Customer expectations for airports are shifting fast, nowhere more so than in the Asia-Pacific region. From the famous halls of Singapore Changi to Bengaluru’s new ‘Gate Z’ lounge for young travellers, airports across the region are developing innovative strategies to stay ahead of the game.

Ahead of our dedicated airport summit at Aviation Festival Asia 2026, we sat down with Claire Donnellan, who will be moderating the panel discussions. Boasting over 30 years of experience in aviation, she is uniquely placed to understand the digital transition from an airport perspective.

The greatest trend she’s seeing at the moment is hyper-personalisation. With tech penetrating so many aspects of our daily lives, travellers increasingly expect airports to offer them tailored services just as they would receive online. Donnellan explains:

Before people used to be quite concerned about it, but now obviously they start thinking, well, if there’s value in it for me, and if you’re clear and transparent about what you’re going to do with my information, I don’t mind my experience being hyper-personalised because it targets what I need to do.
Donnellan sees significant gains to be made in the IROPs space through personalised offers. Now if a flight is delayed or cancelled unexpectedly, an airport can automatically provide them with options that suit their needs. And with ageing workforces in key markets such as Australia and Japan, automation can help cover other critical gaps in ground operations. Donnellan highlights Singapore Changi as a notable APAC airport doing exciting things in this space, including the launch of autonomous baggage vehicles.
Airports want to automate the way they do their staffing and resourcing, not to have people lose their jobs, but because they don’t have enough workforce. People are scared of AI but it’s actually going to be a good thing for everybody. It’s going to provide the information they need to make things better for everybody.
Biometric technology is another much-touted area of investment from airports. But Donnellan argues for greater centralisation to ensure all the systems can talk to each other and avoid creating infrastructural imbalances. Biometrics might create a seamless experience for the airport, but not so much for the passenger if they have to share their details repeatedly across multiple countries as is currently the case.
From a passenger perspective, do they then have to sign up for each airline they’re flying with, each country they’re going to, or share their information multiple times? Obviously, information stored differently, so where is it stored? It just starts to be very disconnected.
With a ‘friction-free’ experience becoming an increasing priority, the panels at Aviation Festival Asia have never been more relevant. Donnellan is looking forward to moderating several panels that will dig deep into all the aforementioned topics and feature leading industry speakers, including Abu Dhabi Airports, IATA, Malaysia Airports, and Star Alliance. She says:
I love being part of the event. I feel like I can help bridge the gap between the language of airlines and airports, particularly when they’re on panels together.
🎥 Watch the video to hear the full interview with Claire Donnellan.
Questions asked include:
  • What’s unique about the airport landscape in Asia? What do customers in this region expect from a modern airport?
  • Which technologies do you think have the most potential to transform airport operations?
  • What about digital IDs? What progress on this are we seeing in the region, and how will it transform travel?
  • You’re moderating several panels on our airport track at Aviation Festival Asia 2026. Which speakers/topics are you most excited about?

Join us at Aviation Festival Asia 2026 and be part of the discussions shaping the future of aviation. 

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