Al Titterington on delivering hyper-personalised airport experiences with growing passenger numbers: IAS 2025 speaker spotlight

Al Titterington is the Terminal Operations Director at Birmingham Airport (BHX), where he leads the delivery of day-to-day passenger experience and terminal performance across one of the UK’s busiest and fastest-growing airports. With over two decades of experience in the aviation sector, Al is at the forefront of driving strategic operational transformation, underpinned by a relentless focus on customer experience, efficiency and inclusive design. International Airport Review is looking forward to welcoming Al as a speaker at this year’s International Airport Summit 2025, taking place in Berlin on 19-20 November.

At the core of Al’s leadership is a simple but powerful belief: airports are no longer just transit hubs, they are experience-led destinations. Passengers don’t just compare one airport to another. Instead, they benchmark every moment of their journey against the best of retail, hospitality and digital services. Under Al’s direction, Birmingham Airport has embraced this shift – moving beyond operational delivery to create Connected, Personal, Seamless Experiences for every customer.

Transforming the terminal experience

Over the past two years, Al has overseen a significant transformation of BHX’s terminal infrastructure and operational delivery model. This included the launch of a terminal-wide refresh programme designed to modernise ageing assets, improve first impressions and enhance accessibility. From replacing 30-year-old flooring to refurbishing all public washrooms and introducing warm, Birmingham-inspired branding, the refresh has placed customer comfort and care at the centre of terminal design.

Complementing this investment in physical infrastructure is the introduction of cobots – robotic cleaners that maintain high standards of cleanliness while freeing operational teams to focus on customer engagement and detail. Under Al’s leadership, BHX also introduced real-time Voice of the Customer (VoC) tools to capture feedback at key moments of the journey, ensuring the operation remains responsive, data-led and grounded in empathy.

Driving inclusive and efficient design

One of Al’s most defining contributions is the integration of inclusive design principles across BHX’s operational and infrastructure planning. In response to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) research and growing passenger needs, Al has championed the delivery of facilities that better serve families, passengers with hidden disabilities, and those requiring additional assistance. This includes the development of sensory rooms, quiet zones, enhanced nursing facilities, and the integration of Changing Places toilets within terminal developments.

Recognising that 24% of UK adults identify as disabled, and one in seven are neurodivergent, Al ensures BHX’s strategy doesn’t just meet regulatory requirements, but looks for opportunities to enhance services, understanding that when airports are designed for the most vulnerable, the journey is improved for everyone. 

Continuous improvement through SOAR

At the heart of BHX’s operational mindset is SOAR, a continuous improvement and innovation framework. SOAR is more than a process, it’s how Birmingham Airport works:

• Horizon 360 invites colleagues to identify challenges and co-create ideas to resolve them, often shaped by changing customer expectations or new aviation regulations
• FlightLab offers a safe space to test and prototype those ideas, ensuring they add real value before scaling
• TakeOff implements the most promising solutions – while recognising that not every idea needs to fly to be valuable
• And then the cycle begins again, with multiple improvement initiatives running concurrently across the business.

SOAR has created a culture where curiosity, efficiency and collaboration drive continuous progress, delivering improvements that benefit both passengers and teams.

Delivering results

Under Al’s leadership, the terminal operation has achieved significant progress in key performance metrics:

• Net promoter score (NPS) closed at +22 in 2025 – a ‘good’ rating despite operational pressures
• Customer satisfaction (CSAT) hit 71% – a marked improvement year-on-year.

These improvements have been recognised not only by passengers but by industry stakeholders, regulators and retail partners. Yet Al remains focused on the future, aware that rising expectations demand even more consistent investment and innovation.

CPE – connecting physical and digital

Looking ahead, Al is leading the implementation of BHX’s connected personal experiences (CPE) strategy, a digitally enabled vision that links physical airport infrastructure with real-time, personalised digital touchpoints.

CPE has three core objectives:

1. Enhance passenger satisfaction by providing timely information and guidance, especially during disruption.
2. Support colleagues by reducing routine enquiries, freeing them to focus on care and personal support.
3. Drive commercial value through targeted offers and better use of dwell time.

With 75% of passengers expecting real-time updates and 68% more likely to spend when prompted by tailored offers (IATA GPS, 2023), CPE positions Birmingham Airport as a modern, data-driven operation ready for scalable growth.

Leadership that centres people

Al is a champion of people-centred leadership, understanding that the colleague experience is directly connected to the passenger experience. He works closely with cross-functional teams to improve communication, colleague recognition, onboarding and frontline empowerment.

Al Titterington is helping shape the future of airport operations through a unique combination of strategic foresight, operational discipline and human-centred leadership.

Whether driving continuous improvement through SOAR, embedding inclusive design, or deploying predictive technologies like CPE, Al’s work is positioning BHX as the airport of choice, one known not only for efficiency, but for care, clarity and customer connection.