INTRODUCTION

An airport is a complex and busy place dedicated to facilitating the movement of passengers and cargo.
It consists of various structures that support different functions such as maintenance, aircraft control,
and auxiliary services. This article focuses on the passenger functions of an airport and how they interact
with the community.

Relationship to the Community

The airport functions like a small city, driven by economic factors and providing convenience for
travelers. It has a significant impact on the community it serves, affecting the surrounding area both
economically and environmentally. Thoughtful planning of airport infrastructure can lead to positive
outcomes for the community.

Proper site planning and building design can help reduce or eliminate issues such as noise, air pollution,
and ecological imbalances. The community is impacted by the airport's workforce, the arrival of new
industries, and the economic effects they bring.

The success of the airport and the architect's adherence to its economic limitations are crucial. To
operate successfully, the airport must work closely with the surrounding community. Building good
relationships within the airport relies on first establishing a positive relationship with the community.

The Components of an Airport

An airport is a complex transportation facility, designed to serve aircraft, passengers, cargo, and surface
vehicles. Each of these users is served by different components of an airport. The components of an
airport are typically placed into two categories.

The airside of an airport is planned and managed to accommodate the movement of aircraft around the
airport as well as to and from the air. The airside components of an airport are further categorized as
being part of the local airspace or the airfield. The airport’s airfield component includes all the facilities
located on the physical property of the airport to facilitate aircraft operations. The airspace surrounding
an airport is simply the area, off the ground, surrounding the airport, where aircraft maneuver, after
takeoff, prior to landing, or even merely to pass through on the way to another airport.

The landside components of an airport are planned and managed to accommodate the movement of
ground-based vehicles, passengers, and cargo. These components are further categorized to reflect the
specific users being served. The airport terminal component is primarily designed to facilitate the
movement of passengers and luggage from the landside to aircraft on the airside. The airport’s ground
access component accommodates the movement of ground-based vehicles to and from the surrounding
metropolitan area, as well as between the various buildings found on the airport property.

Glossary

AMENITIES: That part of a terminal building housing convenience, service, and diversion facilities for the
passengers, tenants, and public.

AVERAGE PEAK HOUR: The peak hour of the average peak day. The peak hour is the one-hour period of
any peak day during which the highest percentage of the day's traffic is experienced. The average peak
day is the average of the top 37 days (10 percent) of a year in terms of traffic volume.

BAGGAGE DIVERTER: A mechanical device for transferring baggage from a moving conveyor belt to a
baggage claim counter in such manner that the baggage is evenly distributed along the baggage counter.
BOARDING CONTROL POINT: The point at which a passenger's credentials are inspected to assure that he
is authorized to board a particular flight. Normally, this point is located in the vicinity of the gate from
which the flight will depart.

BOARDING PASSENGER: Any originating or connecting passenger authorized to board a flight.

CONNECTING PASSENGER: A passenger who arrives on one flight only for the purpose of transferring to
another flight to reach his destination. These passengers are broken down into two categories: interline
and interline passengers.

CUSTOMS: This is an area under federal jurisdiction through which passengers arriving from foreign
countries are required by law to pass in order to make a declaration related to baggage which is
accompanying them upon entry to the United States. This area is used for receipt of a declaration and/or
examination of baggage. If duty is required; the customs agent will receive same in the customs area.
Special attention must be paid to the design of this area because of changing techniques of operation.

DEPARTURE ROOM: An assembly area, including the boarding control point, located at a gate position(s)
for passengers pending availability of aircraft for boarding.

DEPLANING: Any passenger, cargo, baggage, visitor, ate., which is related to the unloading

from an arriving flight.

DOMESTIC PASSENGERS: All passengers traveling in the United States or its territories are considered as
domestic. Foreign nationals within the confines and territory require no special checking and operate as
domestics.

ENPLANING: Any passenger, cargo, baggage, visitor, etc., which is related to the boarding of a departing
flight.

GATE: A location to which aircraft are brought for the purpose of discharging and loading passengers and
their baggage.

GATE CONCOURSE: An extension from the main terminal building primarily intended to provide
protected access for passengers between the main terminal building and the gates. In addition to the
passenger corridor, the concourse may include airline functional areas and minimum consumer services.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION: The independently operated transportation vehicles scheduled for

passengers' use between airports and the areas served thereby is called ground transportation.

INTERLINE CONNECTING(ION): A term used to describe passengers and baggage which arrive on the
flight of one airline and depart on a flight of another.

