How Food, Retail and Passenger Comfort are Reshaping Airport Terminal Experience
Airports are increasingly evolving beyond transportation hubs into hospitality environments. From dining and retail to lounge-like seating areas, the spaces where travelers eat, relax, and spend time between flights are playing a growing role in shaping the passenger experience. At this year’s Airport Experience Conference (AXN)—one of the leading gatherings focused on the airport concessions industry—operators, concessionaires, developers, and designers came together in Nashville, Tennessee, to discuss how that shift is influencing the future of airport environments.
WDA’s Jonathan Tsurui attended the conference and observed a clear theme emerging across conversations and panels: the concessions ecosystem is increasingly shaping the passenger experience—the spaces where travelers eat, shop, and spend time between flights. Airports are no longer just places of transit. Increasingly, the environments where passengers eat, gather, and relax shape the traveler experience as they move through the terminal.
Food and beverage programs, digital ordering systems, brand strategies, and lounge-like seating environments are all influencing how designers plan terminals and how travelers experience them.
1. Food & Beverage Is Driving the Next Phase of Airport Concessions
With travel demand rebounding, much of the conversation at the conference centered on food and beverage programs and their role in shaping the traveler experience. For concessionaires and airport operators alike, dining environments are becoming some of the most important touchpoints within the terminal.
Rather than existing separately from the rest of the passenger journey, food and beverage spaces are increasingly viewed as core components of the concessions program, helping define how travelers spend time in the airport.
For designers, this means thinking carefully about how dining integrates into circulation, seating, and waiting areas throughout the terminal.
2. Collaboration and Flexibility Are Key to Successful Concessions
Another major topic at the conference focused on the economics of airport concessions and how those realities shape the built environment. Launching a concession in an airport requires significant investment—from securing an RFP to building out the space and meeting operational requirements. Panelists noted that strict allocations for sales floor area and back-of-house storage can sometimes create challenges for operators trying to balance operational efficiency with guest experience.
The discussion highlighted the importance of greater flexibility in how concession spaces are planned and used, allowing operators to meet revenue expectations while still delivering a high-quality experience for travelers.
Another key takeaway was the value of bringing architects, contractors, and concessionaires into the process early, helping teams align operational needs, design strategies, and construction costs before projects move too far into development.
3. Digital Ordering and Automation Are Becoming the Norm
Technology continues to reshape how airport concessions operate and how passengers interact with them.
Digital kiosks, mobile ordering systems, and automated vending concepts are becoming increasingly common across terminals. These tools improve service speed and address labor challenges, giving travelers greater flexibility in how they order food and beverages.
At the conference, examples ranged from self-service ordering kiosks to fully automated food concepts—similar to the robotic coffee kiosks now appearing in some airports.
For designers, these technologies introduce new considerations around circulation, queueing, pickup areas, and how digital interactions shape the physical environment.
4. Balancing National Brands with Authentic Local Experiences
Creating a strong sense of place has been a major priority for many airport operators over the past decade, with terminals increasingly featuring restaurants and retailers that reflect the culture of their region. At this year’s conference, however, Jonathan noticed a greater presence of well-known national brands in the trade show and brand showcase than in previous years.
At the same time, local concepts remain a key part of the passenger experience, the evolving mix of brands suggests that airports and concessionaires may continue exploring hybrid concession programs, blending recognizable national brands with curated local offerings.
The goal remains the same: creating environments that feel both authentic and accessible for travelers.
5. Designing Lounge-Like Comfort Beyond the Lounge
Airport lounges remain among the most sought-after spaces in terminals, offering calm environments where passengers can relax, work, or dine before their flights. As a result, airports are reconsidering how concession areas and public passenger spaces function.
If travelers value the comfort and atmosphere of lounges, there may be opportunities to introduce similar qualities throughout the terminal environment—particularly in dining and seating areas. Rather than confining comfort exclusively to premium spaces, airports can explore a greater variety of seating and dining environments integrated into passenger circulation and hold rooms.
By blending food and beverage spaces with waiting areas, terminals can move beyond the traditional “mall food court” model and toward environments that feel more like hospitality destinations.
Designing the Airport as a Hospitality Environment
Overall, the conversations at AXN reinforced an important shift: the passenger experience in airports is increasingly shaped by the concessions ecosystem. Food and beverage programs, retail concepts, digital ordering systems, and flexible concession spaces all influence how travelers move through—and spend time in—the terminal.
For architects and operators, the opportunity lies in designing environments that support the operational realities of airport concessions while creating spaces that feel comfortable, intuitive, and welcoming for travelers—an approach increasingly central to hospitality-focused terminal design.
Airports may always be places of transit—but the environments where passengers eat, shop, and gather are becoming some of the most influential spaces in the journey.