Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2026

Left: A panel convened to discuss the future of the ACDBE program included (left to right): moderator Eboni Wimbush of the Airport Minority Advisory Council, Shane Robinson of S&C Robinson Enterprise, Zenola Campbell of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Roxann Favors of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and George Mboya of SSP America.

to be a part of the community?” said Zenola Campbell, vice president of concessions at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) of the conversations surrounding the ACDBE program changes. “We stand on the shoulders of the community that has served DFW and that we want to continue to make sure that the airport reflects that diversity – and it’s not a bad word,” added Campbell. Roxann Favors, assistant aviation director and chief revenue officer at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), agreed. Having a concessions portfolio reflective of the regional community is a “point of pride,” she said. “We still want to continue to provide those opportunities.” At PHX, that means pivoting to focus on Small Business Enterprise Concessions (SBEC), Favors added. “We wanted to make sure, even in our upcoming solicitations, that we had that set aside or that carve out, because that’s still allowed within the program.” DFW has also found their SBEC program to be useful in maintaining opportunities for new concessionaires, said Campbell. “We have been able to utilize that program over the last three years in regards to allowing small businesses to get into the airport,” said Campbell. “We’ve had two solicitations, and there’s one out on the street that’s soon to be calibrated, that has very specific opportunities for SBECs.” For George Mboya, CEO of SSP America , “it’s very important for us to continue to

make sure that we have [JV] partners. It’s not just a compliance issue for us. It is a responsibility for us at SSP America to have JV partners to do business with – we will not abandon our long-term commitment,” he said. “However, with these changes, comes some confusion. The rules are different for every state, different for every airport authority. So we’re doing a risk assessment across the board – what do we need to do in order to comply with all the requirements? We are working with our SSP partners to help them with documentation for recertification, and [we are] making sure that we design contingency partnership models, because there may be a transition period where not all the rules are complied with, or not all the rules are defined,” Mboya added. The changes in policy are also forcing concessionaires like Robinson to reconsider their approach to new business. “We’ve been forced to look at how we can survive in this environment, because the days of just waiting to get tapped on the shoulder [by a prime] to say, ‘We’d love for you to be a partner’ are over,” said Robinson. “We are all one concourse change, one gate change, or one pandemic away from starvation. With that understanding, I think it’s on folks like myself to really push and understand how we can best position ourselves to continue in the business in whatever environment this ultimately becomes.”

ACDBE Program In Flux The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s sweeping changes to the certification process for the Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) program have left the airport industry at large wondering, “what’s next?” At this year’s AXC panel, concessionaires and airport operators joined moderator Eboni Wimbush, president and CEO of the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC) to discuss the future of the program and the path forward amid ongoing uncertainty. For ACDBE concessionaire Shane Robinson, owner and founder of S&C Robinson Enterprise , the key to forging ahead amid significant policy changes lies in the relationships he’s already established across his business. “I still see the opportunity to grow,” said Robinson. “The fact that that ACDBE question is out there doesn’t change the fact that I am a business partner who happens to be Black,” he added. “This recertification process has prompted me to show our work as a business partner – that’s not something that can be taken away from me at any level of government or policy, and that’s really where we are, making sure that at the end of the day, we are a valued partner showing our worth day in and day out.” “What has been most important to [the team at DFW] has been, how do we continue

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AX NEWS APRIL/MAY 2026