Airport-airline partnerships take centre stage at World Aviation Festival 2026

The World Aviation Festival (WAF) is introducing a dedicated Airport & Airline Collaboration Track at its 2026 event, taking place between 13-15 October in Lisbon.

The programme will look at how airports and airlines can build joint operational resilience and enable seamless travel for passengers. It will also bring in perspectives from border management, ground handlers, and technology providers.

Daniel Boyle, General Manager of Transport at WAF organiser Terrapinn, said: “Airlines and airports are facing many of the same pressures, but too often they are still trying to solve them in isolation. Meaningful collaboration between the two has never been more important.

“That’s why we’re creating an honest forum where leaders can cut through the usual talking points, confront the legacy systems and entrenched ways of working that continue to hold the industry back, and identify practical ways to move forward together. This isn’t collaboration for collaboration’s sake; it’s about delivering better operations, stronger commercial outcomes and, ultimately, a better passenger experience.”

A panel on digital identity infrastructure will consider the role of standards including IATA One ID and ICAO Digital Travel Credentials, and whether passengers can expect to be able to travel end-to-end without a traditional passport by 2030. Panellists include Maurice Jenkins from Miami International Airport, Amin Lalani from Delta Air Lines, Vladimir Stojkovski from CLEAR, and Lisette Looren de Jong from the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security.

Another session will explore how airports, airlines and ground handlers can move beyond parallel responses and build joint operational resilience. Attendees can hear from Istvan Szabo of Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Ryan Abram of dnata, Adam Schipper of Ericsson, Chamith Seneviratne of Air Canada, and Marc-Philippe Lumpé of Air Transat.

Girish Nair, COO at Bangalore International Airport, will take part in a fireside chat on how airports and airlines can better align their operations and commercial outcomes.

WAF is the world’s largest aviation technology event, bringing together more than 4,500 attendees and 600 speakers over three days.

For more information about World Aviation Festival 2026, visit www.terrapinn.com/conference/aviation-festival.