The World Aviation Festival 2026 opened in Lisbon with airlines, airports and technology companies presenting practical applications of artificial intelligence and automation across aircraft turnarounds, ground handling, baggage and customer service. Assaia reported that turnarounds in North America and Europe averaged 11.1 minutes behind schedule in the first quarter, while AI-monitored operations ran 36% closer to schedule and could help unlock up to $44 billion in annual airline savings, according to the company.
The three-day event, running from 13 to 15 October at Feira Internacional de Lisboa, has more than 4,500 attendees and 600 speakers. Turkish Airlines presented Turnaround AI, which uses existing apron cameras to identify and time more than 30 ground-operation events. The airline reported accuracy above 92% for critical events under supported conditions and is targeting a fleet of 1,000 aircraft by 2036.
Raven’s assessment of the digital experience offered by 101 airlines found that AI assistants named an airline in 78% of relevant answers but directed users to its website in only 27%. Finnair ranked first, while Raven estimated the resulting revenue gap at about $3 billion a year.
Alaska Airlines featured in announcements involving Meili’s car-rental booking service and BAGTAG’s Pulse electronic bag tag, which supports remote flight-information updates and passenger tracking through Apple Find My and Google Find Hub. Pegasus Airlines invested in Zingly.ai for agentic voice AI, while OneReg partnered with Bristol Airport on safety management during a £400 million upgrade. TAP Air Portugal outlined expanded baggage tracking, post-booking visa information and self-service disruption handling.