ACI Airport Experience Summit 2025

Air travel is no longer just a matter of flights and connections: it is a mosaic of experiences that begins at check-in and ends at baggage claim. This vision was the basis of the ACI World Airport Experience Summit 2025, which brought together over a thousand airport industry leaders from all over the world in Guangzhou, China, from 8 to 11 September.

With the theme "Reimagining a People Experience", the Summit put a crucial question at the center of the debate: how to make the travel experience at airports more seamless, sustainable and rewarding, both for passengers and employees?

It is no coincidence that the event took place in China, the fastest-growing aviation market in the world. According to ACI estimates, passenger traffic at Chinese airports will exceed 3 billion by 2042 and reach nearly 3.9 billion by 2053. A context that makes Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) not only an airport of excellence in terms of numbers, but also an ideal laboratory for testing new technologies and reception models.

The sessions: innovation and airport hospitality

The program opened with speeches by local authorities and ACI World leaders, emphasizing China's strategic role in the future of aviation. Among the most significant moments:

• Keynote "Welcoming the World": reflection on how airports are becoming integrated spaces that combine transport, retail, entertainment and personalized services, capable of welcoming the traveler as a guest and not just as a passenger.
• Panel "Airport CEO - The power of people": discussion between CEOs of international airports, including Aeroporti di Roma and Krakow Airport, on the importance of valuing people (travelers and employees) to build lasting performance and a corporate culture oriented towards excellence.
• Cross-industry sessions: contributions from travel retail, healthcare and technology experts offered insights into how positive experiences in other industries can be adapted to the airport world.

Technological innovation and sustainability

A cross-cutting theme of all sessions was the use of emerging technologies: artificial intelligence, biometrics, immersive digital systems. Tools that not only speed up processes (from check-in to security), but make the journey safer, more inclusive and more personalized.

As Wang Xiaoyong, President and CEO of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN), pointed out, China's airport is already experimenting with the application of AI to create "new end-to-end experiences", from check-in counter to boarding. A strategy that combines technology and the centrality of the human being.

The ASQ Awards: recognition of quality

One of the most anticipated moments was the ASQ Awards (Airport Service Quality) ceremony, based on almost 700,000 passenger interviews. 95 airports were awarded, with a total of 181 awards distributed. 

Ten airports have also been included in the prestigious Director General's Roll of Excellence, for having maintained high quality standards for over a decade. A recognition that not only measures the quality of services, but represents an incentive for airports around the world to continuously innovate in the experience offered to travelers.

Istanbul picks up the baton for 2026

During the closing of the Summit, an important announcement also arrived: iGA Istanbul Airport (IST) will host the next edition of the ACI World Airport Experience Summit, scheduled from August 31 to September 4, 2026.

The Turkish airport, one of the most modern and connected globally, has been recognized as a hub of excellence for growth, innovation and operational capacity. In 2024, it handled over 80 million passengers and aims to reach 120 million in the next ten years.

For the General Manager of ACI World, Justin Erbacci, Istanbul represents an example of how airports can be transformed into global hubs oriented towards digital experience and innovation.

The 2025 Summit in Guangzhou made it clear that the future of aviation is not only about the ability to move millions of people from one part of the world to another, but about the quality with which these people experience travel. A future that will pass through technological innovations, attention to sustainability and, above all, the centrality of the human experience.

And with Istanbul already set to pick up the baton, 2026 promises to be a pivotal new chapter for the global airport industry.