Module 1

Airport Terminal
Contents
Terminal
Types of Terminal as per IATA
Modern day Terminals

Terminal
A building at an airport that serves as a transfer point for passengers between other modes of ground
transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and exit from an aircraft is known as an airport
terminal.
Purchasing tickets, transferring luggage, and going through security are all activities that take place
within the terminal for passengers. The structures that allow passengers to gain access to the aeroplanes
(via gates) are commonly referred to as concourses. However, depending on the layout of the airport, the
terms "terminal" and "concourse" are occasionally used synonymously with one another.
When compared to larger airports, smaller airports typically only have one terminal. However, larger
airports typically have many terminals and/or concourses. In most cases, all of the functions of a
terminal as well as those of a concourse can be found within a single terminal building at smaller
airports.

A terminal is comprised of a number of gates, which are areas where aircraft are parked and passengers
wait to board. These gate areas may be separated from one another in big terminals into parts known as
concourses. These concourses offer a variety of food, shopping, and lounge options, in addition to
restrooms and other services.

The terminal is where leaving travellers go to purchase tickets and/or check in for their flights, check
their bags, walk through security, and wait until it is time to board their plane from a gate that has been
assigned to them.

In a similar manner, when an aeroplane lands, it pulls up to a gate that is connected to a terminal. From
this gate, passengers can exit and proceed through customs and immigration for foreign flights, locate
their connecting aircraft, or retrieve their possessions from baggage claim.

Airport
Because it is the physical location at which a modal transfer occurs, the airport is an extremely
important component of the overall system of air transportation.
It is possible to switch between the air mode and the land mode, as well as the other way around. It is
the point at where the three most important parts of the air transportation system engage with one
another. The airport and all of its tenants, commercial and operational concessionaires, and other
partners and collaborators, in addition. For these and other purposes of discussion, the airway control
system.
• The aviation company
• The consumer
To achieve a successful rate, it is necessary to ensure that these three key components interact with one
another, as is also the case with planning and operation. Each component needs to achieve some kind
of balance with the other two before it can function properly.
The entire demand levels will fall below the levels that are attainable in the optimal condition if there
is no other option available to consumers to choose from. A sub-optimal state might present itself in a
variety of different ways. Airport operations that are running in the red. Loss-making business
practises employed by airlines at the airport Employees of airlines and airports are subjected to
deplorable working conditions. In ample passenger accommodation.
Insufficient flight supply, risky operations, high operational costs that render the service ineffective,
insufficient support facilities for airlines, and so on. Extremely high levels of delay for airlines and
passengers. Inadequate access facilities, Sluggish travellers demand.

Functions of the Airport:

On the leg of a journey that involves travel by air, an airport can serve either as an intermediate or final
destination for an aircraft. In plain and simple operational words, the facility needs to be designed in
such a way that it allows aircraft to both land and take off. The aircraft can, if necessary, unload and
load their freight and crew in between their two operations, as well as receive maintenance. The
activities of an airport are split up into two distinct categories: the airside and the landside.
Following the approach and landing, an aircraft will make use of the runway, the taxiway, and the
apron before docking at a Packing place. Once there, its payload will be processed via the terminal and
into the access system. The passenger and freight terminals at the airport are each considered to be
separate facilities with their own unique set of functions.
Change of mode: In order to offer connectivity between the air vehicle and the surface vehicle, which
is designed to accommodate the operating characteristics of the vehicles on landside and airside
correspondingly, this change of mode is required.
Processing: This refers to the provision of the essential facilities for the ticketing, documentation, and
control of both passengers and freight.
Change of movement type : refers to the process of converting continuous shipments of freight by
trucks of departing passengers by car, bus, taxi, and train to aircraft-sized batches that generally depart
according to a pre-planned schedule or to the process of reversing this process for arriving aircraft.
Change of movement type can also refer to the process of changing the movement type of arriving
aircraft. Airports of a large size are required to have a company that either provides or administers the
following facilities.

