Airport Experience® News - Pre-Conference Issue 2026

It’s game time for airports helping to host the upcoming FIFA World Cup, Super Bowl, Summer Olympic and Paralymic Games and other high-profile sporting events. In preparing to welcome large influxes of first-time visitors, VIPs and super fans, the stakes are as high as a tournament-defining match. Several North American airports and cities will be on the front lines for those massive events and others. U.S. Travel estimates that an estimated 30 million international visitors will be coming for major sporting events. In addition to the World Cup and Olympic and Paralympic Games, the United States will host the 2029 World University Games, the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup, the 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cup and the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The U.S. is also the only bidder for the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. In fact, U.S. Travel has launched America’s Sports and Travel Mega Event Coalition (ASTMEC), a national alliance of sports, travel and business leaders dedicated to helping the United States successfully host the collection of global sporting events headed to the United States over the next decade. The Airport Gateway Long before the starting whistle blows, airport teams are practicing hard and perfecting their own game day strategies through logistical preparation and a bit of creative spark. Many airports are already seasoned pros at hosting large-scale sporting events. “Southern California has hosted a number of Super Bowls in recent history, so we have had the ability to see growth in our passenger counts and the ability to accommodate a number of professional

sports teams both on the general aviation and jet side,” says Long Beach Airport’s (LGB) deputy director, Juan Lopez-Rios. Long Beach will host 11 medal events in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics and seven events in the 2028 Summer Paralympic Games, making LGB an attractive destination airport for athletes, coaches and fans alike, adds Lopez-Rios, as it’s “a little more attractive than trying to make your way through LAX and it offers a more quiet alternative, with oftentimes a little more confidentiality, if [travelers] want to fly under the radar.” To prepare for the influx of new visitors ahead of the 2028 games, the team at LGB has been hard at work in partnership with city officials on logistical needs, making long-term facility updates to its passenger concourse and outdoor spaces as well as working through infrastructural planning. “We’re working behind the scenes on transportation networks – what is the city going to look like [during the Olympics]?” says Lopez-Rios. “But with our

infrastructure, our light rail and our bus capacity, we believe that there are families and visitors who can fly into Long Beach, not need to rent a car, and just utilize public transportation if they’re staying within this area.” At Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), which previously welcomed large influxes of travelers for the 2024 WrestleMania XL tournament as well as for several matches in the 2025 FIFA World Cup, will also help host the 2026 World Cup, as well as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, PGA Championship, MLB All Star Game, and a variety of celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary. “Planning for these events started well before Philadelphia was announced a host city for the World Cup,” says Leah Douglas, PHL’s director of guest experience, adding that “it was a great experience to have also hosted the first-ever FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 as a springboard for the airport and its employee base to get excited to welcome the world for the multiple events in 2026.”

Right: Long Beach has a small airport but a big opportunity. The city will host 11 medal events in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics and seven events in the 2028 Summer Paralympic Games.

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AX NEWS FEBRUARY 2026