Airports Council International’s (ACI) eighth World Airport Experience Summit was held at iGA Istanbul Airport (IST) from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3, 2026. Along with the key Summit takeaways, Melbourne Airport (MEL) was announced as the next host for the event in 2027.
The summit at the Istanbul Airport featured over 60 expert airport and travel speakers across multiple panel sessions with around 800 participants from around the world. Issues such as hospitality, infrastructure, travel, aviation and customer experience were discussed.
Justin Erbacci, Director General and CEO of ACI World said:
“We leave Istanbul with proof that a human-centred approach is already proving its value in airports on every continent. Passengers will always remember how an airport made them feel, and ACI World is here to support every airport in creating that memorable journey. We thank iGA Istanbul for their extraordinary hospitality, and we can’t wait to bring this work to Melbourne next year.”
The CEO of Melbourne Airport, Lorie Argus, said she was looking forward to welcoming ACI delegates next year to both the city, and Australia for the first time.
After the event closed, the ACI reflected on the key Summit takeaways.
Human-centred travel should be a strategic priority and that genuine hospitality, wellbeing and accessibility can create more inclusive memorable journeys.
People power performance and positive employee experience, organisational culture and training are essential for delivering excellent customer service and passenger trust
Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, digital wayfinding and real-time data were defined as technology tools with a human purpose, making journeys more seamless, intuitive and engaging
Customer-experience led strategies can improve passenger satisfaction whilst boosting commercial performance
Airports are destinations and cultural ambassadors and the use of art, local identity and engaging spaces can transform terminals into places of discovery, connection and community
The celebratory Gala Dinner was reported to be a highlight of the Summit. Here, over 100 airports were recognised for receiving ASQ Customer Experience Awards or Airport Customer Experience Accreditation by ACI. The Summit also celebrated 20 years of ACI’s airport passenger satisfaction benchmarking, the ASQ Programme.
Have you had a particularly positive or negative experience at an airport? Let us know in the comments below.
