Passenger Terminal Expo 2026 was our biggest event of the year.
From 17 to 19 March, Pascall+Watson Architects joined over 11,000 aviation and airport professionals at Passenger Terminal Expo at ExCeL London. As the world’s leading event for the airport industry, PTE brings together airports, airlines, aviation authorities, and related businesses from across the globe for three days of exhibition, conference, and conversation.
This year felt particularly significant for us. With our head office based in London, welcoming the global aviation industry to our city in our 70th anniversary year was something we are proud to have been part of.
Martin Neilan, Director
On the Stand
Across all three days, our team was on hand at Stand D182 to meet visitors, share our work, and connect with senior industry figures from around the world. The stand brought together scale models of two of our most talked about recent aviation projects, an interactive display of our portfolio, a gallery of recent work, and exclusive copies of our 70th anniversary book.
Al Wajh International Airport
Our scale model of Al Wajh International Airport was one of the most talked about features on the stand. A proposal for an airport unlike any other in the world, one where every passenger becomes a guest and the terminal feels like an extension of the resort, the concept drew visitors in and sparked some of the most engaging conversations of the three days.
Rather than following the conventional template of terminals, queues, and commercial retail, the design rethinks the entire experience from the ground up. It draws on the local landscape, climate, and cultural heritage of the Al Wajh region, whilst targeting LEED Platinum status through passive conditioning and low-energy measures that transform typically enclosed spaces into naturally ventilated areas far more in keeping with a resort than a commercial terminal.
Dubai Vertiport
Our Dubai Vertiport model introduced many visitors to an entirely new category of aviation infrastructure. As one of the world’s first commercial passenger vertiports, designed for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, known as eVTOL, it opened up a genuinely different kind of conversation about where urban travel is heading and what it means to design for a completely new type of facility.
Pascall+Watson were appointed by Skyports UK to lead the design, located directly adjacent to the Dubai Metro Emirates Station, one stop from Dubai International Airport. Inspired by the desert landscape, the dune-scape roof form creates a wing-like silhouette that is both aerodynamic and immediately recognisable. Inside, a club-like departures lounge and frictionless guest journey move far away from the typical transit environment, whilst the facility has been designed from the outset to grow and adapt alongside an evolving industry.
On Stage
On Wednesday 18th March, our Project Director Manuel Cruz took to the stage alongside Mike Hardaker, Chief Asset and Development Officer at Stansted Airport, to present on the London Stansted transformation programme. Their talk, titled “Stansted Transformation a Year Later: Beyond Concept Design”, covered the evolution of one of the largest airport investments in Europe, from initial concept to live construction within an active airport environment. The session drew a strong audience and generated a great deal of interest from the floor.
