Navigating airports: a scoping review of physical access challenges and experiences for persons with disabilities

Airports present a uniquely complex environment for travelers with disabilities, where the promise of global mobility often collides with persistent physical, sensory, and procedural barriers. This scoping review synthesizes peer-reviewed and gray literature to examine the physical environment of airports and how it shapes access for persons with disabilities, including the interaction between spatial features and service-related components in real-world travel situations. Guided by Fougeyrollas's five-dimensional framework of access availability, accessibility, acceptability, affordability, and usability the review examines how each dimension shapes real-world travel experiences from curb to gate. The results suggest that, in the reviewed studies, accessibility often appears fragmented across the airport journey, with infrastructures that may be present but not always usable, available, or meaningfully integrated into the travel experience. Access often relies on assistance-based models, and important gaps remain in addressing diverse user needs, particularly for individuals with invisible disabilities. At the same time, the literature highlights promising practices and ongoing improvements, including digital wayfinding tools, dedicated assistance services, and growing attention to inclusive design principles. Overall, this review emphasizes that accessibility cannot be reduced to regulatory compliance or the mere presence of infrastructure. Rather, it must be understood as a dynamic and continuous process shaped by the interaction between environments and diverse human needs throughout the airport journey.