Airport Terminal Design

Rafiur Rahman
Lecture outline

• Introduction to airport terminal design

• Configuration of terminal buildings
• Overall design of a passenger terminal
- Passenger building: specific facilities
- Terminal design principles
• Traditional vs modern design concept

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AIRPORT TERMINAL DESIGN

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 Introduction
Main functions of airport terminals
• To provide a convenient facility from ground transport to air
transport, and vice-versa.
• Airport terminal is a complex system
• It is comprised of number of interacting services and stakeholders.
• Need to handle 6-7% per annum growth.

Airports Passengers
Domestic Regional
Arriving Departing
airport airport
International
airport Transit

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 Introduction
Components of an Airport terminal
• Three primary components of an airport complex
- Landside, terminal building and airside facilities
• Passengers embark and disembark from the aircrafts.

Air side facilities Land side facilities

• Runway • Curb front pedestrian facilities

• Apron • Public transportation (including
• Taxiway Terminal
bus and rail)
Building
• Gate • Parking facilities
• Control tower • Entry exit roadways

Passenger movement Baggage handling

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 Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam

In 1920

In 1967
 Introduction
Development of Heathrow Airport

Heathrow (now)

1962
Heathrow in 1955

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TERMINAL CONFIGURATIONS

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 History of Airport Terminal
Unit Terminal
Unit Terminal Concept

Combined Unit Terminal

Multiple Unit Terminal

Terminal Configurations Terminal
configuration

Five basic types of configurations

Satellite (with or
Finger pier Linear
without pier),
Transporter

Midfield (linear
or X-shaped)

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Pier/Finger Pier Terminal
configuration

• Widely adopted, introduced in 1950s. Brisbane International Airport

• High aircraft capacity and simplicity in
design.
• maximize the number of A/C parking
spaces with fewer infrastructures.
• Preferable when the level of transfer traffic
is low.
New York/LaGuardia Airport
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 Finger pier (disadvantages) Terminal
configuration

• Long walking distances.

• Add constraints with the mobility of aircraft movement in the
apron

Techniques to tackle these issues

• Short finger piers
• Incorporating people movers

Washington Reagan

Osaka, Kansai Airport 12

Satellite Satellite layout Tampa
Terminal
configuration

• Extension of T-shaped finger piers.

• A single terminal to process passengers.
• Connected to this are numerous
concourses that lead to one or more
satellite structures.

Disadvantages
• Requires high quality
transportation system.
• High capital, maintenance
and operating cost

Terminal 1, Paris/de Gaulle

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Linear Terminal
configuration

• A linear building with relatively thin structure.

• This concept was introduced to reduce walking distances
associated with finger pier.
• Centralized passenger processing.

Dallas forth- Worth International Airport Terminal 2, Munich Airport

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Linear Terminal
configuration

• Can also be in curvilinear form.

• Architecturally attractive.

Disadvantages
• Longer walking distances for transfer
Linear configuration at Darwin International
passengers. Airport

• Primarily applicable for low-activity

• Requires duplication of terminal
facilities/amenities

Darwin International Airport

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Transporter Terminal
configuration

• Passengers are transported to and from the

building to the parked airplane.
• Specially designed buses carry passengers
between the terminal and the aircraft.
• Minimizes walking distances.
• Airplane taxiing time to and from the runway is
decreased

Disadvantages
• This is an expensive option
for airport operators.
• Inconvenient delays for short
haul passengers.

Washington/Dulles Airport
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Midfield concourse Terminal
configuration

• Independent passenger buildings.

• Typically between two parallel runways and separated from
the other passenger buildings by major taxiways.
• Two basic shapes: linear and x-shaped.

Pittsburgh Airport

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 Hybrid Configurations
O’Hare International Airport, Chicago
Melbourne International Airport, Australia
Terminal
configuration
• Combination of different
configuration types.
• Meet variety of existing needs
• Adapt easily to future needs
• Maximize quality of service
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Importance of selection Terminal
configuration

• Selection of configuration is a vital issue.

• Design requirements are normally defined in terms of :Passenger numbers

Variety of traffic Number of aircrafts

Need of several Major Operational problems
stakeholders
Financial loss
Commercial
services

• The building eventually closed in 2001

when American Airlines bought TWA
• Radical and compact plan
• High cost of restoration
• Limited options for alteration
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 Importance of selection Terminal
configuration

• And also causes operational difficulties for

example, Kansas City Airport (Odoni 2003)

• Particularly not suitable for transfer

passengers.
• Major airline moved to St. Louis after
economic deregulation. Kansas City Airport
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Importance of selection Terminal
configuration

• Midfield concourse
• Passenger building widely separated
• Massive economical losses
• Cost of underground ‘people mover’ is
high.

Stansted Airport, UK

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Evaluation of Configuration Terminal
configuration

• Which configuration is the best?

• There is no single solution, there are many factors involved.

