How Do You Welcome the World?

2026 is a pivotal year for Philadelphia, as host to America’s 250th birthday celebration and A-list sporting events, including FIFA World Cup matches, MLB All-Star Week, the PGA Championship and more. Millions of travelers are expected, and with them comes an incredible opportunity to showcase what makes Philadelphia special, generate significant economic gains and, ideally, inspire repeat visits.

With the spotlight on our city, Philadelphia International (PHL) and Northeast  Philadelphia Airport (PNE) will be the front door to these guests as the first leg of their journey. In preparation, we’ve made and continue to make investments to ensure a safe, efficient and world-class welcoming experience for arriving  travelers. As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

One of the busiest airports on the East Coast, serving as  American Airlines’ transatlantic hub, PHL is no stranger to high travel volume, even when the numbers spike for such special occasions as fans heading to last year’s Super Bowl featuring the Philadelphia Eagles. But in 2026, we’re expecting a significant travel surge over many months, potentially surpassing the more than 30 million passengers we welcomed in 2024 and 2025, with some of the busiest single travel days in PHL’s history anticipated in June and July.

That’s why our mission of proudly connecting Philadelphia to the world, which underpins everything we do, is more focused than ever in preparation for the influx of visitors from around the globe. A year this extraordinary demanded out-of-the-ordinary planning and preparation.

2026 Strategic Plan
I joined the airport in March 2024 to assume the new position of chief strategy officer, created by the city’s
Department of Aviation, which operates PHL and PNE. The first order of business: Develop and execute a robust strategic plan that advances collaboration and prioritizes key programs at this crucial time for the airport and builds a strong operational foundation for success over the next five years.

Too often, strategic plans remain merely words on paper. For  an undertaking of this scope that would be accessible for every level of the organization, the plan needed to be a visual, living  framework that would build the organizational muscle needed to execute with strength and consistency. Beyond just defining direction, it was about embedding the processes, behaviors and capabilities that would bring the strategy to life and sustain
performance over time.

It’s well accepted that if people understand something  they’re more likely to support it. Therefore, to make the plan more accessible at every level, we summarized its key focus elements into a one-page, easy-to-read, document that included our mission, vision and values. From break rooms to conference rooms throughout the airport, we posted the document where employees gather and distributed it to all staff with a note from the CEO. Along the way, we have outlined steps needed to achieve goals and are consistently tracking and sharing progress.

PHL’s 2026 Strategic Plan is centered around these four focus areas:

• Elevate the airport experience

• Improve conditions of current facilities

• Enhance business opportunities

• Build for the future

As we implemented the projects and programs within these areas, we continued to convey the message that all our work is being performed holistically as part of a larger purpose. Following are examples of how we achieved this continuity.

Good Things Start Here
One of our first initiatives was a brand refresh campaign that we named “Good Things Start Here” to represent PHL’s renewed commitment to creating an exceptional, passenger-centric airport experience where the vibrant energy and spirit of the city we serve come alive in our terminals.

Transform PHL
This rallying cry extended to the significant investment  we’re making to update and refurbish our airport (one of
the country’s oldest) to ensure that our terminals, runways and facilities are efficient and comfortable for travelers and employees alike and reflect the world-class city we represent.

Our $500 million capital improvement campaign for  2026 — spread out over 50 different projects, whose priority
was determined by which would have the greatest impact on passengers — includes new infrastructure, modernized spaces and smart innovation, from updated wayfinding and roadway signage, to renovated gate holdrooms and energy-efficient window systems. One of the biggest projects impacts the most used spaces in the terminals — restrooms. Our massive Restroom Renovation Program targeted 50 restrooms throughout the
airport with touchless technology and enhanced accessibility.

To illustrate that each airport upgrade is not just another construction project but driven by our cohesive strategic plan, we branded the work under the name “Transform PHL,” to be posted on work in progress throughout the airport. The campaign, which  we tied to our overarching “Good Things Start Here” message, has its own webpage, where we invite people to sign up for updates to stay connected to our ongoing improvement projects.

PHL WORKS
Alongside physical upgrades, PHL is emphasizing a customer experience transformation. We launched PHL WORKS, an airport-wide service vision and training initiative built  around shared behaviors — Welcoming, Ownership, Respect,  Knowledgeable, Seeks to Connect — designed to unify all staff and  partners (airlines, concessions, security, operations) around service excellence. This culture-focused program aims to build consistent guest service standards, empower all employees to contribute directly to a positive traveler experience and prepare staff for higher traveler volumes and demands of this eventful year.

Through strategic investments and creative, thoughtful planning, the Philadelphia Department of Aviation is in a position of strength as we continue to enhance airport operations,  connectivity and even better passenger experiences. When visitors arrive in 2026 — and long after — they’ll see an airport  that celebrates Philadelphia’s proud legacy and reflects the promise of our future.