After ATL: Lessons On Building Better Airport Experiences from AAAE’s Annual Conference

From the show floor to the stage, AAAE’s 97th Annual Conference was packed with insight, energy, and inspiration. Our team had a great time connecting with our friends, colleagues, and clients in Atlanta, and we were so glad to join Hartsfield-Jackson's Centennial Celebration!

We left Atlanta full of ideas, and we’re here to share some of our favorite moments from this year’s show.

Key Leadership Lessons

This year’s keynote speakers captured some of the most critical themes in the airport industry today: collaboration, leadership, and hospitality.

We wish we'd made it to the book signing! Photo originally posted by AAAE.

Will Guidara emphasized the importance of going above and beyond what passengers expect to create exceptional, memorable airport experiences.

As airports continue elevating their passenger experiences, his approach is a powerful reminder that it’s not just about what you do—it’s about how you make people feel.

Synect’s work has already proven how impactful this is. From multilingual wayfinding at DFW to faster, friendlier checkpoints at ABE, we’ve helped airports use smart, scalable content solutions to make their passengers feel seen, supported, and in control of their journey.

General Stanley McChrystal emphasized the power of high-performing teams during his keynote, sharing key insights into how collaboration drives effective, agile decision-making during his panel. Whether you’re planning a capital program, a digital signage upgrade, or an airport video wall refresh, strong collaboration is the key to enabling incredible airport experiences.

ABE’s team collaborated with Synect to develop a content-first strategy that would help passengers prepare for security early, reducing wait times.

Innovation Spotlight: Some of Our Favorite Panels and Sessions on Improving Airport Experiences

As always, AAAE’s Annual Conference was an amazing space for innovation. This year’s panels, training sessions, and conversations made it clear how quickly the future of airports is taking shape.

Displays Driving Communication

We were especially excited to see Nanolumens’ panel, Goodbye 1990s, Hello 2020s – dvLED Solutions for FIDS, BIDS and GIDS, and they exceeded our expectations. With brighter visuals and sharper resolution, direct view LEDs are helping airports communicate more clearly with every traveler.

As airports look toward the future, they’re shifting away from legacy digital signage and displays. Future-proof systems, like Synect's FIDS + CMS solution, are key components in their plans. Designed to give airports flexible tools that help them communicate clearly and adapt quickly, even as their infrastructure and operations evolve, our solutions are helping transform the passenger experience more quickly than ever before.

With app-based design, DFW it easier for passengers to access their flight information.

Safety & Real-Time Communication

Several panels tackled the increasingly complex world of airport safety and emergency response.

In Next-Gen Emergency Alerting: Innovating for the Future of Airport Safety, Westnet explored how airports can leverage new tools to enhance cross-team communication during crises. During the workshop Coordinated Response: How Airlines Partner with Airports During Emergencies, we heard a ton of great conversation on the importance of seamless coordination during unexpected, fast-changing events.

ReadySeeGo updates instantly to deliver effective messaging in critical moments.

Synect understands that real-time communication plays a pivotal role in moments of uncertainty. That’s why we’ve designed Passenger360 and ReadySeeGo to support instant, seamless, airport-wide updates. Whether it’s a weather delay or , smart tools are crucial for keeping passengers informed.

AI, AR, and the Power of Digital Tools

From parking to performance, AI was a hot topic at this year’s conference. We loved the breadth of ideas on display:

• Metropolis’ panel, Leverage Artificial Intelligence in Airport Parking, shared excellent insights on using new tools to ease passengers’ arrival.

• AAAE's Training Theater, From Gaps to Gains: Leveraging AI to Elevate Workforce Performance, provided actionable insights to help airport teams use new tools and make day-to-day tasks easier.

• Safe Software shared some fascinating tools designed to strengthen teams in Augmented Airports: Empowering Teams with AI and AR for Real-Time Operational Awareness.

These sessions made one thing clear: AI is about enhancing the impact of the human touch, not replacing it. From predictive content delivery to intelligent passenger communication, it’s an exciting area of growth with huge potential for operational efficiency and personalized experiences.

Accessibility and Inclusion: Designing for Everyone

We were glad to be part of thoughtful, pragmatic discussions about inclusion during this year’s show. Sessions like Beyond Compliance: Creating Seamless Travel for All Abilities and Lessons in Inclusion and Development from Portland and Denver offered important reminders: accessibility, equity, and universal design aren’t just goals—they’re responsibilities.

It’s something we consider in all of our solutions. From inclusive visual design to multilingual support, our work helps airports ensure that every passenger can access the information they need.

We helped DFW introduce multilingual wayfinding to ease navigation for millions of international travelers.

Big Wins, Small Airports

Size might matter when you’re flying with liquids, but airports of all sizes are ready to innovate. In the session Small Airports Doing Big Things, airport leaders shared how they’re driving major improvements by making the most of their assets.

Content-first strategy plays a key role in helping airports make the most of their visual communication ecosystem. As Mike Youngs, VP of IT at DFW, said on stage during FTE Global 2024: a good content strategy is a good IT strategy. It helps airports right-size their investments, reducing the number of systems needed.

See the highlights, then complete the form below and watch the full panel to start building your strategy today.

Creating Connections

No conference is complete without a chance to connect, and we had a wonderful time seeing old and new friends during the Rock the Block party!

We had a ball at AAAE's Annual Conference! Montee Fiely, left, and Gina Marie Paquette, center, celebrated with Katy Stagg of Amadeus, right. We wish we could have taken photos with everyone!

If you didn’t catch us on the conference floor, don’t worry. We’re always just a message away. Whether you want to dive deeper into content-first strategy, explore digital signage solutions, or talk about what’s next for airport communication, we’d love to continue the conversation.