ISTANBUL, 8 September 2026: Melbourne Airport will host the 2027 edition of the ACI World Airport Experience Summit, the Airports Council International (ACI) World announced, as the eighth edition officially closed in Istanbul, Türkiye, last week.
It marks the first time the world’s premier airport experience event will be held in Oceania.
The announcement caps a week of high-level collaboration hosted by iGA Istanbul Airport, bringing together around 800 participants from around the globe and featuring more than 60 expert speakers across nearly 20 sessions and panels.
ACI World Director General Justin Erbacci said: “We leave Istanbul with proof that a human-centred approach is already proving its value in airports on every continent. Passengers will always remember how an airport made them feel, and ACI World is here to support every airport in creating that memorable journey. We thank iGA Istanbul for their extraordinary hospitality, and we can’t wait to bring this work to Melbourne next year.”
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said: “We are pleased to welcome the 2027 ACI World Airport Experience Summit to Melbourne and Australia. Melbourne Airport is Australia’s largest 24-hour gateway and is embarking on an ambitious expansion programme with a new runway, an expanded international terminal and new ground transport facilities to cater for the growing demand for air travel.”
Key Summit takeaways
Human-Centred Travel as a Strategic Priority: Airport, travel and CX leaders explored how genuine hospitality, wellbeing and accessibility can create more inclusive, memorable journeys.
People Power Performance: Discussions in the Talent & Growth Seminar and across the Summit highlighted the essential role of employee experience, organisational culture, and training in delivering excellent service and building passenger trust.
Technology with a Human Purpose: Artificial intelligence, robotics, digital wayfinding and real-time data were positioned as tools to make journeys more seamless, intuitive and engaging.
Customer Experience Delivers Business Value: The programme demonstrated how experience-led strategies can improve passenger satisfaction while strengthening commercial performance.
The World’s Best Airports: A highlight of the event was the celebratory Gala Dinner, which recognised more than 100 airports for receiving ASQ Customer Experience Awards, sponsored by SITA, or achieving Airport Customer Experience Accreditation.
20 Years of Excellence: The event also commemorated the 20th anniversary of ACI’s ASQ programme, the world’s leading airport passenger satisfaction benchmarking programme and the foundation of the ASQ Customer Experience Awards.
(Source: ACI)
