麦肯锡 -航站楼展望：机场未来发展洞察 Gate expectations Perspectives on the future of airports

November2025

Mckunsey

&company

TravelPractice

Gateexpectations:

Perspectivesonthefutureofairports

Tomorrow’sairportscouldfeaturefewerbottlenecks,lessanxiety,andmoreflyingtaxis.

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Airportshavebeenaroundformorethanacentury,andtheircorepurposeshaven’tchanged.Butnewtechnologiesarepoisedtotransformbothpassengerexperiencesandback-end

operations.Insixvideos,McKinseyexpertsexaminehowtechinnovationscouldreshapehowairportslook,feel,andfunctioninthedecadestocome.

Seamlesscheck-in

KellyUngerman:Theairporttoday,Ithinkwewouldallsay,sometimesfeelsalittlechaoticandcrowded—fulloffrictionfromthetimeyoupulluptothecurbtothetimethatyouboardatthegate.Theairportoftomorrowwillfeelverydifferent:frictionless,automated,touchless,and

personalized.

VikKrishnan:Theairportofthefuturewillfixthebiggestproblemoftoday,whichisanxiety.Mostpeoplegotoanairportandthey’reanxious.

Imaginewalkingintoanairportandnotwaitinginlineforanything.Yourbags,totheextentthatyouhavetocheckthem,willbepickedupbyautomateddevicesthatcanseamlesslydeliver

themtotheaircraftorthebaggage-handlingsystem.

AlexDichter:Oneofthemoststressfulpartsoftheairportexperienceformostpassengersissecurity.Andit’sstressfulformanyreasons.It’salittlebitdehumanizing,butit’salsoahigh

sourceofvariability.Weneverknowwhetherwe’regoingtogetthroughsecurityinthreeminutesoranhour.

KellyUngerman:Securitylinesarethebiggestbottleneck,andoneofthebiggestfriction

pointsintheend-to-endairportjourney.Inthefuture,itmaynotbenecessarytostopatall.

BiometricswillmeanthatyourfaceisyournewID.Nomorephysicaldocumentslikeboardingpassesorpassports.Thatistrueforcheck-in,security,andboarding.

Personalizedterminalswithawealthofofferings

AlastairGreen:Ithinkalotofforward-thinkingairportsaregoingtosay,“Howcanwedomoretocreateapersonalizedpassengerexperience?”Weallwantsomethingverydifferent—notjustinhowyoushopandtheitemsyouwanttopurchase,buteveninhowyouwanttohave

informationpresentedtoyou.

KellyUngerman:Whenyou’reintheterminals,thesignagewillbecompletelypersonalized.Thedeparturescreenwillknowit’syou.Signsthatknowexactlywhereyou’regoingwillpointyouintherightdirection—whethertoarestaurant,aclub,orthegate.Itwillbeinyourlanguage,

whatevercountryyou’rein.Anditwillhelpyounavigatefromthetimeyouentertheairportuntilthetimeyouboardtheflight.

VikKrishnan:Youcanseeairportshelpingatonwithwayfinding.Forinstance,AIcanbeused

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tomakedigitalsignageinthelanguageofchoiceoftheindividualtraveler,asopposedtojustintwolanguages:Englishpluswhateverthelocallanguageis.AIcandigitizeandpersonalizethat,anddeliveraveryspecificexperienceif,say,youwantyourjourneytobeentirelyinTurkish,

German,orwhateveryourpreferredlanguageis.

AlastairGreen:Iwouldexpectthatintheyearsahead,thebestairportswillsay,“Howcanwetailorwhatisofferedintheindividualstorestothetypesofflightsthatarecomingin?”They’ll

knowthemixofpassengersonboardandletyoupreselectcertainitems.Maybeyou’llbuy

thingsthataren’tofferedattheairportbutaredeliveredthere.So,ifyou’relandingatanairportinanothercountryandyouknowyouneedaplugadapteroryou’remissingsomethingfrom

home,youshouldn’tneedtowalkaroundtheterminallookingforthatitem.Youcouldprepurchaseitontheflightsoit’sdeliveredtoyouwhenyoulandontheotherside.

