Airport Moving Walkways Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

Global Airport Moving Walkways Market Trends and Insights

Rapid recovery of air passenger volumes post-COVID

International passenger throughput surpassed pre-pandemic peaks in early-2025 as global enplanements hit 21.49 million in January, 4.6% above prior-year levels. Robust traffic growth pushes terminals to raise pedestrian-handling capacity, driving procurement of moving walkways that can manage sustained peak flows. Airlines returned to collective profitability in late 2023, restoring confidence in long-range capital projects at hub airports. Asia-Pacific delivers the most pronounced uplift because new facilities coincide with vigorous traffic gains. Therefore, the airport moving walkways market benefits from volume expansion and operators’ urgency to limit gate delay risk during demand surges.

Surge in greenfield airport projects in Asia and Africa

Governments across India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Kenya prioritize aviation capacity as an economic catalyst. India’s Noida International Airport alone entails an INR 10,056 crore (USD 1.2 billion) outlay and embeds pallet-type walkways in its baseline terminal design. Greenfield settings enable planners to integrate wide-span acceleration lanes and IoT cabling without retrofit hurdles. Procurement scales also attract tier-one OEMs that supply turnkey People-Flow suites, reinforcing regional supplier relationships and sparking follow-on contracts in secondary cities. Africa trails in absolute numbers yet mirrors the model as states view aviation connectivity as a tourism and trade accelerator.

Mandates for inclusive mobility and ADA-style regulations

Airports receiving US federal funds must now comply with FAA Circular 150/5360-14A, ensuring accessible routes and service-animal relief areas.^{[3]Source: Federal Aviation Administration, “AC 150/5360-14A,” faa.gov} Comparable rules spread across Europe and Asia, where regulators embed universal-design norms into concession agreements. Moving walkways with wider pallets, low-incline zones, and slow-start controls are favored to meet wheelchair and elder-traveler needs. The compliance cost is sizable, yet operators recognize reputational and commercial benefits tied to barrier-free travel. Consequently, accessibility rules transform walkways from optional amenities into core passenger-handling infrastructure.

Energy-efficient, IoT-enabled drive systems adoption

Electricity costs and carbon pledges push airports toward high-efficiency motors, intermittent drives, and LED lighting retrofits that cut walkway energy use by up to 35%. Sensors stream vibration and load data to cloud dashboards, shifting maintenance crews from reactive repairs to predictive interventions. London Heathrow’s analytics platform illustrates how dynamic speed modulation trims idle energy draw while sustaining throughput. These savings bolster business cases for modernization even where capital budgets remain tight.

High capex and lifecycle costs versus escalators

Acceleration-capable walkways can double procurement costs relative to fixed-speed escalators and demand extended pit construction plus heavier electrical runs. Beyond the purchase price, specialized maintenance talent and OEM-specific spare parts inflate the total cost of ownership. Funding pressures persist; the US GAO notes airport development needs that could top USD 32.5 billion, stretching operator balance sheets. Emerging-market authorities often opt for escalators or shuttle buses when budgets tighten, tempering walkway deployment prospects.

Physical space trade-offs with commercial leasable area

A 100-meter pallet system can displace up to 300 m² of potential retail footprint, challenging revenue managers who target high-yield concession density. Urban terminals like San Francisco International must juggle passenger comfort against finite land plots. While analytics show walkways can boost retail spend by guiding flows, the upfront forfeiture of leasable space remains a contentious planning variable until clear ROI metrics are established.

Segment Analysis

By Type: Pallet Systems Sustain Leadership

Pallet formats captured a 59.70% slice of the airport moving walkways market in 2024, thanks to rugged decking that tolerates heavy baggage carts and meets strict accessibility slopes. Belt variants hold the remainder, yet face durability questions in 24/7 hub operations. Pallet units are on course for a 5.47% CAGR through 2030 as airports prioritize lifecycle resilience and energy-efficient modular drives. Several operators link pallet adoption to IoT retrofit ease, as sensors can be embedded between steel plates without compromising ride comfort.

Lifecycle metrics tip further in favor of pallet technology. Field studies show mean-time-between-service intervals rising once vibration analytics flag issues pre-emptively. These maintenance gains and broader warranties reinforce pallet supremacy even though belt platforms advertise marginally lower purchase prices. Consequently, pallet systems will likely widen their presence across new greenfield projects, anchoring the broader airport moving walkways market.

