Airports are among the packed places, and with the increasing globalization, airport demand is also growing. An airport terminal is a portion of airports that are not seen as architectural wonders.
An airport consists of two main components one is the terminal, and the other is runways. The airport terminal is where passengers can shift their luggage, buy tickets, and undergo security. The number of terminals in an airport depends upon the airport’s size.
As airports are among the most visited places, the terminals should be attractive so that no one in it feels tired while waiting for the flights.
The terminal design, layout, facilities, and other things make it more appealing. Let’s discuss further in detail what makes an airport terminal attractive.
What Is The Terminal In The Airport?
An airport terminal is a building in the airport which is specifically designed for the passengers where they shift between floor transportation and amenities, which lets them board and get off the airplane. Parts of an airport terminal give the overall attraction to the terminal building.
What Makes An Airport Terminal Attractive?
Certain factors make the airport terminals alluring and let the passenger get outclass experiences. Even during flight delays, people don’t get bored at those airports, with many things for the passengers to keep them entertained and busy.
Following are the 13 essential elements for making the airport terminal charming and engaging.
1. Terminal Design
The terminal’s design is the first thing grabs the passenger’s attention when they enter the airport. Although the airports are just for traveling purposes, the governments still like to avoid making the airports spiritless. The terminal design concept varies widely.
For this reason, airports around the world have differently designed terminals. Such as, Madrid Barajas Terminal 4, which won the best architecture award in 2006 as well, is not intended in box style; instead, it is uniquely designed in such a way that it appears as a bird in flight.
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The airport terminal has various designs, such as an open apron with the transporter, linear, satellite (star-shaped, rectangular, or circular), and pier.
But now modern designs such as egg shapes, ribs shaped, and flying bird-like designs of air terminals are also seen, which keeps them in the list of most attractive airport terminals.
Some of the terminals were designed in the past era with simple airport layouts, but still, they are eye-catching; therefore, the design of the terminal is considered one of the main factors to make the airport terminal charming.
2. Flexible Space
In most airports, many flights are scheduled daily, resulting in oppressive crowds at the airport. But there are many such airports as well that have terminals that have large spaces for passengers and can retain thousands of passengers at a time.
Large terminals are more attractive to people than small and compact ones because everyone gets a place to sit and wait for the flights and doesn’t face any inconvenience while moving from the terminal toward the aircraft. Thus, no congestion at all.
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Also, a flexible, comfortable, and highly functional space and beautiful spaces in the airport’s terminal building enhance the airport’s working environment.
Airport terminal space requirements depend upon the overall size of the airport and the location of the airport in the city.
The airport terminal configuration requires vast space to prevent the airport from overcrowding.
3. Coziness
After a long journey, everyone wants to rest in a calm place for a while. Therefore at most airports, special attention is given to the comfort of passengers. Thus airport terminals that offer this facility to travelers make the terminal more charming and attractive to everyone.
Leif Eriksson Air Terminal in Iceland is one such airport that offers more coziness that appears perfect because it is made of local material. It seems like a greeting to Iceland.
Who will not want a comfortable, warm and pleasant airport terminal building? Exactly everyone wants such pleasing, charming, and welcoming surroundings in the airport terminals.
Therefore, airports that grab more attention due to this factor, if they lose their coziness, they will not be enticing anymore.
What gives cozy feelings to an airport terminal? It is actually the waiting area that does that. When gate waiting areas are enjoyable, calming, and efficient, it enhances the traveler’s satisfaction. As a result, the terminal appears more beneficial to people.
4. Efficiency
● Functional Efficiency
Airport passenger terminal buildings (PTB) that are highly efficient are more likely to appear attractive to everyone as compared to those that fail to provide functional efficiency.
Not only the terminals make the airport efficient, the other areas, such as the airside and the landside also make it charming.
Enhanced efficiency by triumphant simulations during baggage claims, check-ins, changes in arrivals, security searches, and lighting makes the processes more efficient and automated. This way, the passengers get a smoother experience at the airport terminals.
● Energy Efficiency
Terminal buildings that are energy efficient such as the terminals that control the carbon emission and offer required energy sources such as electricity 24 hours without any disconnection and without causing load in the local electricity grid station.