SteveSaxon:Airportsfundamentallyareaplacewherepeoplecometoboardaircraft.However,therearebigopportunitiesforairportstoappealtothelocalcommunitiesaswell.Ithinkwe’ll

seeairportsbecomeanattractivedestinationforlocalpeoplelivinginthecity,aswellaspeopletraveling.Thatwillleadtothedevelopmentofretail,commercial,andbusinessfacilitiesinand

aroundtheairportvicinity.

VikKrishnan:Ithinkanairporthastheopportunitytobeaconveningspaceforlotsofthingsthatdon’tnecessarilyhavetododirectlywithtravel.Anairportofthefutureisgoingtobea

place,insomeinstances,wherepeoplewanttomeeteveniftheyaren’tnecessarilyflyingthatday.Itwillhaveanimmersiveexperienceinlotsofveryinterestingthings,whetherthat’s

shopping,world-classrestaurants,orexperiencesthatyoucanenjoyandimmerseyourselfinwithoutactuallyhavingtogetonanairplane.

Automation‘belowthewing’

VikKrishnan:There’salotofworkthatalsohappensinanairport“belowthewing,”whichisthestuffthatyoudon’tsee,andthatisalsogoingtobesignificantlychangedinthefuture.I’mveryexcitedbytheprospectofAItechnologieshelpingairlinesmanagetheprocessofturningan

aircraftveryefficiently.

Itisaboutthebeltloadershowingupandhelpingtakebagsofftheairplane.Itisthetugthattowstheairplanefromtherampontothegate.Itistheservicevehiclesthathelpcleanan

aircraft.Itisthecateringtruckthatbringsindrinksandfoodforpassengerstoenjoyontheairplane.

Muchofthatwillbedigitized—andautomatedinsomeinstances—anddeliveredinawaythatallowsforhigherreliabilityandbetteron-timeperformance.

KellyUngerman:Ithinkthere’sarealpotentialforAItodobetterdemandplanning,soyouknowexactlywheretostaffworkers,andtheyshowupattherightplaceattherighttime.

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Anotherreallyinterestingtechnologyinthecontextoftheairportofthefutureisautonomous

vehicles—tobeabletoshuttlepassengersfromonepartoftheairporttoanother,orfroma

largecentralterminalouttotheairplanesittingontherunway.Itgivesyouflexibilitytobealotmoremodular.Ithinkroboticsareinteresting,aswell.Ineverythingfromgateoperationsto

baggagehandlingtofoodandbeveragedelivery,thereisopportunitytobemuchmoreefficient.

SteveSaxon:There’salotofautomationpossibleinairportprocesses.Wehaveself-driving

taxisonthestreetsofSanFrancisco,butwestillhavesomebodydrivingajetbridgetoattachtoaplane.Lotsofthesethings—likebaggageloading,jetbridges,andpassengerbuses—will

becomeautonomous.

Idon’tthinkwe’llhavelongpierswithlotsoffingersandgatesleadingouttoaircraft.Whydowewanttobuildbigbuildings,andwhydowewanttomakepassengerswalk?Iinsteadthinkwe’ll

haveafantastic,entertainingcentralareawithintheairportandthenautonomousshuttlestakingpeopleouttoboardtheiraircraftjustintimefortheirflight.

Moresustainableairtravel

AlastairGreen:Alotofairportswillstarttomovetowardtheirownon-sitegreengeneration,

whetherthat’samicrogridorevenproductionofhydrogenon-site—thingsthatmaketheenergyequationfortheairportasawholeworkoutbetter.AnotheritemisSAF,orsustainableaviationfuel.Manyairportsstruggletofigureouttheinfrastructuretodeliverthat.Overthenextten

years,Iwouldexpecttoseemanyairportsputinplacetheinfrastructuretoeithergeneratethatfuelon-site,orpipeitin,orhavesomestoragetomakesurethatfuelisabletogetintothe

aircraftinapracticalway.

KellyUngerman:Ithinkthere’sarealquestion,ifhydrogen-poweredaircraftbecomethenorm:Doairportshavetherightinfrastructure?Aretheymakingtherightinvestmentsforthe

infrastructurethatwillberequiredtoserviceverydifferentaircraftfromtoday?

