Award details, figures and quotes from the City of San Antonio's 7 October 2026 news release; award criteria from the Texas Governor's Committee award programs page. Checked 10 October 2026.
In brief
- San Antonio International Airport's Accessibility Focus Group won the 2026 Martha Arbuckle Award for involving 35 community representatives — 25 of them people with disabilities — in designing the future Terminal C.
- The ten-month process produced 160+ recommendations across physical design, customer service, technology and operations; some are already live in the Terminal A Expansion.
- The award recognises a replicable model: engage disabled passengers at the start of a project and keep them involved through design, construction and operations.
How 35 community voices shaped a future terminal
The group brought together 35 community representatives — including 25 individuals with disabilities, people with lived experience and medical-service professionals — to shape the passenger experience at the planned Terminal C. Over a ten-month process, participants identified barriers across the airport journey and developed more than 160 recommendations spanning physical design, customer service, technology and airport operations.
The effort was chaired by Miguel Castro, chair of the City of San Antonio's Disability Access Advisory Committee, who is a wheelchair user. He described contributing firsthand insight into the barriers travelers with disabilities face in airports, and said the process produced practical solutions while deepening his understanding of airport design. Tim O'Krongley, the airport's deputy aviation director, said the partnership changed how the airport thinks about the passenger experience and will have lasting effects on Terminal C and accessibility across the whole airport.
For travelers, the notable detail is who was in the room. Rather than consulting disabled passengers after designs were finished, the airport engaged them at the start of the project — 25 of the 35 participants were people with disabilities — and built a diverse community partnership that examined the complete customer experience, from curb to gate. The city says this approach is meant to be replicable by other airports, municipalities and organizations looking to do the same. The collaboration behind it is worth noting: the airport's work drew on the city's Disability Access Advisory Committee and Disability Access Office alongside airport staff, pairing community lived experience with operational know-how — the combination that produced recommendations concrete enough to build into an active terminal expansion.
What the 160-plus recommendations covered
The airport says the recommendations span four areas of the passenger journey. The group examined the full journey rather than isolated touchpoints, which is why the list reads like an end-to-end travel audit rather than a wish list:
- Physical design: barrier-free layouts and infrastructure planned for the future Terminal C. - Customer service: how staff assist and communicate with travelers with disabilities. - Technology: digital and in-terminal tools that improve the travel experience. - Airport operations: day-to-day processes that affect accessibility on the ground.
Some recommendations were implemented immediately in the Terminal A Expansion — which opened earlier this year — and in current airport operations, rather than waiting for Terminal C. That means passengers with disabilities are already benefiting from the group's work while the new terminal is still on the drawing board.
Why the award matters beyond San Antonio
The Martha Arbuckle Award is presented in memory of Martha Arbuckle, described as an Austin trailblazing disability advocate, and recognises bold, forward-thinking local initiatives driving meaningful change for the disability community. According to the Texas Governor's Committee, the award honours projects that demonstrate innovation, inclusion and impact and can serve as a model for other communities. Formally, it goes to an exemplary community project by a local committee within the Lex Frieden Employment Awards, a program the committee has run since 1979.
San Antonio's approach offers a template: engage people with disabilities at the beginning of a project, build a diverse community partnership, examine the complete customer experience, develop solutions alongside barriers, and keep the partnership going through design, construction and operations. The airport has already shared that approach at national and international conferences, aiming to influence how other airports design the air-travel experience for passengers with disabilities. For travelers choosing airports, state-level recognition like this is a practical signal that an airport is investing in barrier-free design with disabled passengers at the table. It also answers a question wheelchair travelers ask constantly — which airports actually design with us, not just for us. San Antonio's answer, backed by a state award, is unusually well documented. The 2026 Lex Frieden Employment Awards will be presented on 21 October in McKinney, Texas.
