Fundamentals of Airport Terminal Planning & Design

Explore the airport terminal complex, including landside, terminal building, and airside zones, and how the terminal bridges curbside transport to air movements for arriving, departing, and transit passengers.

Trace the evolution from unit terminals to multiple unit terminals. Explore modern layouts such as finger piers, satellites, and linear or curvilinear designs.

The lecture outlines linear terminal configuration as the simplest airport design, with consolidated passenger processing and short walking distances, while noting duplication and longer walks at larger scales.

Transporter terminal configuration moves passengers by bus from the main terminal to remote aircraft stands, reducing taxi time and fuel use, with easier maneuverability but higher costs and weather-related delays.

Finger pier terminal configurations extend the central processing area with piers that host gates, boosting capacity while centralizing passenger processing, but long walking distances and apron constraints pose challenges.

Explore satellite terminal configurations where a central processing unit connects to remote satellite islands via underground or overground concourses, centralizing resources for transfers and aviation operations.

Explore the midfield terminal configuration, its X and linear layouts, the central processing concept, and how airports like Pittsburgh, Denver, Abu Dhabi, and Beijing Daxing implement it.

Explore how hybrid terminal configurations combine linear, curvilinear, pier, and satellite designs within one airport. Learn how O'Hare exemplifies terminal elements and interconnected movement to adapt to space and budget.

Explore the evaluation of terminal configurations and designs, forecast capacity, optimize passenger flow and walking distances, and apply IATA loss and level of service guidelines, including airport retail.

Forecast terminal configuration by estimating current capacity per hour and projecting future demand using technological, economic, political, and deregulation factors; apply IATA and standard busy rate peak metrics with uncertainty.

Explore how passenger flow shapes terminal design, from departure and arrival sequences to efficient queuing, level separation, and automation, enabling smooth check-in, security, immigration, and boarding.

Analyze unaided and aided walking distances in airport terminals, and how travelators, escalators, sidewalks, and wheelchair assistance reduce long walks in hub airports.

Explores IATA level of service concept, space per passenger and maximum wait time across airport processes, and four modern classifications: overdesign, optimum, suboptimal, underprovided to guide terminal design.

Explore airport terminal retail layout and its role in non-aeronautical revenue. Identify pre- and post-security shops, duty-free outlets, eateries, ATMs, currency exchange, and last-minute stores near gates.

Discover how airport retail concentrates non-aeronautical revenue by boosting accessibility, dwell time, and the right product mix across departure lounges, landside zones, and baggage halls.

Explore how retail passenger flow models such as snake, dwell, and hybrid shape dwell time and retail exposure from immigration to boarding gates, with gate announcements and regulator considerations.

Explore how airports pursue sustainability through the sustainable airport master plan (Sam), balancing economic growth with environmental and social objectives, including carbon reduction, solar energy, waste management, and surface access.

Design sustainable terminals with low carbon footprint, natural light, and high ceilings to reduce stress and improve comfort. Embrace space-efficient layouts and a sense of place through local culture.

Explore airport carbon accreditation levels: mapping, reduction, optimization, and neutrality, to measure and reduce carbon footprints. See examples from Mumbai and Cochin airports using solar power and offsets toward neutrality.