AlexDichter:Hydrogen-fuel-cell-poweredaircraft,pure-hydrogen-poweredaircraft—andI

thinktheseareprobablyalittlefurtheroffinthefuturethanmanymightthink—willrequirea

radicalchangeinairportdesign.We’llneedmuchlargeranddifferentstoragetanksforpure

hydrogen.Ifwe’reusinghydrogenfuelcells,we’llneedtheinfrastructuretomovethemaroundrapidly.Forelectricaviation,we’llneedtheabilitytochargebatteriesand,importantly,torapidlyswapthemout.Understandingwherethesetypesofthingswouldgoandhowtheywouldfitintothebroaderdesignofairportsisabsolutelycriticalifwe’regoingtoreachsustainabilitygoals.

Accommodatinglargerpassengerflows

VikKrishnan:Ibelievethattravelinthefutureshouldcontinuetobeavailabletomoreandmorepeoplearoundtheworld,includingpeoplewhohistoricallywerenotabletoparticipatein

travel—eitherforeconomicreasonsorbecauseopportunitiesweren’taffordedtotheminterms

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ofbeingabletogetfromoneplacetoanother.Thatmeansputtingabitofresponsibilityon

airports,airlines,andallthevariousplayersinthetravelecosystemtoconsidertheneedsof

peoplewhomightnotbequiteaspracticedatgoingthroughtheairport.Andtheyhavetodoitinawaythatmakesitveryeasyforthatless-frequenttravelertoactuallyenjoythetravel

experience,asopposedtobeinganxiousaboutit,whichisoftenhowtheyfeeltoday.

AlexDichter:We’veallseenthatairportsaregettingmorecrowded,andinsomecasesalmostimpossiblymorecrowded.Ithinkoneofthebiggestchallengesforairportsofthefutureisto

contemplatefuturegrowthandbuildgrowthplansthataremodular,withfacilitiesthatcanbreathe,ifyouwill,withdemand.

Thebottomlineisthatthisindustrygrowsatnearly5percentand,insomecases,morethan5percentperyear.Ifwedon’tcontemplatethatkindofgrowthinthedesignofthephysicalplan,wewillfindthattheairportswe’rebuildingbecomeobsoletemuchmorequicklythanwe

imaginedtheymight.

AlastairGreen:Ithinkalmostanyonewho’splanningorbuildinganairportisstrugglingwiththeuncertainty.Airportscanoftencopewiththerawvolumeofpassengers,butthereare

bottlenecksintwoplacesthatareespeciallypainful.Theytendtobearoundthecustomer

servicedesksofthemajorairlines,particularlyaftersomesortoftraveldisruption,andthenatthefoodandbeveragelocations,especiallyaroundpeakmealtimes.Bothofthosethingscanbesolvedwithbettertechnology,whichisavailabletoday.

Anairportfullofflyingcars?

AlastairGreen:Today,manyairportpassengerschooseeconomyoff-siteparking,sometimes

waitingaslongashalfanhourforashuttlebustotakethemin.Thedreamfor2050wouldbetohavewidelyavailableeVTOLs[electricverticaltake-offandlandingaircraft]orurbanairmobility.Thismightseemlikeapipedreamtoday,butifwecangetthecostequationright,peoplewillbeabletoshowupattheairportinsomeformofautonomoushelicopter,essentially,insteadof

parkingacar.

SteveSaxon:IfeVTOLsdevelopasweexpect,airportswillneedtochange,becausetheyneedtomanagetheairspaceforthelong-haultraditionalflightsatthesametimeasmanaginga

lower-altitudeairspaceforwhatare,ineffect,helicopter-likevehicles.Thatrequiresinnovation.We’restillgoingtohaveairports,butwe’regoingtohavemanymoresmallerflyingvehicles

goinginandoutofthem,arrivingautonomously,withpassengersfromthecityandfromthesurroundingarea.Maybethey’llarrivewithgroupsoffourtotenpassengers,whowillthenbeconnectedtoalong-haulplane.SotheairaroundtheairportwillbebuzzingwithautonomouseVTOLs.

VikKrishnan:Inaworldwherepeoplearriveatanairportinaflyingcarasopposedtoinatrainoraconventionalvehicle,youcanpotentiallyproc