Components of Airport:
The main components of airport are:
1. Landing Area of Airport
It refers to the elements of an airport that are involved in the landing and takeoff procedures of an
aircraft. Runways and taxiways are included in the Landing Area.
2. Terminal Area
The terminal area is the location where the transfer of passengers and cargo from the ground to the air
takes place. The public and its belongings, whether they arrive by air or on the ground, can be
accommodated and transferred using a variety of different means. The level of development in the
terminal area is contingent on the following factors: the volume of airport traffic, the operations that
take place there, the type of air traffic that uses the airport, the number of passengers and airport
employees who need to be served, and the manner in which these individuals are served and
accommodated. The following are the components that make up the terminal area: Hangers, the
Automobile Parking Area, the Apron, and the Terminal Building.

The portion of the airport known as the "landing area" is the space that is utilised for the landing and
takeoff of aircraft. The landing area consists of
1. Runways
It is the most essential component of an airport and takes the kind of a paved, long and thin rectangular
strip that is utilised for landing and takeoff procedures. On both sides, it has turfed shoulders, which
means they are grassy. The landing strip refers to the region that includes the width of the runway as
well as the area of the shoulders. The landing strip is split down the middle to make room for the
runway. The length of the landing strip is somewhat longer than the length of the runway strip in order
to make room for the stop way, which is used to bring the aircraft to a halt in the event that takeoff is
aborted.
Both the length and width of the runway need to be adequate in order to accommodate the aircraft that
are likely to be served by the runway. The length of the runway needs to be long enough to allow the
plane to accelerate to the point where it can take off, and it needs to be long enough that the plane can
clear the threshold of the runway by 15 metres and still come to a complete stop within the first 60
percent of the length of the runway that is available. The length of the runway is determined by a
variety of factors, including those related to the weather and the terrain. It is recommended that
transverse gradients always be more than 0.5 percent, with the absolute minimum being 0.5 percent.
2. Taxiways
The paved road, either rigid or flexible, that connects one runway to another runway, as well as a
loading apron, service and maintenance hangers, or another runway, is known as a taxiway. They are
put to use for the purpose of facilitating the movement of aircraft across airfields for a variety of
reasons, including departure or landing, departure for takeoff, etc. When an aeroplane is travelling
along a taxiway, its speed is significantly lower than when it is taking off or landing.
The taxiway should be planned out in such a way that it provides the shortest path possible and
prevents interference between landed aircraft that are taxiing towards the loading apron and taxiing
aircraft that are running towards the runway. Due to the fact that this area is subjected to significant
loading while the turning operation is taking place, careful attention should be paid to the intersection
of the runway and the taxiway. If it is weaker, then the aeroplane has a greater chance of falling off the
taxiway. It is not acceptable for the longitudinal gradient to be higher than three percent, and the
transverse gradient must not be lower than half of one percent. Additionally, it has a shoulder that is
7.5 metres wide and has a bituminous surface that was paved over. A pilot who is standing at a height
of 3 metres above the ground should be able to see the taxiway from a distance of 300 metres.

Airport Terminal
The main building at an airport is referred to as the terminal. It is the location where people can board
and disembark from aircraft. Passengers can purchase tickets, drop off or pick up their luggage, and
have it inspected by security personnel while they are within the terminal. Concourses are the names
given to the buildings in airports that house the gates that allow passengers to board aeroplanes. On the
other hand, the terms "terminal" and "concourse" are frequently used interchangeably to refer to the
same location. While smaller airports typically only have one terminal, larger airports may have many
terminals in addition to multiple concourses. Most of the time, a single terminal building at a smaller
airport will serve as both a terminal and a concourse due to the size of the airport.

