Angela Gittens led ACI World for 12 years, until June 2020, as its Director General, and is currently President of Schiphol USA. Her vast industry experience is second to none, having spent decades navigating the boundaries between public oversight, private investment, and the increasingly complex demands placed on airports.

In a recent Open Mic podcast for airportIR, Curtis Grad, CEO and Founding Partner at Modalis Infrastructure Partners, interviewed Gittens. Having held leadership roles at Miami (MIA), Atlanta (ATL), and San Francisco (SFO) airports, as well as work with private operators including AGI, TBI, and Vinci, she offered a global perspective on how privatization has changed the airport landscape—and where it is heading next.

One of the most consequential privatization milestones in North America she discussed was the creation of Terminal 4 at New York’s JFK Airport, operated under concession by Schiphol. “It was pretty groundbreaking at the time,” she recalls. The project launched in 2001—the same year as the 9/11 attack —and also endured the global financial crisis. It ultimately proved transformative. As Gittens notes: “It has proven to be an excellent model and… helped the Port Authority improve its own game and focus on airports as true businesses.”

That shift—from viewing airports as bureaucratic departments to treating them as commercial enterprises—is one of the most significant outcomes of the 25-year-old T4 concession. It helped build confidence for subsequent projects at JFK, LaGuardia (LGA) and Newark (EWR). The model demonstrated that private capital could be deployed in ways that benefit airlines, passengers, and public owners simultaneously.

Her experience predates ACI and includes hands‑on work with airport transitions. While at AGI/TBI, she helped guide London Luton Airport (LTN) from municipal ownership to a concession structure. That early exposure to investor expectations and owner priorities shaped her later leadership at ACI World, where she represented airports across vastly different governance systems. “I saw what investors are looking for… and how to structure it,” she says. That understanding proved essential when dealing with both public operators and private investors within ACI’s global membership.

Airports as Economic Engines

Gittens emphasizes that privatization is not a one‑size‑fits‑all solution. ACI’s federated regional structure exists because models vary across markets. As she notes: “You’ve seen one airport, you’ve seen one airport.” Ownership, political context, geography, and demographics all influence how airports operate—and how privatization or concession models should be applied. But she is clear that private participation has helped gateways evolve beyond their traditional role as transport utilities.

Today, airports are economic engines, retail hubs, community partners and environmental leaders. Far from trying to do too much, Gittens argues that airports may not be doing enough and that they must continue expanding their role as community resources.

She points to concepts such as Boston’s Framingham remote‑check‑in model—where passengers drop bags and clear processes before being transported securely to the airport—as one way capacity constraints and passenger flows can be reimagined. She also highlights the potential of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to reshape access and relieve pressure on terminals. “Maybe it doesn’t all have to be in one place,” she says.

Cybersecurity is the Biggest Worry

Yet airport modernization brings new vulnerabilities. When asked what challenges worry her most compared with the Atlanta Olympics era, Gittens was unequivocal: cybersecurity. “We’re becoming more dependent on digital technology,” she warns. The threat is not only shutdowns but manipulation—attacks that distort information systems such as flight displays or operational data. “How long will it take you to figure out it has happened?” she asks. Airports are not yet sophisticated enough to match the pace of emerging threats.

Despite the technological shift, Gittens insists that people remain central to airport performance. Staff culture at ATL allowed teams to “step up” when systems failed. “People worked together to take care of the passenger,” she says. That human resilience is still essential today, especially when disruptions occur.

Her reflections on customer experience echo the same theme. Passengers rarely notice when airports run smoothly, but they remember every failure. The key is maintaining internal motivation through metrics and benchmarking—particularly programs like ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ). “Some things you want the passenger to take for granted,” she says, citing safety and security. But ASQ provides real‑time feedback that staff can use to improve performance.

Airports must continue evolving, argues Gittens, not only to meet passenger expectations but to strengthen resilience, expand capacity, and deepen their role in the communities they serve. “It could be a failure of imagination to say that we’re done,” she says. In an era of rapid technological change, shifting ownership models, and rising security threats, airports may need more imagination—and more reinvention—than ever.

To listen to the podcast in full, click here.