Welcome Blog

Hello Friends and Partners in the Aviation Industry,

You are invited to the 2024 Airport Planning, Design & Construction Symposium, which is scheduled for March 5-7, 2024. The Airport Consultants Council, the American Association of Airport Executives, and the resolute Symposium Planning Committee are excited to welcome you to Salt Lake City, Utah. Per the Symposium mission, we are focused on bringing you a program full of Robust, Relevant, and Forward-Thinking topics facilitated by significant industry leaders. We are excited to bring higher-than-ever engagement from both TSA and FAA. Keynote and Plenary sessions will bring thought-provoking solutions that will challenge current practices. We are also committed to an ever-increasing level of diversity and inclusion and have striven to craft a program that will incorporate the many points of view in our industry. I’m confident there will be something new for every attendee.

The Planning Committee’s Call for Topics resulted in an amazing array of ideas from a record-breaking 230+ submissions. There was great interest in emerging practices, so along with sessions in the standing tracks: Planning/Environmental, Terminal/Landside, Engineering/Airside, and Project Management/Construction Management, we have created an additional Innovations Track. The robust Young Professionals (YP) program will be back along with plenty of time for connecting with your partners and making new connections.

We are nearly complete in setting the technical workshop session matrix that will cover a wide range of topics requested by you, including:

· Technology solutions for operational challenges including AI

· Project funding options and correlating project delivery methods

· Passenger experience improvements

· Environmental challenges and case study solutions

· Planning for near-future changes such as AAM and electrification

· Topics specific to small-hub and general aviation airports

· Accreditation credits available for all technical sessions

Lastly, I want to encourage regular attendees of the Symposium to bring along someone new. You know best the value of this gathering and you can convey that message most effectively when introducing an industry partner to the benefits of attending or inviting a Young Professional in your organization to propel their career journey through new connections. I have always found gathering at the Symposium to be energizing and inspiring and I’m positive you will too.

Registration is now open! Check the event website regularly for updates as we continue to confirm speakers, guests, and schedule details. 

Carrie Shaeffer

Symposium Committee Chair

VP, National Director for Aviation

Swinerton