When asked, what are the key components of a future-proof, efficient, and effective airport? Many people would say technology, strategic design, and planning.
And they’d be absolutely correct. But the reality is every successful airport development endeavour carries something inherently human — a design with purpose, travellers who feel supported, and a vision that bridges the gap between problems, ideas, and solutions.
That’s why designing an efficient airport goes beyond objective factors like numbers and rules. It is first and foremost a test of leadership, strategy, and vision to see how such an elaborate piece of infrastructure can shift and adapt to meet future demand while maintaining the current operations.
Join us as we highlight key design strategies that turn today’s airports into efficient, resilient, and forward-looking hubs of connectivity.
What is Airport Planning
Airport planning is a systematic approach that establishes strategies for the development of an airport in accordance with local, state, and national goals. It entails forethought and managing an airport’s physical assets, service delivery, and operations to ensure the airport is well-placed to satisfy future demands.
The plans are designed to be flexible and adaptive to day-of-operation alterations, but their ultimate purpose is to be comprehensive and long-term.
Designing and planning an airport requires a holistic view that takes into account not just the physical layout and distribution of resources, but also operational efficiency, personnel needs, regulatory compliance, and the allocation of space.
Comprehensive Master Planning
An integral part of airport planning and design process is a detailed airport master plan. A master plan offers a vision and strategy that harmonises different parts by mapping out a long-term, sustainable, rational, and economically efficient expansion of the airport.
Once planning and design are done, the next steps in airport building projects are construction, delivery, and operation. Therefore, airport planners should also consider how to include construction and implementation elements for efficient infrastructure delivery so that the project is on schedule and well-executed. This helps avoid unnecessary delays and ensures the project goes as planned from the start.
Traffic and Capacity Forecasts
To determine how big an airport development will be, designers need to evaluate future demand. A capacity evaluation looks at throughput, service, and efficiency, while a traffic projection estimates how many people, goods, and planes will be moving about in the future.
Comparing the demand forecast to the capacity assessment provides a base for knowing in terms of time and money, which airport capacity will need to be modified or expanded.
Equally important is the airport’s concept of operations, which defines the vision and goals for how the airport will function as a whole. Implementing operational techniques, like pooling resources or incorporating new tech, can have a direct impact on infrastructure planning, which in turn changes the extent and type of use of the airport’s building program.
Sustainability and Environmental Considerations
As environmental conservation awareness increases, sustainability is becoming an ever more relevant topic in the area of design and planning of airports.
Since the airport industry is such a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, it is being held accountable for its role in climate change. Therefore, airport architects and designers need to be attuned to eco-friendly development principles.
Sustainable design and development practices need to involve using eco-friendly materials like wood, recycled materials, and low-VOC paints. But first, airports have to commit to using energy-efficient technology such as LED light bulbs, lighting controls and other energy-efficient technology, as well as the adoption of renewable energy in airport design and planning.
Leading airports actively working toward greener airports are now installing solar panels on rooftops, parking lots, and other surfaces. Others, like Boston Logan International Airport, are taking it a step further and switching to using wind turbines to generate clean electricity.
Strengthening Resilience
Airports must also consider the ever-changing commercial and regulatory landscapes during the planning and designing phases. The terminal area may need to be rearranged in the future to accommodate changes in security measures, traffic patterns, airline business models, or immigration and customs regulations. So, the designs should be flexible to meet the needs that come up as requirements change.
Recent disasters have provided useful insights that can influence the way airports are designed. One example of designs and technologies that have gained prominence is the construction of buildings to enhance the well-being of occupants and improve the capacity to withstand future pandemics.
This explains why air ventilation and filtration systems are gaining traction and touchless self-service passenger devices are becoming increasingly more common.
It is similarly necessary to account for societal priorities. This is because airports are now expected to provide access to all travellers, regardless of their disabilities or other constraints. Therefore, when planning any elements of airport infrastructure, the general design principles must be considered to ensure that everyone can have access to the airport.
Conclusion
Designing and developing an airport is a massive undertaking that requires meticulous plan outlining and preparation. Each phase of the process plays a critical role, and overlooking even a small detail can cause problems later on.
When infrastructure is well-designed, travellers rarely notice it because everything functions seamlessly and nothing disrupts their experience. The next time you go through an airport, remember that feeling of order and efficiency that you experience is not by chance, it’s the result of countless thoughtful decisions and deliberate planning.