Unlocking the Passenger Experience through Integrated Airport Design

Airport terminals are large, complex and need to be highly efficient and functional. How can the passenger experience be prioritised within this context?

Andrew Thomas / Grimshaw

In designing for the micro we must zoom out to the macro, and in aviation this means considering airports as a city quarter, a place that sees, day-by-day, the confluence of travel, logistics, hospitality, work, leisure and security. As in any city, this destination has an underlying regularity, with the injection of people creating different dynamics hour by hour.

The macro is the masterplan, and whether new or expanded, taking a holistic view of airport design is critical. It allows for process innovation to be addressed alongside design innovation, testing impacts in parallel across all site operations and experiences. It also throws up synergies otherwise undetected to connect or unlock opportunities across the whole airport, in function and use.

At Noida International Airport, designed by Grimshaw, Haptic and Nordic Office of Architecture, this approach drew the commercial and sustainable function together and created ‘moments’ of experience across the whole airport with nature-enhanced courtyards, enabling the passive design to function, alongside street markets, enlivening the spaces with a local commercial context. For Heathrow Airport expansion, Grimshaw, as masterplanners pushed on the expectation of what an airport could and should be even further — looking at the physical boundaries of the airport and working with local businesses and communities to realise benefits beyond the airport infrastructure.

For the sustainable travel conscious traveller what can an airport prioritise to meet its own targets as well as match passenger expectations?

Dimitiris Argyros / Haptic

Airports play a critical role in the decarbonisation of the aviation industry. With a large footprint and long lifespan their carbon footprint can be overwhelming, but a holistic approach — setting stretch targets, considering resource efficiency, circularity and climate resilience, and enhancing the environment and biodiversity, can inherently have a positive impact on the the health and wellbeing of users and the wider community. This is not about prioritisation but about innovation and integration. 

At Noida International Airport our design is delivering one of India’s first operational net zero airports and the country’s greenest: 40% of the operational savings are through passive measures such as an adaptable thermal comfort range, adopting mixed-mode ventilation and utilising a thermal envelope to reduce solar gains whilst maximising daylight. A regenerative, biophilic approach will also transform the experiences across the airport. Influenced by the rich ecology and landscape of the region, the planting of native trees is at the heart of the domestic airside zone within an outdoor courtyard, reminiscent of the haveli courtyards, will provide spaces for passengers to step outside and relax before proceeding to the gates.

With 60% of air travel, according to data, identified as leisure what can terminals do to connect the whole travel ‘holiday’ experience?

Dimitris Karampatakis / K-Studio

The journey bookends every travel and holiday experience, an integral part of the expectation of what’s to come or the memories of time passed. Within this, the airport and its terminal buildings have an obvious role to play but often one that is overlooked: the opportunity to integrate the unique context and cultural heritage of the destination — city and region — into their design and use. Local art, architecture and traditions, can sit alongside locally tuned hospitality offers and experiences so travellers are afforded a glimpse of the destination to come or relive experiences. As with the holiday, however, the experience must be genuine, and a conscious, and a knowledgeable deep dive into history and tradition as well as materials and environment will realise a sense of place that resonates with every traveller, and fosters curiosity.

At odds with this approach is the functionality and often vastness of the terminal building, the seemingly impossible task of enabling and realising individual experiences with the transient, secure and constant flow passengers. Working with Aegean Airlines and the design of their airport lounges in Athens, we realised that these experiences resonate more when treated as ‘pockets’, as moments of connection. At these moments the destination comes to life through a combination of form and function, and material and technology working with the dynamic flow of passengers: transforming the airport into a joyful, memorable experience.

The passenger experience must be safe, secure, and special what is technology’s role in this?

Diane Burt / Arup

Today, with an increase in air travel expected, the safety and security of the airport terminal is paramount and is part and parcel of making the passenger journey and route seamless. Automation plays a key role in that journey, with each system from check-in to security and boarding, focused on efficiency. Safety, however, also happens outside the obvious confines: at transport connections, in the retail spaces and in places of the terminal building that offer respite and comfort in transit. It’s here that collaboration and coordination of experts, and engagement with and knowledge of the operations of any airport, can identify opportunities to introduce technologies that alleviate the potential stress of the travel. This could be through touchpoints incorporated into the wayfinding strategy, apps that connect the passenger and familiarise them with the terminal in advance, or innovation that addresses the diversity of user in the airport through sound and sight. Whatever the mode, airport technology is constantly changing and leveraging it for a more personalised but trusted and safe experience is key.

Airports are by their very nature expansive and can be overwhelming — how can the passenger experience feel intuitive no matter the user?

Peter Donner / Triagonal

Creating the best passenger experience is not a guessing game, studying behaviour patterns, analysing flow and spaces, observing and surveying journeys is the knowledge bank that will enable the best technologies, information hierarchies, and graphic and industrial design to create that intuitive experience. But every airport terminal is different and from the start of any strategy finding the commonalities and idiosyncrasies of the airport will guide a coherent and consistence experience.  

Here knowledge meets context — finding natural flows in a terminal’s design, visual references in the architectural design to augment the journey — the conscious and unassumed detail. At Copenhagen we turned this detail and complexity into a comprehensive 3D map to help passengers, at certain touchpoints navigate quickly and efficiently. And at Athens International Airport a wayfinding strategy not only improved passenger flows through the airport but linked to the adjoining train station, driving an experience beyond the airport boundaries. Each time the result is, not only an intuitive passenger experience but an empowered one, where the environment works with, not against the journey needs.

Captured and captivated — passengers have to be in airport terminals how do we make them want to be in airport terminals?

Simon Scott / Leslie Jones Architecture

The enhancement of the passenger experience relies upon the connection with the passenger, be it through digital platforms, a physical connection with the diversity of the offer, or an emotional connection through the sense of place. The commercial offer of an airport terminal is no different. It isn’t an adjunct to the operational process, but a fully integrated holistic experience, and addressing the diverse passenger expectations, specific to the airport and its context, will deliver places that people dwell, enjoy and shop.

Today that experience doesn’t have to be retained in the transient moments of travel, the connection or waiting of flights or the speed of departure. Digital platforms and logistics of the terminal infrastructure mean the pre-purchasing consumables to collect on arrival at airports is possible. With this the journey is eased and transformed, opening up opportunities for a different commercial mix in the terminal and giving passengers an explorative experience before, during and after the terminal. With a diversity of choice and user, this personalisation of the passenger journey is an ambition for any airport capturing and captivating and connecting to the individual.