The world of aviation is undergoing exceptional transformation. From visionary new airports in Europe, the Gulf region, and Africa to ambitious transformation, expansion, and upgrade initiatives in airports around the world, the aviation sector is at a critical moment that will shape and define the sector for generations to come. The stakes are incredibly high to find solutions that are sustainable, community-led, passenger-oriented, resilient, innovative, and adaptable to enormous change. To spotlight these conversations and for the third consecutive year, Dar’s global collaborative Sidara is sponsoring and participating in the Passenger Terminal Expo (PTE 2025), the world’s leading international airport conference and exhibition, taking place this year in Madrid from April 8^th until April 10^th.

With more than 10,000 visitors expected to attend the conference in 2025, PTE brings together over 1,750 leading airport, airline, aviation authority, government and related business executives from all over the world to share innovations, challenges, knowledge, technologies, insights and experiences – to shape the future development of the world’s airports. 

Showcasing Africa’s most ambitious new airport, with Ethiopian Airlines 

On Tuesday April 8th at 10:05 AM local time, Dar’s Director of Operations in Ethiopia Tariq Al-Qanni will join the Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines Mesfin Tasew Bekele for a session titled “Elevating the new mega airport city in Bishoftu,” under the conference’s “Airport cities, regions, and transportation connections” track. The session will discuss Africa’s largest and most ambitious upcoming airport. Projected to ultimately host over 110 million passengers a year, the state-of-the-art airport is envisioned to revolutionize air travel in Ethiopia and cement the country’s position at the crossroads of the world’s most rapidly expanding air travel markets — Africa, Asia, and the Middle East — and as Africa’s global transportation hub.

Airport design, planning, and development in the Middle East and Asia Pacific

On Wednesday April 9^th at 9:00 AM, Dar’s Director of Aviation and Architecture Carole Aramouni will serve as Conference Chair and introduce the conference track on “Airport design, planning, and development – Middle East and Asia Pacific.” The track will cover topics such as the expansion of India’s Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and of Japan’s Narita Airport City and of Taiwan’s Kaohsiung International Airport, the airfield program for King Salman International Airport, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Matarat aviation transformation for Vision 2030, as well as topics such as redefining airport terminals for the digital age, enhancing user experience with inclusive design, scaling airports for success, and much more.

Showcasing innovation at Sidara’s Booth #9820

Throughout the conference, Dar will join sister Sidara companies  Landrum & Brown, Perkins&Will, TYLin, Portland Design, Introba, Currie & Brown, Penspen, Maffeis Engineering, and CopperTree Analytics at Sidara’s Booth 9820. Together, experts from across our companies will be sharing insights on the future of airport design, sustainable operations, and digital transformation, offering a unique look at the airports of tomorrow. During the conference, Sidara’s full aviation leadership team will also be available for one-on-one consultations, offering tailored insights for airport leaders looking to implement next-gen solutions in facilities of any size.

Register here to join Sidara at Booth #9820 to connect, collaborate, and reimagine the future of aviation.

World-leading aviation consultancy

From leading the infrastructure design for Europe’s most ambitious new airport in Poland and master planning and designing Dubai’s airport-of-the-future and the world’s largest upcoming airport Al Maktoum International to delivering extensive multidisciplinary consultancy for the world’s best airport for 2024 in Qatar and advising on 23 of the world’s top 30 global projects, Dar and Sidara have ranked the world’s #1 design firm for Airports for over a decade, according to the industry-standard Engineering News Record, currently ranking #2 (ENR 2024). Our global collaborative has planned, designed, and/or supported the construction of 300 airports across six continents. Our portfolio includes everything from strategic and impactful projects in over 90% of airports across the United States – including Chicago O’Hare International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Miami International Airport, LaGuardia Central Terminal Building, and more – to airports across Asia and the Middle East – China’s Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Qatar’s Hamad International Airport, Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, and Singapore’s Changi Airport – Australia, Africa, and more.  

With an active and diverse research agenda, our teams experiment with digital ways of work, cutting-edge sustainability and decarbonisation technologies, and state-of-the-art technologies and innovative practices to create aviation designs that are more sustainable, efficient, and resilient – to improve outcomes for airport operators, stakeholders, and passengers alike.  

Discover more about Sidara’s global portfolio in aviation: https://sidaracollaborative.com/expertise/sectors/aviation