PT World | January 2026
12 Dec 2025
Slava Cheglatonyev, senior director of economic policy and airport business at ACI World, asks if it’s time to rethink airport development concession models for a new era of investment
Airport businesses are entering a period of unprecedented investment need. They already face capital requirements of US$2.4tn by 2040, including US$731bn for greenfield development. At the same time, ACI World’s latest long-term forecast expects global passenger traffic to reach 22.3 billion by 2053.
Public budgets, strained by competing priorities, struggle to meet these demands. More than 850 airports across 90+ countries now rely on some form of private-sector investment, with nearly 49% of global passengers traveling through airports operated or financed by private partners.
The result is a widening gap between the infrastructure that airports require and the resources available to deliver it – a gap that has direct implications for the benefits that aviation provides.
Today, aviation supports 86.6 million jobs and contributes US$4.1tn to global GDP, while serving around 9.4 billion passengers annually.
Preserving and growing the benefits of aviation depends on mobilizing sufficient, well-structured investment, including through effective development concession agreements.
