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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0124.PDF
112 FLIGHT International, 24 January j^j DE8IGN TRENDS IN AIRPORT BUILDINGS . . . Disadvantages of Apron Transport Passenger reaction is apt to be unfavourable, particularly if journey time is short. At London Airport particularly, comment is often acid when the travelling public finds that, after being fed up stairs, across lounges, along concourses, through passages and down ramps, it is a coach and not an aircraft which they are asked to enter. Other disadvantages lie in the cost of the vehicles themselves, and in their maintenance; the need to have sufficient numbers to meet peak traffic demand; the danger of collision with aircraft, equipment or with other vehicles; the delays occasioned in loading and unloading passengers into vehicles as well as aircraft; and the necessity of ensuring that all passengers are on board before the coach leaves the terminal building. Passengers must advance their time of arrival at the airport in order to meet a coach departure time, and not an aircraft departure, and late arrivals cause much greater difficulty, be they commencing a journey or transferring from another flight. With the passenger loads possible in modern aircraft, one coach or lounge may be insufficient, and there is the further difficulty of segregating pas sengers by seat class. Basically, the transfer of passengers by vehicle from the terminal to the aircraft is in the nature of a stop-gap procedure introduced to overcome the problem of distance created by the extension of aprons to cope with the larger aircraft whilst still operating from the original buildings. It is surprising to find that an ingenious development of a temporary expedient is to be adopted as the basic principle of handling at an entirely new airport, and the practical application will be watched with great interest by the many who regard this as a retrograde step. The new terminal under construction at Prestwick is an interesting one, as it is basically a finger-shaped building, partly underground, with gates at the head and along each side. The main check-in area is at the base of the finger, which tapers towards the tip, and the airline offices are located behind the ticket desks or on the floor above the passenger flow, which is largely below ground level. This effect is achieved, to some extent, by the natural slope of the ground, but it raises an interesting idea of a wholly subterranean terminal with the passenger gates projecting into the apron in the manner of subway entrances, possibly capable of being retracted or extended according to demand (Figs 2a and 2b). The broad principles to be discovered in various types of ter minals have been briefly outlined. It is now worthwhile looking at some specific examples in more detail. Dusscldorf The terminal building at Dusseldorf (Lohausen) is a fair example of a simple passenger/baggage flow system (Fig 1). Travellers enter the main door into a square concourse, around which are the enquiry offices of the airlines. Within the square is an open space wherein are parked baggage trucks, and dividing this area from the general public are the check-in positions. These are on a joint-user basis, and signboards can be hung above the desk to indicate the identity of the carrier and the number of the flight. Airline operations and traffic offices are in a wing to one side of the main hall, and shops selling tobacco, newspapers, confectionery, etc, are situated in a wide corridor in a matching wing. The administrative offices and restaurant are on the floor above. Passengers present themselves at the check-in desks, have their baggage weighed, and then proceed to either the domestic or the international lounge, the doors to which are side by side. There is a Customs guard at the door of the international lounge, but this js to ensure the security over entry of duty-free goods, there being a concession for the sale of these within. From the lounge the passenger moves through the "gates" (which are double-doomed glass-walled cubicles forming a pen) to the open ramp and either on foot or by vehicle to the aircraft. The baggage is loaded on trucks within the main hall and these are towed directly to (he aircraft side, egress from the building being through flexible rubber doors. Transit passengers are held within their respective lounges and disembarking passengers are led through a wing building which contains both free and Customs-controlled channels, directly from the airside to the public thoroughfare on the landside. The passenger flow is simple, but there are a number of dis advantages from the airline point of view, the most important of which is the manpower requirement. The separation of the check-in point from the general-enquiry counter means a duplication of staff, and the detachment of the operations office requires the use of telephone or messenger in passing the information from the ticket desk to enable weight and balance calculations to be com pleted. The distance between the embarkation and disembarkation channels is also inconvenient, although less serious in that one operation should be complete before the other begins. The separa tion of mail and cargo handling, which takes place in another building, might appear to offer similar problems, but is in keeping with the present trend whereby cargo is claiming facilities in its own right from special terminals to special aircraft. It is possible to foresee the day when the air follows the practice of the railways, where goods are carried in whole trains and only certain categories are conveyed by passenger conveyance. Copenhagen and Rome Copenhagen (Kastrup) was one of the earlier finger developments to become operational in Europe, and here the two-tier system is followed. Passengers check-in on the main concourse and their baggage is weighed and placed on a conveyor belt after labelling. It is then fed to a pick-up point where it is transferred to baggage trolleys and towed to the aircraft. The passenger proceeds by escalator to the first floor, where there are restaurant and bar facilities, as well as duty-free concessions, and where Customs control is achieved by controlled entry and exit points in glass partitions. Gates are situated on both sides of the two fingers, each of which is about 300 metres long, and from which the passengers descend to ground level via covered stairways and cross a short distance of open apron to the aircraft. Inward pas sengers follow the same route in reverse through, if necessary. Immigration and Health controls which can be by-passed or left unmanned. Baggage is collected from a carousel on the ground floor and is presented to the Customs in a small kiosk from which the operator emerges into the main concourse. The principal impact which Copenhagen terminal makes on the visitor is an impression of distance; SAS were at one time issuing scooters to their staff in order to enable them to cover the length of these fingers. The weight-and-balance office situated midway along the face of the building is five or six hundred yards from the furthest operational stand, and the meteorological office and AIS are in a building which is completely detached. Once again, manpower requirements are increased in order to overcome the effect of distance, and the use of motor transport for the conveyance of crews and documents involves considerable expense. Baggage being delivered to the Customs inspection bench by the conveyor belt at Dusseldorf Lohausen. Taxis and cars await their passengers immediately beyond Dus''w5Cf em0t'C dr°Wing ("0t t0 SC0,e) showinS trie passenger- and luggage-handling areas at LANDSIDE OFFICES CUSTOMS AND HEALTH CONTROL -H ARRIVAL AREA AND BAGGAGE CLAIM KIOSKS INTERNATIONAL LOUNGE PASSENGER EXIT CHECK IN DESKS 1 . BAR BAGGAGE BAY •H- DOMESTIC - LOUNGE 4f PASSENGER BAGGAGE EXIT CARTS PARKING ADPA OFFICES AIRLINE OFFICES
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