• Depends on the specific circumstances, the site, the types of traffic
and the needs of several stakeholders.
• Key considerations to be considered

Walking distances

Traffic pattern Flexibility

Priorities of
Aircraft taxiing around stakeholders
the buildings

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AIRPORT TERMINAL DESIGN
PRINCIPLES

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 Terminal design

Design of Passenger building

Design standards for any particular part of a passenger building are not
universal.
• Efficient design requires careful consideration of the followings:

Multifunctional and common used facilities

Sharing of
facilities
- Reduces overall design load
Provides flexibility

Performance Economic objectives

objectives
Quality of service or economic efficiency?

Management Control traffic flow

of operations
Shifting loads among various functions
 Terminal design

Queues
• Rule of thumb: 0.6 m per person
Straight queue or snake queue?

• Snake queue: more efficient

• Wise use of space

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 Terminal design

Check-in facilities
• Airport Check-in are service counters found at commercial airports
handling commercial air travel.

Self check-in kiosks

Typical check-in counters

Standards are changing.

• Electronic ticketing and self check-in
reduces processing time.

Halifax Stanfield International Airport 26

 Terminal design

Security and border checkpoints

• The most important aspect of airport operations.
• Dramatic changes after 9/11.
• Led to many changes in design and operation of terminals.

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 Terminal design

Baggage handling system

A type of conveyor system installed in airports that
transports checked luggage

Heathrow hassle, Terminal 5

• Passengers were unable to check-in baggage and 68 flights had to be
cancelled.
• Inadequate car parking space.
• Shortage of BAA security staff.
• Inadequate training.

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https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=swjVnmJ8v3Q
 Terminal design

Concession space
Financial success = The amount of time people spend

• Location, is the key factor. Example,

San Francisco/International
• Visibility, example, Narita Airport
terminal 2,

• In a comfortable place, for example after

security.

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 Terminal design

Passenger Terminal Design principles

A more or less standard process has evolved over the years for
designing passenger terminals at airports. It consists of four steps:

1) Forecasting traffic levels for peak hours;

2) Specification of level-of-service (LOS) standards;

3) Flow Analysis and determination of space requirements

4) Configuration of server and space.

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 Terminal design

Forecasting
• Basic concept: Estimate past trends and project forward.
• To produce peak-hour demand scenarios for the design day.

Design day = Average week day of the peak month

15 to 20 percent
variation with real data Forecast is unreliable/uncertain

Technological
Constantly changing Deregulation
situation
Economic
Political

Industrial
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 Terminal design

Specification of LOS
• These standards provide the basis for
translating the forecasts into an architectural
program.
• LOS is higher when passengers have more
space.
LoS C

Adapted from IATA, 1995

LoS F

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 Terminal design

New LoS new concept

• When planning terminal processing facilities and corresponding
passenger queuing areas, TWO important variables jointly dictate the
new LoS.

Minimum Space Maximum waiting

time

• The new LoS framework is reflected in a space-time concept to be used

for defining the LoS at processing facilities and corresponding waiting
areas.

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 Terminal design

Passenger flow

The passenger flow in the terminal can be subdivided in three sub-

processes:
Departure Arrival Transfer

Departure passenger activities

Arrival Passenger activities

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 Terminal design

Flow Analysis
Graphical Computer
Queuing theory
analyses simulations

Simulation
CAST Terminal - Passenger Terminal
Simulation
• Multi-agent simulator to analyze various
terminal layouts and strategies.
• Determine the number of facilities
required.
• Optimization of capabilities in the early
planning stages.

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 Terminal design

Configuration of Space requirements

• Formulas for translating number of traffic into space requirement is
arithmetically simple.
- Depend on design peak hour/ design hour
Design load for an
- Airport facilities are designed to
activity
accommodate the loads

• LoS standard ‘C’ is generally used.

Level of Service
(LoS) • LoS ‘C’ for design year is LoS ‘A’ at the
opening time.

• Typical length of time passengers stay in a

Dwell time waiting for service.
• It indicates how fast a space can be reused
by another passenger.
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 Terminal design

Major design considerations

What are the key factors to build efficient and attractive terminal
building?

Passenger Flow Efficient public

Walking distance transportation

Processing time
Level of Service Amenities

Security
Ambience
Way-finding

Retail experience
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Traditional vs new design concept

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 Traditional vs
Why new design concept? New concept

Standard design: Traffic forecast LOS

Flow analysis Service space
Standards

Forecast Flexible Variable

uncertainty structure clients

Long term point Established

Rigid structure
forecast clients
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Low-cost carrier terminals
Designed with the needs of low cost airlines in mind.
Terminal building:
• Simple boxy warehouse-like design.
• Low-height ceilings.
• Baggage handling is much simplified
Amenities:
• Fewer choice in terms of restaurants, duty-free.
• Decoration being mostly airline ads.

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Flexible design concept
Modular airport
• Simple geometry
• Modular approach
• Allow room for extension
Southampton Airport

• Open plan design

• Easy removable partitions

Madrid Barajas Airport 42

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 Assignment
• Prepare a report on the Airport terminal
Design considerations (For any future airport
terminal to be constructed in Bangladesh/Or
for any existing airport)

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