AIRPORT DESIGN
Time to innovate Design changes at airports can support and speed up the safe return of air travel, writes Populous Americas’ aviation market leader and principal, Geoffrey Ax.
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hether it’s to see family, clients or simply treat cabin fever with a change of scenery, one thing is clear, people want to travel again. Scratching this itch requires some delicate risk management on their part. Do they set out on a road trip and orchestrate overnight pit stops along the way? Or do they fly and deal with the discomforts of navigating airports during a global pandemic? Airports and airlines across the world are doing their best to entice passengers back with flight discounts and enhanced safety protocols, albeit with limited success. The number of passenger miles flown by US air carriers in June 2020 was nearly one-sixth of that from the same time last year. Chief among flyers’ concerns is safety. Not just the actual risk posed by flying, but the perceived risk of being exposed to others with COVID-19. Thanks in part to most aircraft’s excellent air circulation and onboard HEPA filters, the risk of being exposed to the COVID-19 virus while in the sky has been minimised. So that leaves us with the airport itself. How safe do passengers feel pre and post-flight? At airports, it’s important to focus on the passenger experience and how every step of the journey makes them feel. That approach has never been more significant. In recent months, Populous commissioned a proprietary Qualtrics survey that collected data on American passengers’ perceptions and worries.
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AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 6, 2020
Populous translated the data into three design solutions airports can implement. Altogether, they have the potential to ease travellers’ anxieties and guide the aviation industry along the road to recovery.
Re-think traditional F&B and retail Nearly 40% of passengers surveyed said they would plan to buy less food and beverage (F&B) at the airport because of COVID-19 concerns. However, 70% of passengers said they would prefer to use an app to order F&B for ordering and pick up or delivery. And 61% are reluctant to use a touch screen. How can we re-think traditional airport concession spaces to be more convenient and safer? Existing concession countertops can be converted into prefabricated, contactless locker pick-up locations where passengers can order by an app in advance and then pick up their pre-paid item(s) from the locker at their convenience. Existing foodcourts can also be converted to app-based order and delivery services just as you’d receive your restaurant delivery at home.
Let go of hold rooms as we know them Among the many concerns of passengers is keeping a safe distance from others, a trend that’s not going anywhere anytime soon. The overwhelming majority of passengers surveyed (78%) plan to continue social distancing long after a vaccine is available.