Types of Terminals as per IATA

Available Concepts
Despite the fact that different terminologies are used to describe various sorts of terminal designs, they
can all be grouped into one of three groups that illustrate fundamentally diverse perspectives towards how
a terminal should function and who it should serve:
First, centralised with either finger piers or satellite subterminals; second, linear or gate arrival; and third,
open apron or transporter. Because the ATA is the organisation that represents the main airlines in the
United States, the report that it produces is reflective of the unique interests of these airlines.
Centralized Terminals
A common hall is one of the defining characteristics of a centralised terminal, and passengers are required
to walk through this hall. The hall houses ancillary services such as restaurants and stores, in addition to
facilities for checking passengers in and managing their bags, and it also contains facilities for these
functions. Corridors are used for the transfer of passengers to and from the aircraft. The finger pier layout
has the aircraft parked along the various passageways of the structure. When designing the satellite, the
aircraft parking spots were put at the very end of each corridor. Figure 1 illustrates some of these examples.
Both configurations offer exactly the same services, although depending on where they are located,
satellites may provide slightly more room for aeroplanes to manoeuvre than ground-based stations do. In
the event that the airport is quite sizable, the terminal area might consist of numerous different centralised
terminals. The airports in Paris (Orly), London (Heathrow), Chicago (O'Hare), and San Francisco are some
of the locations where this takes place. There are a lot of benefits associated with centralised terminals.
Because they encourage the extensive use of facilities and equipment and, as a result, lower the average
costs of providing check-in and baggage-handling services, airlines and airport operators are fond of them.
Centralized terminals are preferred by passengers who have to transfer between flights because of the
terminals' ability to be relatively compact. On the other hand, the most significant drawback of centralised
terminals is that, at large airports, all passengers are required to go through a crowded place and must
travel a considerable distance between the vehicles that bring them to the airport and the aircraft. In other
words, this is a significant inconvenience for passengers. Even though it is possible to travel this distance
on foot or by using some type of moving sidewalk or automatic system like the skybus that is used at
Tampa or Seattle-Tacoma airports, it is still an annoyance. This is especially true for commuters and other
people who may be in a rush.
Linear Terminals
The linear concept, also known as the gate-arrival concept, was conceived with the intention of doing
away with lengthy distances that existed between the site of arrival and the aircraft. It makes it possible
for a passenger to be taken directly up to the gate where the aeroplane is waiting for them. The layout of
the airport is linear, with roadways on one side and planes and other aircraft on the other (Figure 1). In the
late 1960s, the gate-arrival concept became popular, probably as a result of the fact that not many
individuals had firsthand experience with or given much thought to the potential drawbacks of this method.
It is necessary for a gate-arrival terminal to have separate baggage-handling and check-in facilities at or
near each aircraft location. This results in a large increase in the amount of equipment and employees
required to serve passengers. When compared to a centralised terminal, a linear terminal's maximum
distance from one end to the other is significantly greater. This is especially true when the linear terminal
only has aircraft located on one side of the building. Because of this, the gate-arrival terminal can be rather
unappealing for passengers who are transferring to another flight as well as for returning passengers who
wish to pick up cars that they may have parked in front of a more remote gate.

Open-Apron Terminal
The third idea recommends using cars in place of the majority of the terminal's structures. These
automobiles, which are collectively referred to as transporters, are responsible for transporting passengers
from a primary terminal to an aircraft that is parked on the apron. (In England, these transports are also
known as apron passenger vehicles, while in North America, they are referred to as mobile lounges.
Because it is inefficient to employ vehicles as lounges, the term "mobile lounge" is truly unsuitable to use.
Instead, the vehicles and their drivers should be putting their time and energy into getting people to and
from aircraft as much as possible. The Washington Dulles International Airport serves as the model for
this configuration because it provides transporters for the vast majority of its passengers (a few walk to
small aircraft through a miniscule finger pier). The transporter decreases the amount of walking that a
passenger is required to do; nonetheless, it necessitates a large labour force of drivers and attendants and
has the potential to be expensive. Because transporters may be parked and operated only when needed,
drivers can be employed for a portion of the time, either for a defined shift or season. This makes it a
potentially cost-effective method, as well, given that the transporters can be used just when needed.
Because of this, the transporter concept offers a significant economic benefit when it comes to managing
traffic surges.

