26 Programme
Visionary leadership and practial insight
Only confirmed speakers shown (representing approximately half of invitations currently in play), full details will be released soon.
DAY 1
Morning plenary
09.30-09.50
Welcome
Robert Courts KC, former aviation minister and chair AIR steering committee & Tim Walder, Chair, BAG, co-chair AIR steering committee
09.50-10.00
Ministerial address
Aviation growth and its role in the country’s national growth agenda
10.00-10.15
Key findings from BusinessLDN economic impact of airports report
Ed Richardson, transport director, BusinessLDN
Peter Hogg, UK&I country director, Arcadis
10.15-10.55
Panel: Airports as economic engines, national assets and global connectors
Senior government and industry perspectives on aviation's role in trade, economic growth, national connectivity, resilience and regional re-balancing.
Speakers include:
Gareth Powell, managing director, Stansted Airport
Sally Dixon, founder, Azimuth Associates
Chris Cain, strategic business and policy consultant, RABA Group
10.55-11.20 Networking
11.20-11.40
Re-imagining the airport system in the light of future technology
Near and mid term technology that could transform airport operations
Jason Shepherd, technology strategy adviser, Fujitsu Research Europe
11.40-12.25
Panel: The airport as a system and future airport vision
The whole system challenge of airport development - understanding the interdependencies between infrastructure, data, technology, energy and overall resilience. Speakers include:
Moderator: Simon Wilcox, founder, Wordsworth Consulting, BAG board member
Neil Garwood, CEO, Airport Coordination Ltd (ACL)
Alan Newbold, aviation leader in Europe, India, Middle East and Africa, Arup
Mike Hardaker, Chief Asset and Development Officer, MAG Group
Andy Bordass, chief business officer Europe, Waisl
David Mitchell, Director, UK Power Networks Services
12.25-12.50
Guest speaker
Matt Coogan, US major infrastructure project delivery and transport expert, former advisor to Davies Commission
Afternoon parallel streams
Stream 1: Resilience
How resilience is being built into airport systems, from climate and operational shocks to supply chain and capacity pressures
14.00-14.15
Session scene setter and resilience stream moderator
Alan Newbold, aviation leader in Europe, India, Middle East and Africa, Arup
14.15-14.30
Mapping the attack surface of a modern airport
Airports are no longer just terminals, runways, and towers. They are dense clusters of IT, OT, building management, retail, and airline systems, all connected and increasingly digital. That connectivity is vital for growth and passenger experience, but it also creates a wide and often underestimated cyber attack surface. Drawing upon hands-on “penetration testing” the session looks at how small weaknesses can chain together into risks to safety, availability, and commercial operations.
Adam Bromiley, hardware test consultant, Pen Test Partners
14.30-15.10
Resilience panel
Speakers include:
Declan Cronin, Client Delivery Manager, UKPN Services
John Chetty, director infrastructure logistics integration, Wilson James
Ali Awcock, infrastructure director, Heathrow Airport
John Bradshaw, director, Mohawk Business Consultancy
15.10-15.35 Networking
15.35-17.00
Resilience case studies and project briefings
Stream 2: Passenger Experience
How airports are reshaping passenger experience, ensuring smoother, more efficient and more intuitive journeys
14.00-14.20
Session scene setter and passenger experience stream moderator
Adam Scott, founder, Experience Foundation
14.20-15.10
Passenger experience panel
15.10-15.25
Networking break
15.25-17.00
Case studies and project briefings
Speakers include:
Theresa Pan, project director, Pascal + Watson
Simon Swan, global solutions director for new mobility, Arcadis
Arthy Ravichandran, aviation and maritime director, Connected Places Catapult
Nathaniel Taylor, strategic development director, Galliford Try
Liz Hardy, associate capital delivery director, London Stansted Airport
Bethany Gent, associate director, TRS
Paul White, associate director, Ridge and Partners