By Inclination Angle: Horizontal Walkways Dominate Footprints

Horizontal installations commanded a 77.10% share of the airport moving walkways market in 2024. The configuration aligns with universal design principles and eases luggage handling on standard concourse levels. Inclined walkways fulfill niche needs in multi-level hubs and metro-terminal interchanges but confront tighter safety-code thresholds. Projections signal a 5.32% CAGR for inclined units as space-constrained redevelopments, especially in Europe, embrace vertical conveyance to preserve retail frontage.

Passenger surveys rank horizontal decks higher on comfort and perceived safety, encouraging planners to extend walkways across pier spines rather than adopt mezzanine switches. Yet rising land values inside terminals push designers to stack functions vertically, creating opportunity pockets for inclined solutions. OEMs respond by standardizing anti-rollback brakes and regenerative drives to satisfy code committees without eroding operating margins.

By Speed: Constant-Speed Platforms Keep Majority hold

Constant-speed systems safeguarded a 91.45% share in 2024, reflecting decades of operational familiarity and broad technician skill bases. However, acceleration-capable designs are moving from pilot status toward mainstream tenders at a 6.74% CAGR. Amsterdam Schiphol’s trials confirm reductions in connection-time buffers that airlines translate to tighter scheduling and improved asset utilization.

Regulators currently study human-factor data to refine permissible acceleration-lane slopes and speed ceilings. As consensus coalesces, procurement specifications increasingly feature optional high-speed packages. Supply-chain maturation will cut component premiums, suggesting that constant-speed dominance may erode modestly over the forecast period, albeit remaining the bedrock of the airport moving walkways market.

By Business Type: New Installation and Modernization Drive Volume

New build and comprehensive retrofit programs captured 65.45% of 2024 revenues. Capital projects such as Chicago O’Hare’s Terminal 3 upgrade deploy full-suite moving walkways alongside architectural refreshes, making modernization a bundled procurement item. Maintenance-only contracts hold 34.55% yet grow steadily as long-life assets age beyond 20 years.

OEM strategy pivots strengthen this trend. KONE positions modernization services as a margin engine, targeting EBIT uplift to 13-14% by 2027. The dual-segment pattern ensures balanced revenue streams for suppliers and stable service-level agreements for airports that cannot afford unscheduled outages.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Application: Large Hubs Lead, Smaller Fields Accelerate

Large airports generated 51.90% of 2024 spending on moving walkways, led by multibillion-dollar expansions at Dallas–Fort Worth, Istanbul, and Beijing. Such gateways require extended pier connectors and underground people-mover spines, creating scale benefits for multi-unit orders. Yet small-airport uptake logs the briskest 6.57% CAGR as regional governments view passenger experience parity with metropolis hubs as an economic differentiator.

Technology democratization underlies this diffusion. Standardized 100-meter modules with plug-and-play IoT boards lower commissioning hurdles for secondary airports. Financing mechanisms, including public-private partnerships, further dilute upfront outlays. As a result, the airport moving walkways market is set to broaden its base beyond flagship mega hub projects.

Geography Analysis

Asia-Pacific holds 37.89% of global revenue thanks to an unmatched slate of greenfield buildouts and traffic growth that ICAO expects to triple against 2022 baselines by 2027. India’s Noida International Airport exemplifies the scale with a first-phase 12 million-passenger capacity and embedded pallet networks. China adds multi-runway hubs under its 14th Five-Year Plan, while Indonesia and Vietnam commission regional fields to handle tourist inflows. The expected 5.52% CAGR through 2030 cements the region as the primary engine for the airport moving walkways market.

North America ranks second, propelled by the rehabilitation of 1960s-era terminals and federally backed accessibility mandates. Projects such as DFW’s Terminal F build and Tampa International’s shuttle-guideway overhaul elevate specification demand for high-durability pallet systems. US airports also pioneer sensor-rich platforms that tie into broader smart-building ecosystems, improving situational awareness for operations centres.

Europe maintains a mature yet dynamic market profile driven by energy-efficiency retrofits and rising low-cost-carrier penetration that boosts passenger churn. KONE’s Grand Paris Express contract, embedding 131 heavy-duty autowalks, validates the supplier's ability to leverage metro wins into airport opportunities. Middle East and Africa trail on absolute spend but register strong project pipelines tied to hub-airport visions in Riyadh, Doha, and Addis Ababa. Limited domestic manufacturing base there reinforces OEM export revenues and aftermarket service footholds.