Types of Airport Terminal

Different types of Airport terminals are as follows:
1. Pier
A miniature, elongated building is utilised for the design of a pier, and aeroplanes are parked on both sides
of the structure. At one end is a connection to an area that serves as ticketing and baggage claim. Piers
provide a high aircraft capacity and a simple design, but they frequently result in a significant distance
between the check-in counter and the gate (as much as a half mile in the case of Terminal 1 at Kansai
International Airport and Lisbon Portela Airport). Piers can be found in the majority of major international
airports.

2. Satellite terminals
A satellite terminal is a structure that is located at an airport but is physically separated from the other
terminal buildings. This allows aeroplanes to park completely around the building. Gatwick Airport in
London was the first airport in the world to implement a satellite terminal. For the connection between the
satellite and the main terminal, an underground pedestrian tunnel was utilised. In addition, this was the
initial configuration at Los Angeles International Airport, but it has since been changed to use a pier
configuration. The Tampa International Airport was the first airport to deploy an autonomous people
mover to connect the main terminal with a satellite terminal. This is now the industry standard for
connecting airports. Terminals S1 and S2 at Shanghai Pudong International Airport make up what is
considered to be the largest satellite terminal in the world. The main terminal and the 622,000 square
metre, 90 gate terminal are connected by a high capacity people mover that uses conventional subway
trains. Additional illustrations include the following examples:
The Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, Geneva International Airport, and London Gatwick Airport (South
Terminal) all have circular satellite terminals that are connected by walkways. The Aeroquai terminal
section at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport is connected by walkways and is
primarily used for short-haul regional domestic flights and some international departures when there are
no gates available.

3. Semicircular terminals
At some airports, the terminal is in the shape of a half circle, with parking for automobiles on one side and
planes on the other. Because of the layout, connecting passengers will have to walk a lengthy distance, but
the time it takes to get from check-in to the aircraft will be significantly cut down. Charles de Gaulle
Airport in Paris (terminal 2), Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai (old terminal 2),
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Seoul's Incheon International Airport, Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport (terminal 1 & 2), Toronto Pearson Airport, Kansas City Airport, Nairobi's Jomo
Kenyatta International Airport, Rio de Janeiro–Galeo International Airport, and Sapporo's New Chitose
Airport.

