AIRPORT WORLD 2026, ISSUE 02
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Airport Profile: Miami (MIA)
Design & Build: Accessibility, Sustainability, Multimodalism & New Infrastructure
Plus: Alternative Fuels, Orchestration Platforms, Reality Capture & Business Exchange
Forward thinking
Editor, Joe Bates, reflects on the ‘design and build’ theme of this issue and global traffic trends.
Sometimes I think I should have been an architect or civil engineer as impressive old buildings, dynamic new ones and pioneering infrastructure of all kinds have always fascinated me.
Schoolboy trips to London, Brussels and Paris offering the chance to take in and admire the many magnificent old buildings dotted across the respective cities only served to fire my imagination and wonder at the genius of architects such as Sir Christopher Wren or Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
Thinking about it though, I suppose my interest in infrastructure goes back to my childhood and wondering how incredible structures like the pyramids of ancient Egypt could have been built without the use of modern technology.
Now, nobody is comparing an airport terminal to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – although someone once accused airports of trying to build the next Taj Mahal instead of focusing on the development of smaller, more user-friendly facilities – but there is no denying that their design and use is evolving and that airports are becoming increasingly sophisticated in terms of the planning, design and construction of new infrastructure.
We cover a host of ways airports are becoming smarter about building new infrastructure, and more attuned to the needs of passengers and their respective environmental responsibilities, in this ‘design and build’ themed issue of Airport World.
Building accessible facilities for all; the sustainability challenge; Poland’s new multimodal airport; modular construction; and ‘customer-friendly design’ are just a few of the issues we address in the themed section of the magazine.
We also look at how some US airports are upgrading their airside retail/F&B offerings to accommodate the return of non-ticketed visitors; the energy challenge facing airports; and review the opening of major new facilities in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
And if that isn’t enough, the ‘design & build’ section also contains features about modernisation projects in constrained environments, and considers the need for smarter terminals.
Our main airport feature is on Miami International Airport where we discover more about its $14 billion Modernization In Action (M.I.A) capital improvement programme and ambition to be welcoming close to 80 million passengers annually by 2040.
Elsewhere in the issue we have articles about alternative fuels (hydrogen and SAF); reality capture technology; the complexities of managing staffing levels; and building long-term resilience into operational infrastructure.
We round the issue out with our usual ‘people matters’ column and airport supplier news and features on the ‘business exchange’ pages.
Finally, I would just like to acknowledge ACI World’s recent confirmation that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) remains the busiest gateway on the planet based on the 106.3 million passengers it handled in 2025.
Dubai (DXB) with 95.2 million; Tokyo Haneda (HND) with 91.7 million; Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) with 85.6 million; and Shanghai Pudong (PVG) with 84.9 million made up the top five.
Hong Kong (HKG) retained its status as the world’s busiest cargo airport and Chicago O’Hare (ORD) its No.1 ranking as the busiest airport for aircraft movements.
ACI World director general, Justin Erbacci, noted: “These hubs keep people and goods moving, supporting global trade, tourism, and economic growth in their communities and regions.
“To help keep pace with rising demand, governments must prioritise sustained investment in airports and the broader aviation ecosystem.”