In this way, the city residents don’t suffer from a short electricity supply, and the airport terminal seems more glorious to them.
An airport terminal that doesn’t let any processing delay and every task and step occurs on time saves the traveler’s time; thus, it is considered an efficient airport.
5. The Way A Terminal Is Organized
Another element that makes airport terminals attractive is how well it is organized. The airport terminal of the Seoul Incheon Airport in South Korea is the best airport that receives awards for being well organized.
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The airport reflects the culture of a particular area, such as Seoul Incheon is also a way to make the terminal well organized. Most of the time, the airside areas of airports are kept more organized compared to the terminal, but this is only the case at some airports.
Think of an airport terminal where nothing is organized, and would you ever prefer to fly or land at such an airport in your life? Of course, never. Therefore, the organization of airport terminals has also significantly impacted people’s preference.
6. Cleaning And Maintenance
As we all know, a clean place keeps us safe from diseases and enhances the place’s appearance. Neat and well-maintained airport terminals will give you an eye-catching sight.
Airport terminals that are cleaned, disinfected, and properly maintained on a daily basis make it possible for passengers to wait for their flights, even if it takes hours. It will not bring anger to the travelers because they are at a place providing them with calmness and safety.
Although cleaning airport terminals is quite a difficult task for airport management because it stays busy all the time. The number and time of flights are one after another, but a cleaner airport terminal building will appear more attractive.
7. Attention-Grabbing Things And Places In The PTB
Undoubtedly, the airport is a place with the primary purpose of moving from one country or city to another. But still, the airport management is trying their best to enhance the traveler’s experience outstandingly.
For this purpose, many airport terminals have various astonishing corners, areas, and things that make the terminal more alluring.
For example, Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 3 is like an amusement park. There is an 18-foot waterfall, a changi butterfly garden, an indoor playground, TV lounges, a four-story spiral slide commonly named “Slide@T3,” and a movie theater. All these things make the airport more attractive for every individual because it provides the best experience to everyone.
Another example is the Seoul Incheon Airport terminal in South Korea which is the most attractive place from the inside.
Here you will enjoy Korean culture as there are dress-up portions where you can take pictures in Korean clothes, Korean craft workshops, places to take cozy naps, museums, and free internet cafes.
Thus, there are many airports in the world where the terminals have plenty of things to keep your attention on new things and places and provide you with entertaining and enjoyable surroundings.
8. Airport Terminal Gates
The airport terminal gate puts the first impression on the passengers of the overall terminal view. Therefore, the top class airports also have terminal gates that give a luxurious look. As a result, a great image of the terminal building is created in the traveler’s mind.
Therefore, the terminal gates of modern airports are elegant, and thus, the purpose of making the airport terminal attractive is achieved easily. Airport terminals have more than one gate; each is titled with a specific digit, alphabet, or both.
9. Secured Free Internet Facility
As a famous saying goes, The Internet is becoming the town square for tomorrow’s global village, clarifying that the internet is the most necessary element in today’s technology era. Everyone has internet requirements and needs, whether a businessman, a trader or a student.
The airports that offer free internet to the passengers in the terminal are more attractive because if a place fulfills people’s everyday needs, such a place is likely perfect and ideal for them.
[SOURCE: iStock (https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1438025406/photo/thanks-to-technology-it-can-be-used-anywhere-anytime.jpg?s=612×612&w=0&k=20&c=S6lLfVEZ0EkvN7jY1NmAN2JqU-SKsylO099q-bhKk1o= )]
Alt text: What Makes An Airport Terminal Attractive and pleasant?
Free internet availability at airport terminal buildings also makes the airport attractive because it enables passengers to receive information and navigate nearby areas.
Some airports offer free wifi at the PTB, but the strength of the wifi is very weak, or you must watch the ads before using an app, or else you can buy premium internet. All these conditions likely make the airport not a less active place for travelers.
10. Terminal Building Appearance
The appearance of an airport is how it looks. Is it well furnished and well constructed? How are the gates designed for entering the terminal airport interior, and in which color?
Also, the presence or absence of required furniture in the terminal shows the appearance of the terminal building.
