diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6d8c2d0c..aab8edb0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.
 
 ## Added
 - SCMP echo responder [#78](https://github.com/scionproto-contrib/jpan/pull/78)
+- Maven Java executor [#80](https://github.com/scionproto-contrib/jpan/pull/80)
 
 ### Changed
 - Some API changes: [#67](https://github.com/scionproto-contrib/jpan/pull/67)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a67537f9..5267e934 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -163,6 +163,8 @@ Before running the demos, you may have to execute `mvn compile` once.
 - [SCMP traceroute](src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ScmpTracerouteDemo.java)
 - [show paths](src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ShowpathsDemo.java)
 
+After compilation, demos can be executed from the IDE (recommended) or from command line.
+For example: `mvn exec:java -Dexec.mainClass="org.scion.jpan.demo.ScmpEchoDemo"`.
 
 ### General documentation
 
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index fdafbb73..bb721c17 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -319,6 +319,16 @@
                     </execution>
                 </executions>
             </plugin>
+            <plugin>
+                <!-- Enable command line execution of demos. -->
+                <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
+                <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+                <version>1.6.0</version>
+                <configuration>
+                    <classpathScope>test</classpathScope>
+                    <cleanupDaemonThreads>false</cleanupDaemonThreads>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
         </plugins>
     </build>
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ScmpEchoDemo.java b/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ScmpEchoDemo.java
index 47feefc9..b85d2dce 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ScmpEchoDemo.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ScmpEchoDemo.java
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
           break;
         }
     }
+    Scion.closeDefault();
   }
 
   private void runDemo(long dstIA, InetSocketAddress dstAddress) throws IOException {
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ScmpTracerouteDemo.java b/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ScmpTracerouteDemo.java
index f04f03f7..db8d230d 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ScmpTracerouteDemo.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ScmpTracerouteDemo.java
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
           break;
         }
     }
+    Scion.closeDefault();
   }
 
   private void runDemo(long destinationIA) throws IOException {
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ShowpathsDemo.java b/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ShowpathsDemo.java
index 6aa458d8..9510b54c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ShowpathsDemo.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/scion/jpan/demo/ShowpathsDemo.java
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
           break;
         }
     }
+    Scion.closeDefault();
   }
 
   private void runDemo(long destinationIA) throws IOException {