GATE FUTURE 2026: A Decade of Shaping the Airports of Tomorrow

Oct 21

3 min read

For its 10th edition, GATE FUTURE came to Hamburg Airport for the first time. On 21 and 22 October 2026, airport operators, technology providers, researchers and partners from across Europe and beyond came together for two days of keynotes, panels, workshops and behind-the-scenes visits.

Ten years after the first edition, GATE’s innovation conference celebrated its anniversary in a setting that couldn’t have suited the topic better. The Top Deck and the Airport Conference Center at Hamburg Airport were full for two days, with the Hamburg aviation ecosystem right on the doorstep. Between the conference programme and exclusive visits to ZAL and Airbus, it was hard to imagine fitting much more aviation into two days.

Day 1: From vision to daily operation

Berit Schmitz, Managing Director of Hamburg Airport, and Michael Vollrath of Hamburg Aviation opened the conference and gave the GATE FUTURE community a warm welcome to Hamburg. GATE Managing Director Jens Reinhard followed with an impulse on the association and its network.

The keynotes set the tone. Dr. Stefan Schulte (CEO of Fraport AG and President of ACI EUROPE), Dr. Frank Quante (Fraport TAV Antalya Airport), Claus Grunow (Baden-Airpark) and Brian Cobb (CVG Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky) showed how airports turn transformation into daily operation. Their talks covered growing infrastructure, new processes, IT and AI.

Berit Schmitz with a welcome address

Two panels followed. Kevin Fischer, GATE Head of Innovation, moderated Building Future Airports. Gözde Kaygusuz (Düsseldorf Airport), Nino Bolley (Fraport AG), Coralie Klaus Boecker (ZRH Innovation Hub), Wolfgang Scheibenpflug (Vienna Airport) and Florian Rudolph (DLR) discussed how today’s planning decisions shape the terminals and processes of tomorrow. In Future Energies for Aviation, Kirsten Schümer (EEHH), Anna Lisa Junge (Airbus), Adrian Herberger (MB Energy) and Dr. Christoph Ebert (E.ON Drive) looked at how SAF, hydrogen and electrification can move from ambition to the apron.

The evening closed with a networking dinner at Hamburg Airport. GATE President Kay Bärenfänger welcomed the guests, and Ralph Beisel, General Manager of ADV, gave an energising address.

Day 2: Security and the passenger journey

Constantin Dahms of Argus Interception opened the second day with a keynote on a question every airport faces: what do you do when drones appear over the airfield? He covered the steps from situational awareness to a controlled response.

The Future Safety & Security panel built on that keynote. Angus Baigent of Hamburg Aviation moderated a discussion with Klaus Lütjens (DLR), Gernot Pöchgraber (BEUMER Group), Prof. Dr. Andreas G. Hotes (TH Wildau), Stefan Ludwig (BER), Michael Mowinski (Frequentis) and Karolina M. (Airbus Protect). Their topics were perimeter protection, cyber resilience and surveillance in a changing threat landscape.

Innovation Inside the Terminal then turned to the passenger. Christoph Oftring (BEUMER Group) moderated, with Brian Cobb (CVG Airport), Mark Holloway (Samsung), Idar Sørgjerd (BNP Associates), Robin Sengupta (Zurich Airport) and Andrzej Gniadkowski (AirCEE+). The panel showed how digital services and AI are reshaping the passenger journey.

The workshops: where ideas meet operations

Workshops have always been at the heart of GATE FUTURE, and Hamburg was no exception. Across both days, 23 workshops brought airports and industry together, each starting from real questions in airport operations. Topics included:

single-operator pushback, PRM dispatching and GSE pooling
digital twins, LiDAR and AI readiness
energy efficiency and AI in baggage handling
obsolescence management and perimeter protection

Airports shared their projects, GATE members contributed their technology expertise, and participants added their own perspectives. Case studies, group exercises and live demos made the sessions very hands-on. aryve, for example, showed its new accessibility solution for visually impaired passengers live at Hamburg Airport for the first time.

Thank you

GATE FUTURE 2026 was made possible by its strategic partners and sponsors:

Hamburg Aviation
Hamburg Messe und Congress
ADV
Getriebebau NORD
AAT Automation
aryve
cronn
Frequentis
Lenze
Transnorm
Atos
Motion06
AMMEGA

A big thank you goes to all speakers, workshop leads and participants, and to Hamburg Airport for being an outstanding host. We also thank the GATE team: Miriam Schönrock, Kevin Fischer and Jens Reinhard for moderating and hosting, Ellen Schneider for the organisation, and Michelle Jaklinovic for the event graphics. Finally, thanks to RelevantFirst, Martina Drignat and Laura Isabelle Schachta, for capturing the event in pictures.

Two days, ten years, one community. See you at the next GATE FUTURE!