Airports urged to close retail gap for

A design expert argues airports must move beyond basic accessibility to include underserved passengers in retail and dining, highlighting a significant

The UK's recent Aviation Bill aims to improve physical access for disabled air travellers. However, a design leader contends true inclusion requires enabling all passengers to enjoy an airport's commercial offerings, not just navigate its spaces.

Queenie Lo, president of spatial design at FutureBrand, states the accessible tourism market represents over two billion potential travellers. An estimated 15-20% of the global population is neurodivergent. When older passengers and families with young children are added, a significant proportion experiences airports differently from the design norm.

In the UK, 42% of people with accessibility needs, or a family member with them, reportedly avoided travelling abroad in the previous year due to accessibility concerns. Lo argues that even when facilities get someone to their gate, they may miss the chance to browse, eat, or relax. This is framed as both an inclusion problem and a missed commercial opportunity.

Bring the experience to the passenger

Traditional airport retail assumes passengers will move through a sequence of spaces. An older passenger may be escorted directly to a gate. Someone in a wheelchair might avoid crowded stores. Parents may prioritise finding a seat over shopping.

Airports should think creatively about meeting passengers where they are. Solutions could include smaller kiosks along accessible routes, grab-and-go offers, or mobile pop-ups at gates. Passengers could order food or duty-free from their seat for delivery.

Some airports are experimenting. At Rome Fiumicino's Terminal 1, passengers can order from participating retailers for delivery to their gate by autonomous robots. An airport app could offer delivery to passengers who have already flagged they require assistance. Dubai International Airport is also testing this model.

A personal shopping or delivery service could create a better experience and open a sale that might otherwise be lost.

Give passengers a choice of environments

Physical accessibility is only one part. Airports are intensely stimulating with noise, crowds, and digital screens. This can overwhelm some neurodivergent passengers, but others like parents with tired children or nervous flyers may also seek calmer spaces.

Istanbul Airport has introduced quiet spaces for passengers sensitive to noise and crowds. It also provides services for people with visible and non-visible disabilities. Lo notes that, despite its scale, the airport feels spacious with considered digital screen placement.

Across the Middle East, high staffing and investment in immersive luxury retail show what is possible. Lo suggests the same ambition should extend to considering who finds these environments overwhelming and what alternatives can be offered.

The goal is offering choice: quieter areas, less visual clutter, considered lighting, natural daylight, and greenery alongside more immersive zones. Airport food has already diversified with different cuisines and dietary options; Lo argues the same thinking should apply to spaces.

Build inclusion into the commercial model

The biggest obstacle is treating inclusion as merely ticking a box for mandatory accessibility requirements. Going further requires investment in staff, technology, and logistical changes for services like gate delivery.

However, these services can enable a significant passenger group to participate more fully in the airport economy. Lo states that when airports tender for retail or food and beverage operators, inclusion and wellbeing should be part of the brief. Bidders should be asked how they will serve passengers with different mobility and sensory needs and make solutions commercially viable.

Most importantly, airports should talk to those passengers. Insights into where the existing experience excludes them and what they actually want should determine the solution and be embedded into design briefs. The airports and operators that lead this shift will turn passengers who are moved from A to B into people who can participate in everything an airport offers.

Source: Airport World