What the World Cup Taught U.S. Airports About Hosting International Visitors
This summer's tournament brought a wave of first-time visitors through U.S. terminals. The lessons apply well beyond soccer season.
A different kind of crowd
The 2026 World Cup, hosted across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, brought an unusual volume of first-time visitors through American airports — many landing in a country, and sometimes a language, they'd never navigated before.
Where it got hard
For a visitor who doesn't know that customs at a U.S. airport can mean a long walk between the gate and the exit, or that a connecting flight might depart from an entirely different terminal, the instructions on a boarding pass don't cover the parts that actually go wrong.
The gap technology doesn't close
Biometric processing and clearer signage help everyone move faster through the parts of the airport that are the same for every traveler. They don't help a first-time visitor find the right exit, the right car, or the right way to their hotel.
It's not just a World Cup problem
Every international arrival is a first-time visitor to that specific airport, whether it's a tourist's first trip or an executive's fiftieth flight to a city whose terminal they've never actually walked through. A greeter closes that gap on any given Tuesday, not just during a global tournament.