[SOURCE: iStock (https://media.istockphoto.com/id/177290829/photo/washington-dulles-international-airport.jpg?s=612×612&w=0&k=20&c=3iKd_c1GtN-49LJHmbYIO8OXOp-BEL1zWU_TzY9IsPc= )]
Alt text: What Makes An Airport Terminal Attractive easily?
When the terminal is decorated well, and the building is painted accurately, it appears attractive to everyone’s eyes. Thus, the more the terminal appearance is enhanced, the more individuals will like to look at it.
11. Best Lighting System
Another element that makes the airport terminal attractive is the lighting system. If the terminal building is dull and has inaccurate lights throughout the building, it will only lower your mood and will not have a good impact on you.
On the other hand, if the terminal building is designed perfectly with proper lighting and the terminal appears bright, it will positively impact everyone and enhance the mood.
Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 3 has an automatic light modulation system that gives the terminal a supernatural, even, and soothing glow.
Marrakech Menara Airport Terminal 1 building glows with the colored lights dancing at night that also cast rays on the desert plantings along the entrance expressway.
12. Various Alluring Facilities
As we are talking about what makes an airport terminal attractive, one more thing that does that is a few facilities such as buying food items. The facility is close, so anyone who wants to eat anything doesn’t need to move miles away.
Alt text: What Makes An Airport Terminal Attractive and charming?
An airport terminal that is well-ventilated has a good air flow. An airy terminal building for passengers in the airport keeps the travelers fresh. As a result, they get a comfortable stay at the airport.
The better services and benefits provided to the passengers, the more the airport terminal will appear attractive. Therefore, the airports are now bringing more facilities in all areas to stand out amongst the best.
13. Particular Era Glamour
Sometimes you visit the airport, and its terminal appears ordinary to you. Do you know the reason behind this? It is because most terminal buildings have no glamor at all.
Most of the old airport terminals still appear attractive because of the vintage outlook speaking of that era.
Below are two examples of airport terminals that perfectly represent the particular era’s glamor.
- JFK Terminal 5 in New York is a great icon of the mid-20th century jet age.
- Marrakech Menara Airport Terminal 1 in Morocco is a 21st-century morocco palace style.
When an airport lets you go into the past through its beautiful attention-grabbing scenes shown through design, culture, or the facilities in the airport terminal, it indeed improves the attraction of visitors to the passenger terminal building (PTB).
3 Main Advantages Of Attractive Airport Terminals:
The airport terminals, when designed well, are not only attractive, but they have a number of benefits as well. Some of the most common uses are discussed below.
1. Economic
By facilitating the passengers, the cities in which the airports are located also get economic benefits. More people are employed by providing more facilities, improved trade, and more passenger attractions are grabbed to enhance the overall economy.
2. Environmental
Airport terminal also provides environmental advantages. Also, the friendly staff at the airport improves the environment of terminals. With the increasing ways of conserving energy in the airport’s terminal, the environment is saved from many harmful effects.
3. Social
Airport terminals give social benefits as well. By providing a lifeline for communities and providing connectivity to the passengers, the social experience improves throughout the airport.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is important in designing airport terminals?
The most crucial thing in designing the airport terminal building is reducing the time required to service an airplane when it is passing an airport.
2. How do you describe an airport terminal?
An airport terminal is a building inside the airport where the passengers usually wait for their flights, buy tickets, pass through security and shift their luggage.
3. Why is the airport terminal important?
The airport’s terminal is vital because they play a significant role in enhancing the balanced movement of passengers and their baggage to improve the airline operator’s requirements.
4. What are the three main components of an airport?
The components of an airport are divided into three categories: terminal building, landside facilities, and airside facilities.
Wrap Up:
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, that’s true! But there are certain factors that still enhance the airport terminal building and make it more charming. Most of the airports appear unpleasant to the passengers, and this is because there are no attractions at all for travelers.
Airport engineering services provides the services of making the airport terminals attractive in all aspects internationally. Many of their services enhance the travelers experience in the airports.
When the airport terminal building requirements are looked after and ensured adequately, the airport appears attractive. Also, the design, appearance, facilities at the airport terminal, and various captivating sites in the terminal building make them alluring.
In this article, we explained what makes an airport terminal attractive. The more beautiful the passenger terminal building, the more positive the passengers’ response will be
