Week 6: Airport Terminal Design

ZEIT 3805: Airport Operations and Systems

By Sarah Shuchi, PhD
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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INTRODUCTION TO AIRPORT
TERMINAL
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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

Airports Passengers
Domestic Regional
Arriving Departing
airport airport
International
airport Transit

Need to handle 6-7% per annum growth.

How to handle this rapid growth?

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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
Terminal
• Taxiway 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)

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TERMINAL CONFIGURATIONS

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 History of Terminal Configuration
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.
• Centralized passenger processing.
• Also can be curvilinear.
Linear configuration at Darwin
International Airport

Disadvantages
• Longer walking distances for transfer
passengers.
• Primarily applicable for low-activity
• Requires duplication of terminal
Dallas forth- Worth International Airport
facilities/amenities
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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 Denver International 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

• 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.

• 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

• 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

Walking distances

Traffic pattern Flexibility

Priorities of
Aircraft taxiing around stakeholders
the buildings

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Overall Design of Passenger
Terminal

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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 Role of hub airport

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 at Canberra Airport

Typical check-in counters

Standards are changing.

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

Halifax Stanfield International Airport, 25

Canada
 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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IATA Check-point of the Future

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swjVnmJ8
v3Q
 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 Deregulation
changing 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

Liquids Aerosol
Passenger Check- Security Customs &
& Gels Boarding
entry in Check Immigration
Screening

Departure passenger activities

Baggage Customs and

Disembark Customs Depart airport
claim quarantine

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
activity - Airport facilities are designed to
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 Rigid Established

forecast structure 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

Vancouver Airport
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Research outcome
Step 1 Operational
Spatial layout
Areas of Layers of
uncertainty Tactical
change Physical structure
Strategic

Flexibility level
Business Process Model analysis

Step 2
Activity Identify Grouping Determine Spatial
analysis passenger passenger spatial adjacency
processing activity allocation obtained
activity

Step 3 Automation of layout generation

Design Develop Custom plug-in to
development Parametric
preliminary create input Floor plan
spatial layout
layout model generator

Flowgraph model Grasshopper model

Step 4
Alternate Evaluate Flexible design
Design Identify design alternative
layouts parameters
evaluation factors layouts

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Publications
Shuchi, S; Drogemuller, R and Buys, L (2016), A conceptual design framework to incorporate flexibility in airport
terminals, Journal of Airport Management (Accepted)

Shuchi, S (2015), A novel concept for airport terminal design integrating flexibility, PhD thesis, Creative Industries
Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, QLD 4000, Australia.

Shuchi, S; Drogemuller, R & Kleinschmidt, T (2012), Flexible airport terminal design: towards a framework,
Proceedings of the IIE Asian Conference 2012, Tang, Loon Ching & Watson, Gregory H. (Eds.), Department of
Industrial & Systems Engineering, NUS, Singapore, pp. 348-356.

Shuchi, S & Drogemuller, R (2012), Using process models to support design of airport terminals, Proceedings of
ECPPM 2012: eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Gudnason, Gudni & Scherer,
Raimar (Eds.), CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Reykjavik, Iceland, pp. 213-220.

Shuchi, S & Drogemuller, R (2012), Process based synthesis to evaluate design flexibility in airport terminal
layout, Proceedings of ANZAScA Conference, Skates, Henry (Ed.), Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, pp. 1-8.

Shuchi, S and Drogemuller, R (2012); Airport information modelling, presentation at the Airports of the Future
Grand Showcase, 30-31 May, Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), Australia.

Shuchi, S and Drogemuller, R (2011); Flexible design framework for airport design, presentation at the Airports of
the Future Project Grand Showcase as part of the ‘The Second International Colloquium on Airports and Spatial
Development’, 9 - 11 February, Queensland University of Technology, QLD 4000, Australia.
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