Welcome to our January/February issue. There are a lot of great projects to read about, supported with amazing visuals. One that pops to mind is the Oculus at IAH (on the cover and Page 68). It’s quite a sight to behold!

Having said that, we have another article that does not offer much in the way of a visual presence. It’s a true behind-the-scenes wonder that involved a long lead time before the airport was ready to share it with our readers. This story (on Page 40) chronicles the cyberattack at SEA in August 2024.

Imagine if your airport had its website, e-mail, FIDS, BIDS, Wi-Fi and other crucial systems out for the count in the busy summer season! Also imagine that communications with passengers regarding flights that were still operating was limited to handwritten signs, face-to-face conversations and social media. And, that all off-line communications would take months to fully rebuild! It sounds more like the plot of a thriller movie than an article in a business-to-business publication. But painfully, it was the reality SEA experienced.

Thankfully, the airport was able to bring all of its systems back online. But the combination of time, inconvenience and money required to do so was painful.

There were a lot of lessons learned from this incident, which is something we tell our writers to search for when researching their stories. It’s easy for airports to only talk about their successes. We’re grateful that SEA decided to collaborate with us to produce this story together. Airport management and staff went through a lot during and after the cyberattack. We hope that you will learn from and appreciate their candor.

And don’t miss our Industry Insider column by Mario Rodriguez at IND. (Page 82) Who would have thought that an airport is the perfect place to host a naturalization ceremony? It’s a must-read. Check it out!

Cheers,