Designing with Empathy: Integrating Passenger Lived Experience into
Universal, Future-Ready Aviation Infrastructure

This session integrates lived passenger experiences with the design of future aviation systems. It highlights journeys of passengers with disabilities across the full travel chain—from booking to arrival—showcasing key challenges and solutions across a wide range of visible and non-visible conditions.
The discussion will explore how these experiences can inform airport infrastructure, services, and operations, including ways to capture input from those unable to self-advocate through engagement with caregivers,
organizations, and frontline staff. It will also address intersectional vulnerabilities and facilitation processes for at-risk travellers.
Experts will examine how universal design is transforming airport environments, covering innovations in layouts, wayfinding, digital tools, and boarding systems. Emphasis will be placed on integrating accessibility
early in planning, including standards, procurement, and project governance. It underscores that accessibility must be embedded by design, as a core element of modern, inclusive aviation.

Moderator: Kerianne Wilson, Director, Customer Accessibility, Air Canada

• Dr. Hans-Gerhard Giesa, Senior Expert Human Factors, Cabin & Cargo, Airbus SE
• Sandra Alvarez, Director, Passenger Experience, Ottawa International Airport Authority, Canada
• Dr. William Harkness, Accessibility Leader, Boeing Company
• Dr. Sahar Emam Ahmed, General Manager, Public Relations & Accessibility, Egypt Air
Josh Vander Vies, Director, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, Vancouver Airport Authority, Canada