26 Programme
Visionary leadership and practial insight
The full two-day programme, exploring how the sector can deliver airports fit for the future, is now available.
Highlights include
Plenary keynotes and panels:
Thought leadership from industry leaders on the future opportunity for UK airports
Parallel streams covering:
Resilience: Building resilient airport systems to withstand disruption, adapt and keep operating
Passenger Experience: Putting passenger experience as the underlying organising principle for airport systems
Productivity and value: Unlocking greater value through technology, innovation, productivity and smarter capital delivery
Decarbonising airports: How airports are decarbonising operations, buildings and infrastructure in practice
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
09.50-09.55
Ministerial address (video)
Aviation growth and its role in the country’s national growth agenda
Keir Mather MP, Aviation Minister
10.00-10.20
Key findings from BusinessLDN economic impact of airports report
Ed Richardson, transport director, BusinessLDN
Peter Hogg, UK&I country director, Arcadis
10.20-11.00
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
11.00-11.25 Networking
11.25-11.45
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
11.45-12.25
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
12.25-12.45
The learning airport: turning disruption into delivery and resilience
Every airport has plans for growth and plans for disruption. The gap is not in the plans, it is in the speed of the loop between noticing something and doing something about it. We want to make the case that your airport is a product and a learning system, and show what changes when you build the sense, distil, act, learn cycle deliberately instead of hoping it emerges.
Matt Jacobs, Chief Product Officer, Scrum Inc
12.45-12.55
Aviation for Good (AIR‘s charity partner)
Insights on the work of AIR’s charity partner, Aviation for Good, and how you can support its work
Iain McDermott-Paine, Trustee, Aviation for Good
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
14.15-15.10
Resilience panel
Moderator: Alan Newbold, aviation leader in Europe, India, Middle East and Africa, Arup
Declan Cronin, Client Delivery Manager, UKPN Services
John Chetty, director infrastructure logistics integration, Wilson James
Sally Vivian, Sustainability Advisory Growth Lead, AECOM
Ali Awcock, infrastructure director, Heathrow Airport
John Bradshaw, director, Mohawk Business Consultancy
15.10-15.35 Networking
15.35-15.55
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
15.55-16.20
Beyond recycling: designing the circular airport
As airports expand, how can they grow without simply consuming more resources? Circular economy principles provide a new way of thinking about airport infrastructure and operations, moving beyond waste management to consider how airports design, build, operate, maintain, adapt and ultimately reuse their assets. This session showcases practical interventions, demonstrating how circularity can deliver carbon reduction, cost savings and greater resilience at the same time.
Simon Morris, WSP
16.20-17.00 Resilience and risk preparedness
Merging risk trends and risks across critical national infrastructure, setting out what organisations can do to become more resilient and prepared
El Parker, head of preparedness, UK Risk Academy
Matt Roche, Director, Serco
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
Moderator: Adam Scott, founder, Experience Foundation
15.10-15.35
Networking break
15.35-15.55
Rethinking transit to and from airports
The world's first Glydways system, an on-demand, electric transit network, has the potential to rewrite transit to and from airports. Based upon small, self-driving electric vehicles designed to move passengers along dedicated roadways in and around Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, what is the broader application.
Simon Swan, Global Solutions Director for New Mobility, Arcadis
15.55-16.15
Improving security and passenger experience
Identifying opportunities to remove friction and improve security outcomes, while developing practical solutions that can be delivered within the airport’s existing infrastructure
Steve Clark, Manufacturing, Construction and Airports Director, Develop Consulting
Richard Thomasson, Airport Director for Guernsey and Alderney Airports
16.15-17.00
Building tomorrow’s airports without disrupting passengers
Moderator: 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
Theresa Pan, project director, Pascal + Watson
Arthy Ravichandran, aviation and maritime director, Connected Places Catapult
DAY 2
Morning parallel streams
Stream 1: Productivity and value
Improving programme certainty, productivity and control in delivering complex capital projects
09.30-09.50
Scene setting address
How large programmes behave in practice, not theory. Strategies to improve programme certainty, productivity and control in delivering complex capital projects on time and on budget
Will Robertson, aviation sector director, mace
09.50-10.45
Part 2: Delivering certainty for airport investment programmes
Speakers include:
Moderator: Will Robertson, aviation sector director, mace
Keith Attwood, Head of Airport Operations, Ports of Jersey
Stuart Freeman, senior partner, international construction, Gallagher
10.45-11.15 networking break
11.15-12.30
Case studies including:
Going underground: geothermal energy for low-carbon airports
How geothermal energy can provide a cost effective and low-carbon, resilient source of heating and cooling for airport buildings. The session will explore the practical challenges and opportunities of deploying geothermal systems within complex, energy-intensive airport environments.
Hywel Rees, co-founder and Chief Executive, Infracare Partners
Building on the kit of parts approach introduced at Manchester Airport
How can airports move from bespoke construction to industrialised delivery – using standardised, repeatable components to build capacity faster, with less disruption and greater certainty?
Matthew Scammels, Innovation Director, WSP
Stream 2: Decarbonising airports
How airports are decarbonising operations and infrastructure in practice
Decarbonisation panel
Moderator: Paul Toyne, independent sustainability consultant
Arthy Ravichandran, aviation and maritime director, Connected Places Catapult
Alina Viehweber, sustainable aviation manager, ICF
Rahul Desai, Principal Consultant, Energy and Tech, UKPN Services
Gatwick Pier 6: Building capacity, cutting carbon
Gatwick’s Pier 6 Western Extension will add eight new pier-served aircraft stands, enabling around one million passengers a year to board directly from the pier rather than travelling by bus to remote stands. The project demonstrates how airports can increase capacity while reducing carbon, combining smarter design, operational efficiency and better use of existing airport infrastructure.
Theresa Pan, Project Director, Pascal + Watson
Geraldine Badura, Construction Sustainability Lead, Gatwick Airport
Legal and consenting challenges of airport decarbonisation
Navigating the planning, environmental and regulatory challenges of delivering net zero at airports
Fiona Ross, Partner, Pinsent Masons
Decarbonisation lessons from 30+ airports: what works in practice
Airports face the challenge of decarbonising while continuing to grow, remain resilient and serve passengers. Drawing on lessons from more than 20 global airports, this presentation explores five practical decarbonisation lessons on turning net zero ambitions into practical infrastructure and operational outcomes.
Inés Idzikowski Pérez, Senior Sustainability Consultant, AECOM
Airport perspectives on the road to net zero
Airport leaders share their perspectives on decision-making and delivering net zero across the whole life of airport assets and operations. The discussion will explore how collaboration, shared standards and industry initiatives can accelerate progress, overcome practical challenges and turn net zero ambitions into measurable action.
Chair: Peter Swallow, Sustainable Designer Leader, Corgan
Mike Peirce, Executive Director of Systems Change, Climate Group
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
Dan Walker, Technical Director, Sustainable Aviation
Robert Griggs, Policy and Public Affairs Director, Airlines UK
Simon Edsforth, Airspace Efficiency Manager, NATS
Alina Viehweber, sustainable aviation manager, ICF
Tom Byrne, Head of Net Zero & Environment, British Airways
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
16.00-16.30
Closing keynotes
David Lees, chief executive, Bristol Airport
Thomas Woldbye, chief executive, Heathrow Airport
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!