More than 120 senior airline leaders from over 50 airlines will gather in Reykjavík on 2–3 September for Grounded 2026, the aviation industry's only airline-exclusive summit dedicated to passenger disruption management. Against a backdrop of geopolitical instability, severe weather, infrastructure constraints and rapidly changing passenger expectations, the summit will explore how airlines can build more resilient, intelligent and passenger-centric disruption strategies. With no exhibitors or sales pitches, Grounded provides a confidential forum for airline leaders to collaborate on defining the future of IROPs.
REYKJAVÍK, Iceland, July 13, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Passenger disruption has always been part of aviation. What has changed is everything around it.
Over the past year, airlines have been forced to navigate a convergence of pressures unlike any seen in recent memory: geopolitical conflict and airspace closures, fuel volatility, increasingly severe weather, air traffic control constraints, strained infrastructure, changing regulation, and the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence. At the same time, passenger expectations are fundamentally shifting. Travellers no longer judge airlines solely on whether disruption occurs—but on how intelligently, transparently and empathetically it is handled.
Collectively, airlines now spend an estimated 8% of industry revenue responding to disruption. Increasingly, the question is no longer how to recover operations, but how to build organisations capable of recovering trust.
It is against this backdrop that more than 120 senior airline leaders representing over 50 airlines will gather in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 2–3 September for Grounded 2026.
Now in its third year, Grounded has become the aviation industry's leading forum dedicated exclusively to passenger disruption management. This year's theme—The Next Chapter: Defining the Future of Passenger Disruption Management—recognises that the conversation has moved beyond reacting to today's operational challenges and towards designing how disruption will be managed over the next decade.
Unlike traditional aviation conferences, Grounded is deliberately different.
There are no exhibitors. No sales pitches. No sponsored presentations.
Attendance is free and exclusive to airline leaders responsible for operations, customer experience, digital transformation and disruption strategy. The objective is simple: create an environment where competitors can speak candidly about what actually happens when operations fail. "I have never seen an event like Grounded, where airline leaders are willing to discuss sensitive issues, and not posture and compete with each other but cooperate for the greater good," said Scott Allard, Former CIO, Allegiant.
Throughout the summit, airline executives will benchmark approaches, share real-world case studies, debate the impact of AI, explore new operating models and examine how technology, governance and organisational change will shape the future of IROPs. Every workshop and discussion will be captured and consolidated into a comprehensive report delivered exclusively to participating airlines.
"The challenges facing airlines today are bigger than any one carrier can solve alone," said Sveinn Akerlie, CEO of AviLabs and Co-creator of Grounded. "Considering the external pressures and the technological advances, there has never been a more important time to bring together the people responsible for disruption to ask a simple question: how do we do IROPs better? That's what The Next Chapter is about."
The willingness of airlines to participate is itself notable.
Despite one of the industry's most operationally demanding years, attendance at Grounded continues to grow—a reflection of how passenger disruption has evolved from an operational issue into a board-level strategic priority. Increasingly, airlines recognise that resilience is no longer defined solely by operational recovery, but by the speed, quality and consistency of the passenger experience throughout disruption.
"Grounded brought together an unparalleled depth of airline expertise, sparking outcomes that could shape industry standards for years to come," said Lee Mitchell, Director of Customer Relations & Rapid Rewards, Southwest Airlines.
"Grounded has created lasting value by bringing together airline leaders responsible for IROPs to share experiences and insights, and build a stronger collaboration going forward," said Alexia Leong, Head of Customer Happiness and Transformation, AirAsia.
As the aviation industry enters a new era of complexity, Grounded 2026 is less about discussing disruption than defining what comes next.
Grounded 2026
The Next Chapter
Defining the Future of Passenger Disruption Management
2–3 September 2026
Harpa Conference Centre, Reykjavík, Iceland
More information: www.grounded.aero
Media Contact
Matthew Walker, Plan3 [Part of AviLabs], 353 876798661, [email protected], grounded.aero
SOURCE Grounded.aero
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