4. Other
Terminal A at Berlin's Tegel Airport features a layout that is quite exceptional for an airport terminal. Five
of the outer walls were airside and fitted with jet bridges, while the sixth (creating the entrance), along
with the inner courtyard, was landside. The structure consisted of a hexagonal-shaped ring that surrounded
a courtyard. It was in fact a self-contained terminal, which, unlike a satellite, did not depend on remote
buildings for facilities such as check-in, security controls, arrivals, etc. Despite its outward appearance,
which superficially resembled the design of a satellite in that aircraft could park around most of the
structure, this terminal was actually designed to look like a satellite.
The very short walking distances and the absence of any central centre for security, passport control,
arrivals, or transfers were two of the most distinctive aspects of this airport. Instead, separate check-in
counters are positioned directly in front of the gates that serve the flights for which they are responsible.
Checked-in passengers then entered airside via a short passage located immediately to the side of the
check-in desk, passed (for non-Schengen flights) a single passport control booth (with officers sat in the
same area as check-in staff), followed by a single security lane which terminated at the gate's waiting area
behind the check-in counter. The seating area for each pair of gates was combined into a single space, and
the only airside commercial options were a few modest kiosks selling duty-free goods and beverages.
Therefore, passengers were unable to travel around the airside of the terminal in any way other than the
closest gate, and there was no centralised waiting lounge or retail space for departures. Individual rooms
for arrivals, each of which served a pair of gates, each contained a single baggage carousel, and they were
alternatingly situated in between each pair of departure gates on the same level, such that the entrance/exit
of each jet bridge lied at the boundary of the two areas. These individual rooms for arrivals were referred
to as "arrivals rooms." Passengers exited the arrivals area unsegregated from departing passengers into the
same landside ring-concourse, emerging next to the check-in desks. Two or three passport control booths
were located close to the end of the jet bridge for arriving passengers (causing passengers to queue into
the bridge and plane itself). This provided customers who were arriving at the airport as well as those who
were leaving with easy access to the courtyard on the same level, which was where the parking for short
stays and the taxi pickup were located. Through a road that passed beneath the entrance to the terminal
building, motorists and passengers were able to access and leave the facility.
This resulted in exceptionally low walking distances of just a few tens of metres between vehicles and the
plane for flights that used jet-bridges and passengers that arrived or departed by private transport, with
just a slightly longer walk required for connections to public transit. Passengers will only be able to
transfer landside if this design is implemented, which a disadvantage is given the lack of any other
alternative for transfer flights.
The mobile lounge is an additional, less common type of terminal design. In this type of terminal, guests
are taken from the gate to their aircraft in a big vehicle that docks directly to both the terminal and the
aircraft. This layout has been utilised at the following airports: Washington Dulles International Airport,
Mexico City International Airport, and Mirabel International Airport.
There are also hybrid layouts to choose from. Both San Francisco International Airport and Melbourne
Airport use a hybrid pier-semicircular plan for some of its terminals, while the rest of the terminals use a
pier configuration.

5. Common-use facility
When a facility or terminal is designed for shared use, it is impossible for individual airlines to have their
own specialised check-in desks, gates, and information technology systems. Check-in counters and gates,
on the other hand, can be redistributed in a flexible manner according to requirements.
Common Terminal Design Concepts in Airport Design
1. Pier/Finger
2. Linear
3. Transporter
4. Satellite
5. Compact Module Unit Terminal

1. Pier/Finger Concept:

The following are some of the benefits:

• centralised resources, economies of scale (people, facilities, amenities);
• facilitates pax management;
• Economically feasible to construct;
• Efficient use of land;

Disadvantages:
• Long walking distances
• Congestion at the curbside
• Restricted capacity for extension
• A drop in the number of aeroplanes in circulation &
• Maneuverability
• There is a low likelihood of interoperability with new aircraft designs in the future
2. Linear

Advantages:
• Shortest walking distances
• Clear orientation
• Simple construction
• Adequate kerb length
• Shorter close-out times
• Lower baggage systems costs
• (conveying/sorting) using decentralized system
Disadvantages:
• Duplication of terminal facilities/amenities
• Longer minimum connecting time
• Longer walking distances for transfer pax
• Special logistics for handling of transfer bags
• Less flexibility in terminal and apron for future changes in operations eg aircraft design, airlines
3. Transporter:

Advantages:
• Easy compatibility of terminal/ apron geometry and future aircraft design development
• Ease of aircraft manoeuvrability
• Ease of expansion capability for aircraft stands
• Simple and smaller central terminal
• Cost savings
Disadvantages:
• Higher instances of pax delays
• Early closed-out times
• High capital, maintenance & operating costs
• Susceptible to industrial disputes with vehicle drivers
• Increased vehicular movements on airside with aircraft
• Kerbside congestion
• Increased minimum connecting times
4. Satellite

Advantages:
• Centralized resources (human, facilities and amenities)
• Facilitates pax management
• Additional satellites can be designed to accommodate future aircraft design developments
Disadvantages:
• Requires high technology, underground transportation system
• High capital, maintenance & operating cost
• Kerbside congestion
• Limited expansion capability at main terminal
• Increases minimum connecting times
• Early closed-out times
5. Corner Modul Unit Terminal