Steve Clark, Manufacturing, Construction and Airports Director, Develop Consulting
Richard Thomasson, Airport Director for Guernsey and Alderney Airports
DAY 2
Morning parallel streams
Stream 1: Productivity and value
Looking at both the potential to use technology and innovation to extract greater value from existing airport assets, alongside strategies to improve programme certainty, productivity and control in delivering complex capital projects
09.30-10.45
Part 1: Maximising the effectiveness of existing airport infrastructure assets
Keith Attwood, Head of Airport Operations, Ports of Jersey
11.15-12.30
Part 2: Delivering certainty for major airport programmes
Speakers include:
Will Robertson, aviation sector director, mace
Stuart Freeman, senior partner, international construction, Gallagher
Stream 2: Decarbonising airports
How airports are decarbonising operations and infrastructure in practice
To include lead address, panel and case studies with confirmed speakers:
Paul Toyne, independent sustainability consultant
Sameer Savani, managing director – Transport, CPC
Jane Thompson, deputy chair, BAG, aviation and tourism director, ICF
Rahul Desai, Principal Consultant, Energy and Tech, UKPN Services
Fiona Ross, Partner, environmental and consenting lawyer, Pinsent Masons
Hywel Rees, chief executive, Infracare
Pablo Codesido, Aviation and Transport Leader - London, Corgan
Richard Budd, Aviation Director, Buro Happold
Theresa Pan, Project Director, Pascall+Watson
Afternoon plenary
13.30-13.50
Keynote: Delivering on the government’s Jet Zero Strategy
James Richardson, chief analyst, Climate Change Committee
13.50-14.30
Panel: Aviation decarbonisation – confronting the reality
Global air travel continues to grow faster than aviation emissions are falling, raising fundamental questions about the sector’s path to net zero. With sustainable aviation fuel unlikely to scale fast enough on its own, and hydrogen and electric propulsion still years from commercial viability, the panel asks whether it’s time for a more candid discussion about priorities, trade-offs and where investment can deliver the greatest impact. Speakers include:
Panel moderator: Rachel Gardner Poole, aviation & sustainability advisor
Duncan McCourt, Sustainable Aviation
Robert Griggs, Policy and Public Affairs Director, Airlines UK
Simon Edsforth, Airspace Efficiency Manager, NATS
Alina Viehweber, sustainable aviation manager, ICF
14.30-14.50
In conversation: Staying focused on outcomes while navigating the narrative
How to stay anchored to the “end game” — whether that’s decarbonisation, connectivity or growth — and balancing clarity of purpose with the pragmatism needed to move major programmes forward.
Robert Courts KC, former aviation minister
Nigel Milton, chief communications & sustainability officer, Heathrow Airport
14.50-15.10 Networking
15.10-15.35
Airspace modernisation
Rethinking a vital but invisible piece of our national infrastructure
Chris Norsworthy, Director Transformation Strategy & Development, NATS
Ian Elston, Deputy Director of Airspace, Airport, Resilience and Connectivity, Department for Transport
15.35-16.00
Airspace change Gatwick case study: essential transformation for efficient flight
Andy Sinclair, head of noise and airspace strategy, Gatwick Airport
Shakir Khaja, global aviation director, Egis
16.00-16.20
Closing keynote: Securing investment and delivering Heathrow’s expansion ambitions
Thomas Woldbye, chief executive, Heathrow Airport
16.20-16.30
Closing reflections
Robert Courts and Jane Thompson
… From 18.30
BAG Annual Dinner
The Brewery, Central London
AIR is supported by the British Aviation Group (BAG), the leading representative body for British companies involved in aviation and airport development and operations representing over 230 member companies from across the supply chain including world leaders in all aspects of aviation.
AIR 2026 is followed by the BAG Annual Dinner, taking place in Central London on Wednesday 30 September 2026.
Already a BAG member? Don’t forget to book to attend the BAG Annual Dinner!
If you are not a BAG member and would like to join our community, enquire now!