints critically govern the long-term serviceability of precastairport pavements.This study introduced two welded connectors optimized for rapid assembly and disassembly.A full-scale experimental structure was developed using ABAQUS,enabling systematic comparative analysis ofload transfer efficiency (LTE)degradation,fatigue life,and failure modes across rigid and flexible base.Tofurther validate the operational LTE of both connectors,heavy weight deflectometer (HWD)testing was con-ducted on the field test section.Results demonstrated that under laboratory static testing,the maximum LTE forconnector-A and connector-B were 100 and 43.7 %respectively,while field testing yielded average LTE of79 and 52 %indicating significantly superior load transfer performance of connector-A.Fatigue test resultsindicated that LTE for connector-A under flexible base degraded from 100 to 20 %and connector-B degradedfrom 43.7 to 15.8 %whereas rigid base maintained stable LTE for both connectors.Correspondingly,connector-A endured 100,000 cycles without fracture,contrasting with connector-B's failure at 50 000 cycles onrigid base and 6 000 cycles on flexible base.Both connectors failed via rod fracture rather than weld cracking,with fractures localized on the loaded side under low-stiffness bases with poor LTE and shifting to the unloadedside under enhanced LTE conditions.The findings provided actionable guidelines for precast airport pavementjoint design,prioritizing the use of connector-A and advocating for high-stiffness base to mitigate LTE degra-dation and extend service life.