Advantages:
• Short walking distances
• Late closed-out times
• Longer kerb length than conventional central terminal
• Capital investment is commensurate with demand
• Simple pax & baggage transportation/sorting systems within each module
• Low baggage mishandling potential
Disadvantages:
• Multi-compact module units require pax and bag transfer systems between terminals
• Duplication of facilities, higher operating costs
Modern day Terminals
Modern airports can be defined by the following characteristics :-
• Ability to handle huge traffic
Due to high cost, the use of airports was restricted to the executive class of society in earlier days.
However, this scenario has changed and there has been significant increase in airport travel worldwide.
To cope up with such demand of air-travel, there is a need for airports to be equipped with ability to handle
huge traffic.

• Land use diversity

The airports now-a-days aren’t just used for boarding and de-boarding flights, they have evolved into
multi-functionality structures that harbour workplaces, shopping centres, restaurants and clubs.

• Integration of Intermodal transport system

To make airports more accessible, they have to be integrated with existing transport system in the city
which includes railways, bus transport system and metro-rails.

• Environmental Sensitivity
Airports generally occupy very large space. By taking care of rainwater harvesting, treatment and re-use
of sewage water, green landscape and use of natural sources for power generation and power optimization,
the environmental impact of aircrafts can be reduced.

• Enhanced Safety
Airport safety means preventing injury to people or damage to aircraft, vehicles or infrastructure due to
human error or technical failure.

Green Terminals
As airports across the globe look to find new ways to reduce their carbon footprints, countless sustainable
projects have been undertaken, including renewable energy projects, recycling programs, emission
reduction efforts, and green building techniques.
Airports generally occupy very large space. By taking care of rainwater harvesting, treatment and re-use
of sewage water, green landscape and use of natural sources for power generation and power optimization,
the environmental impact of aircrafts can be reduced.
Airports should seek to prevent, reduce or offset significant adverse effects on the environment and
enhance positive effects by:
• Reducing contribution to climate change and adapting to its effects.
The growth of aviation and avoiding dangerous climate change is not a zero sum game. Both can be
achieved through technological advances, low carbon fuels and more efficient operations supported by
aviation's participation in open emissions trading.

• Preventing, limiting or reducing adverse effects on air and ground noise.

Most of the noise generated by airports activities is produced by aircraft approaching or taking-off, taxiing
along runways and by engine testing.
By designing the runways in orientations that lead almost directly into the sea (An example of such design
is Changi International Airport, Singapore) or over a portion of land which has been designated for non-
residential use, the impact of noise generated at an airport,on people and surrounding environment, can be
reduced.

• Preventing, limiting or reducing adverse effects on air quality.

Air quality is often an issue for people living in urban areas. Burning fossil fuel to create energy for
vehicles, housing and industry emits pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particles.

• Increasing recycling and minimizing waste.

Large hub airports generate considerable volumes of waste, predominantly from aircraft cabin cleaning,
cargo handling and flight catering. Construction waste can also be significant during building and
refurbishment.

• Managing water consumption efficiently and effectively.

Large hub airports generate considerable volumes of waste, predominantly from aircraft cabin cleaning,
cargo handling and flight catering. Construction waste can also be significant during building and
refurbishment.
Environmenl effect of waste generated at airports can be minimized by recycle and re-use of waste water
and installation of sewage treatment plants.

• Protecting and enhancing our rich biodiversity.

Airports cover very large areas. As well as runways, terminals and aircraft stands, the airports should
include grassland, other landscaped areas and a variety of natural habitats including Standing Water,
Ponds, Rivers and Streams, Dry Lowland Grassland, Lowland, Wet Grassland and Scrubs.
Examples for Modern day terminals
Ilan and Asaf Ramon International Airport (Israel)
Istanbul Airport (Turkey)
Beijing Daxing International Airport (China)
Singapore Changi Airport
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (Illinois)
Kuwait International Airport
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (Louisiana)
Pittsburgh International Airport (Pennsylvania)
Tocumen International Airport (Panama)