I feel like we must have read different articles. Here's what the OP had to say about colour printing: "Print limitations (airports seem to have crazy basic print machines, colour may be an ideal but not a realistic ask)"
He certainly seems aware that this might be an issue. Indeed, when you look at the designs, you see that the information generated at pass issue time is either black or one other colour. Thermal printers are already capable of this, as I suspect the OP is aware. So no, the redesign does not require full bleed CMYK printing.
"This is a perfect example of why business people tend to ignore designers and regard them as jumped-up decorators."
He certainly seems aware that this might be an issue. Indeed, when you look at the designs, you see that the information generated at pass issue time is either black or one other colour. Thermal printers are already capable of this, as I suspect the OP is aware. So no, the redesign does not require full bleed CMYK printing.
"This is a perfect example of why business people tend to ignore designers and regard them as jumped-up decorators."
Uh huh...