Why Human-Centred Design Is the Next Competitive Edge for Airports

Global travel is projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2025, putting airports under increasing pressure to scale operations and deliver seamless experiences. It’s a scenario in which many airports are accelerating digital transformation. Some 66% of airport leaders are prioritizing investment in technologies such as biometrics, mobile-first check-in, and self-service systems.

At scale, digital infrastructure can enable and drive efficiency -  streamlining processes, reducing friction, and improving throughput. But increasingly, those same systems are now expected to do more: to act as dynamic sources of information, adapt to passenger needs in real time, and play a role in shaping how travellers feel. In short, the bar has been raised. Innovation must now deliver both operational efficiency as well as emotional clarity. It is now expected to build trust, reduce stress, and support passengers and staff during high-pressure moments.

To meet this new standard, airports must adopt a dual-lens approach: using data to optimise flows while designing systems that connect on a human level.

Human Touchpoints As A Strategic Asset

While fully automated journeys through airports are becoming more common, recent research shows this isn’t always the best approach. According to IATA’s 2024 Global Passenger Survey, 72% of travellers value human interaction during disruptions, and 63% say airport staff presence improves their sense of control and safety.

In high-stakes, time-sensitive environments like airports, human touchpoints are a vital operational lever. Real-time interventions from staff can de-escalate congestion, redirect flows, and provide immediate triage when digital systems fail. At JFK Terminal 4, using real-time data, AI-enabled sensing technology to predict passenger flow has allowed teams to be deployed where and when they're needed most, including at crowded gates and overwhelmed security lines, to reduce dwell times and improve customer experience.

This has led to higher throughput, reduced friction, and ultimately more resilient operations, demonstrating that human-centred design is not a “soft” investment but a business-critical driver of operational performance.

The Hidden Risks Of Rushed Tech

It’s moot to state here that technology scales quickly. While there’s no question it’s needed, it’s not a silver bullet; when implemented without context, it can create more friction than it solves. This is especially true in an ecosystem as complex and interconnected as an international terminal.

According to Stonebranch, about 70–80% of digital transformation programs don’t meet their core objectives. In many cases, that’s because solutions are layered over outdated operational models rather than designed in tandem with them, or do not take into account the human element of travel.

Context-Aware Tech: The Real Innovation Frontier

In our experience, the more effective digital investments are those that fit the real-world flow of the environment. At JFK Terminal 4, restroom sensors indicate when a bathroom is available, with red/green lights on top of the stalls. This makes it easier to see if a bathroom is available without having to look for feet under the stall. This small, seamless layer of design reduces uncertainty and improves efficiency without demanding behavioural change - an example of technology quietly supporting the experience.

Another emerging solution is intelligent queue management. When travellers receive personalised notifications guiding them to security or boarding at optimal times that are based on real-time conditions, it not only reduces crowding but also increases perceived control, a key metric tied to customer satisfaction and dwell time.

This is where the real power of digital lies. Data isn't just a backend tool or a driver of automation — it enables smarter, faster human decision-making. Whether it’s reallocating staff in real time, adjusting wayfinding prompts, or responding to unexpected delays, human teams become more responsive and effective when supported by context-aware systems.

At their core, these tools are designed to answer a simple question: How is the passenger feeling right now? When data and design work together to meet emotional as well as functional needs, both operational efficiency and traveler confidence improve.

Design Thinking As Infrastructure

Infrastructure has traditionally been seen through the lens of concrete, steel, and systems. But experience design is now proving to be just as critical and just as scalable.

Design thinking offers a structured approach to identifying and solving complex operational problems before they escalate.

At JFK Terminal 4, a North Star vision was defined for the terminal with airlines, business partners, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, plus other stakeholders. They collaborated to create a shared vision that can help drive decisions that improve the terminal experience in a human-centered and connected way.

Embedding designers into these ecosystems ensures that innovation is not only technically feasible but experientially sound. Experience design aligns technology, operations, and commercial goals around the traveller journey.

The Business Case For Empathy At Scale

In aviation, every minute counts. Missed connections erode trust. Poor wayfinding reduces commercial spend - after all, passengers can’t shop if they’re sprinting to the gate through no fault of their own.

When passengers feel overwhelmed or unsupported, it's not just their mood that gets hit, but also the airport’s bottom line.

Conversely, when experience and empathy are embedded into operational strategy, the results are significant. Airports Council International (ACI) data shows that a 1% increase in passenger satisfaction can drive a 1.5% increase in non-aeronautical revenue. That’s the revenue tied to dining, shopping, and other discretionary spending. And it’s directly linked to the perception of ease and control.

A New Model For Airport Innovation

This calls for a shift in how decisions are made. Design must be placed at the heart of strategy, with experience treated as a value-generating asset from the outset, not an afterthought. The most successful innovations will be those grounded in the realities of airport life - technologies that are context-aware, seamlessly integrated, and capable of adapting to live conditions rather than static flowcharts.

But delivering this level of responsiveness doesn’t happen in silos. It requires deep collaboration across design, operations, customer experience, and commercial teams. When these functions plan and iterate together, they unlock a system that is not only technically efficient but experientially coherent.

Crucially, innovation must be guided by evidence, not assumption. That means testing tools against real-world behaviors, measuring impact, and refining at pace. When experience design is embedded throughout the airport ecosystem, every layer, from staffing and wayfinding to smart facilities and passenger flow, begins to work in harmony.

The result is a better airport terminal. One where technology serves people, not the other way around, to deliver smoother journeys, stronger performance, and smarter business outcomes.