From booking to final destination, airport and passenger facilitation ensures the flow of travellers, baggage, cargo, and mail is efficient and delivered in a healthy, safe, and secure environment on the ground and in the air. A complex network of people, companies, airlines, organizations, and authorities work together daily to facilitate this flow worldwide. Crossing borders requires various checks and controls, which must be as efficient and seamless as possible.
To provide the optimal passenger experience, airports and airlines continue to implement new technologies, information systems, infrastructure, and best practices that improve terminal flows, processes, accessibility, and adaptability to flight disruptions.
Through advocacy, guidance, recommendations, and training, ACI World provides expertise and tools to help airports and stakeholders deliver a better experience for passengers and the industry.
Advocating on behalf of airports
ACI World's Facilitation Experts provide:
Areas of expertise covered
ACI World Facilitation and Services Standing Committee
The ACI World Facilitation and Services Standing Committee advocates on behalf of ACI members to ensure policies and regulations help airports improve terminal flows and take into account passenger growth and its impact on airport facilities.
With a focus on ensuring sustainable airport processes and infrastructure, preparing airports for increasing process complexity and irregularity of operations while providing excellent customer experience, the Committee advocates with decision makers, ensures that partner’s programs bring benefits to airports, recognizes leading airports while issuing guidance and capacity building.
ACI experts and members help shape global airport and passenger facilitation development by participating in industry events and working closely with international partners, including International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Air Transport Association (IATA), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the World Economic Forum (WEF), Air Traffic Industry Association (CANSO) and International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations (ICCAIA).
How we support the industry
Accessibility
ACI World is dedicated to advancing a more accessible and inclusive air transport system. Recognizing the needs of passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility, ACI World promotes accessible infrastructure and inclusive travel experiences. In collaboration with advocacy groups, members, and global partners, ACI develops resources and best practices to help airports remove accessibility barriers and strengthen international standards. This work is led by the ACI World Facilitation and Services Standing Committee.
Identity and Biometrics
The Future of Travel and Digital Identity at Airports report, developed by the ACI World Facilitation and Services Standing Committee, acknowledges the critical period during which the aviation industry finds itself today, looks at the importance placed on digital identity and biometrics in the future of travel and enables airport leaders to have meaningful discussions about digital identity.
Passenger Facilitation Performance
The Passenger Facilitation Performance Metrics Handbook, issued in collaboration with Airbiz, provides key tools for airports as they manage the flow of passenger and baggage in a safe and secure way, while meeting and exceeding passenger expectations. It will help airports identify and employ different types of key performance metrics in passenger facilitation and will describe how they can benefit from emerging trends in the use of airport data to improve communication between airports, airlines, and government agencies.
Airport Business Continuity Management
The potential for events to disrupt “normal business operations” at airports creates the need for robust business continuity management plans. Airport authorities develop appropriate plans that take account of a wide range of possible events, to help them prepare and cope with disruptions, and to return to normal operations as soon as possible, making full use of business continuity planning.
Combatting Human Trafficking
ACI member airports play a critical role in the fight to suppress human trafficking activity through education, vigilance and a strong reporting culture. This can be accomplished by promoting awareness and training to the entire airport community.
Key Airport and Passenger Facilitation Resources
Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation (AEA) Program
ACI World’s Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation (AEA) program provides a continuous path of improvement for airports in the area of accessibility for passengers with disabilities.
Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Program
To foster best practices worldwide, ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program provides airports with resources and benchmarking tools to measure and enhance passenger satisfaction.
Airport and Passenger Facilitation Publications
Explore ACI World publications to access expert handbooks, in-depth reports and datasets, as well as comprehensive guidance. Empower your airport with global insights across all areas of the airport business, including economics, sustainability, customer experience, and operations.
-
Airports and Accessible Travel: A Practical Guide -
Airport Operations and COVID-19 – Business Recovery (Version 3) -
The Future of Travel and Digital Identity at Airports
Additional resources on airport and PAssenger Facilitation
ACI World Insights
Access the latest expert opinions, global tends and data-driven insights on the ACI World Insights blog. Stay informed to make strategic decisions that drive innovation in the airport and wider aviation sector.
-
Improving Airport Accessibility: Travel for EveryoneA traveller arrives at the airport terminal, their heart racing and their mind spinning, overwhelmed – not from pre-flight jitters, but from the uncertainty of navigating the airport independently. This scenario plays out thousands of times daily across airports worldwide. It affects not only people with visible disabilities, but also those with invisible disabilities, older adults, parents with young children, and many others. The question is: How are airports responding to this challenge? “Don’t be the reason someone feels insecure. Be the reason someone feels seen, heard, and supported.” Cleo Wade, American artist, poet, activist, and author. The conversation around...Read more -
Enhancing Digital Accessibility in Aviation: A Guide for AirportsWhat is digital accessibility in airports? Until recently ‘Digital Accessibility’ was understood to refer specifically to the accessibility of a company’s website, mobile applications or digital documents. Efforts concentrated on ensuring websites and their content could be accessed by everyone, including people with disabilities. Standards to aid this, known as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). However, as technology has evolved, new devices have been introduced in aviation to improve passenger experience and operations. Most airport passengers interact with a plethora of public-facing digital assets such as self-service terminals, automatic gates, and information displays all of which should be accessible....Read more
