2025 in Review: Airports & Aviation Services

In my 2024 year-end roundup, I noted that we had seen the first increase on pre-pandemic passenger numbers since the outbreak of COVID-19. Over five years on from the government-mandated lockdowns that all but ground airports to a halt, I think it’s safe to say that failing another global catastrophe, there is no sign of growing passenger figures slowing down year-on-year. Growth forecasts from Airports Council International suggest that these will continue to grow for the next 15 years at least – a positive development for my sector, certainly.

2025 has been busy. I’ve worked with new clients, continued collaborating with existing ones, and been to many events including the World Aviation Festival, GAD, IATA World Cargo Symposium, and PTE. Next year promises more of the same – but before we dive straight back into the thick of it in 2026, let’s take stock of the last twelve months in the airports and aviation services spaces, analyse where we’ve seen activity, and consider what might be on the horizon over the next twelve months.

An important feature to mention has been widespread airport growth and expansion plans all over the world. In August, I wrote apiece that covered the state of play in the UK, where the Labour government gave its backing to a third runway at Heathrow amid other plans at various stages at City, Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted in the London area alone. Manchester also announced new terminal plans; Newcastle Airport released its own ‘Masterplan’; and Leeds Bradford officially opened its newly extended terminal in June.

All this hectic activity shows that UK airport owners are investing heavily, and the boom in airport infrastructure reflects well on the state of the domestic aviation industry. These transport hubs will be central for driving growth, creating jobs and critical community assets – all of which will hopefully bring further benefits to the wider economy and transport sectors alike.

The UK is just part of the bigger picture when it comes to airport growth, however. The real booms are coming from emerging markets like Asia, with new developments in Vietnam, Malaysia, India, and particularly the Middle East, where Saudi Arabia continues to expand exponentially. More established regions for airport expansion like Europe are still growing, albeit more slowly. Interestingly, some passenger forecasts suggests that regional airports and low-cost carrier hubs may benefit most from future growth. We will have to observe wider trends over the next few years to see if this bears out (though as I mentioned earlier, so far forecasts appear to suggest that the airport sector is not going to contract any time soon).

It has been interesting to see the recent news from Vienna Airport, where  the construction of an additional runway has been halted in favour of taking advantage of fleet developments and emerging technologies. The view is that this approach will better manage the airfield as a way of increasing capacity through larger planes and increased movements – Vancouver are looking at a similar approach.

Increasing building projects and cash injections into airport groups belies how attractive the sector remains for third-party investors. It will be interesting to see how this develops next year – especially in the US, where New York has attracted particular interest for airport investment of late. If these projects are successful and the private sector can find an investment model that Port Authorities are happy with, we could see a massive spike in projects and infrastructure upgrades as a result of private-sector investment.

Private ownership continues to be a trend for many major European airports, and the market seems to be shifting in this direction as more airports in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East pivot towards this model, if not management and/or concession systems. Private owners can focus more on developing  non-aero revenue streams – a necessary move to keep up with rising demand and a greater need to fund  contemporary infrastructure.

As you might expect given the increased demand and passenger numbers, there has been significant emphasis this year on ground and cargo handling as airports and aviation service providers seek efficient ways to do business. Employee turnover among ground handlers is still a significant concern, especially in the US; we will be watching with interest to see how different organisations look for ways to retain teams – reducing staff turnover has a huge impact on the safety culture – and safety is rightly still the primary concern for airside service providers. For cargo handlers, business has been brisk as e-commerce continues to gain influence amid ongoing geopolitical tensions around shipping routes.

Emerging technology will play an ever-more important role in boosting efficiency around both cargo and ground handling, as well as the airport space generally. ‘Seamless travel’ are the words on everyone’s lips as owners seek to find the best ways to manage passenger flow, baggage and cargo by automating as many processes as possible. In cargo handling, we’ve seen some significant new facilities using the latest in automated tech, especially at major European cargo hubs – watch this space, as I’m sure the influence of such programmes will only grow.

However, it goes without saying that any plans to build new airports, expand existing ones, and boost tech infrastructure need to do so within strict sustainability guidelines. ESG is now a key strategic objective that airports need to expand if they want to balance increasing demand with growing pressure from regulators and investors. The need to reduce emissions has cost implications, so investing in SAF production, electrifying service vehicles, and developing energy-efficient terminal infrastructure will be key.

A topic I would like to see greater emphasis on is diversity, particularly at the higher levels of leadership. Last month, I brought out Venari Partners’ first report examining the gender diversity gap among leaders at 100 major global airports. The 16% figure for female leadership is perhaps higher than any percentage we might have reached in an equivalent study of airlines, though it is still much lower than it should be – particularly in Europe, which has no shortage of female talent in the sector. Airport ownership structures typically allow for greater flexibility and career development than the more rigid systems governing airlines, so the airport sector truly has a wonderful opportunity to boost female leadership talent that it should not pass up on. I will be sure to revisit this subject to see whether our findings will have changed year-on-year.