INTOWN TERMINAL: A facility located apart from the airport, usually in the downtown area of the city, at
which passengers may be processed, baggage is checked to passengers’ destinations, and from which
ground transportation is provided.

INTERLINE CONNECTING(ION): A term used to describe passengers and baggage which arrive on one
flight and depart on another flight of the same airline.

IN-TRANSIT PASSENGER: If an internationally bound aircraft stops at an airport for refueling or discharge
of passengers and a remaining number of passengers are to be detained in the aircraft for another
destination, the convenience of providing a totally segregated lounge facility may be warranted for the
continuing passengers. This facility is referred to as an in-transit area.

LONG-HAUL A term used to define flights or traffic which travels over a relatively long distance as
opposed to those which travel over a shorter distance. Normally, long-haul passengers arrive at their
originating airport earlier than short-haul passengers, carry more baggage than short-haul passengers,
and are accompanied to or are met at the airport by more persons than short-haul passengers.

ORIGINATING PASSENGER: A passenger who is starting his trip.

OUTBOUND BAGGAGE ROOM: The area to which checked baggage of originating passengers is delivered
for sorting by flights prior to its being dispatched to the aircraft for loading.

PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE: The function of the Public Health Service is to determine whether an arriving
passenger will present a health hazard to the general population. This may require inoculation, special
examination, and possibly quarantine. Design requires correlation with federal authorities.

READY ROOM: An area adjacent to the normal work areas in which personnel whose duties are
performed out-of-doors may assemble, be protected, and from which they may receive their work
assignments. These rooms should be concealed from public view.

SELF-CLAIM BAGGAGE: A method under which passengers have direct access to terminating baggage in a
controlled area. As passengers leave the area, an attendant retrieves baggage claim checks and matches
them to strap checks to assure that passengers have selected only baggage to which they are entitled.

SHORT-HAUL: A term used to define flights or traffic which travel over a relatively short distance as
opposed to those which travel over a long distance. Normally, short-haul passengers arrive at the airport
of origin later than long-haul passengers, carry less baggage than long-haul passengers, and are

accompanied to or met at the airport by fewer persons than long-haul passengers.

STANDBY PASSENGER: A passenger not holding confirmed space but who is on hand at departure time
for space that might become available.

TERMINATING PASSENGER: A passenger who has arrived at his destination.

THROUGH PASSENGER: A passenger who arrives and departs on the same flight.

TRANSFER BAGGAGE ROOM: The area to which checked baggage of connecting passengers is delivered
for sorting by flights prior to its being dispatched to the aircraft for loading. This may be combined with
the outbound baggage room at some locations.

UNIT TERMINAL: One of several functionally complete terminal areas (which may be in the same or
several buildings) each of which houses the activities of one or more airlines.

AIRPORT GUIDELINES/STANDARDS

1. Choice of Airport Location: Factors to Consider

Site placement and runway orientation rely heavily on the airspace and accompanying ground tracks
along the runway’s take-off and landing corridors.

These factors determine where planes can land safely over 95% of the time, where obstructions that
protrude into the flight path must be removed, and where the noise from planes might be intolerable for
nearby homes, businesses, and outdoor spaces.

2. Design and Layout (Geometric Design of Airport)

 Airplane Physical Features
o Before beginning any design work, it is necessary to have a firm grasp of the
functionality and structural characteristics of the airplanes that will be using the
airport.
o Maximum take-off weight (W), wingspan (A), length (B), tail height (C), wheelbase
(D), nose to the centerline of main gear (E), undercarriage width (1.15 main gear
track) (F), and line-of-sight/obstacle-free zone at the nose of the aircraft (G) are the
key physical features of the plane that affect airport design.
 Runway Length
o The ideal runway length is based on aircraft type, maximum take-off weight, engine
performance, landing and braking performance, flap position, and required safety
features.
o Additionally, each plane in the airport needs to be able to take off with only one
working engine, which means the runway needs to be long enough and obstacle-
free enough to accommodate that. Adequate stopping space should be incorporated
into the stopping zone if the pilot cancels take-off before the rotation.
Design Solutions for Passenger Terminals

1. Consolidated Passenger Terminal

2. Finger Terminal (Consolidated)

3. Satellite Terminal (Consolidated)

4. Finger Terminals (Decentralized)

5. Satellite Terminals (Decentralized)

6. Drive to Gate
 7. Mobile Lounge

Passenger Loading Methods

1. From a single level terminal building the passengers walk across the apron to the aircraft. This
method is presently being employed by many airports in use today.
2. From a two-level terminal building the passengers walk down a flight of stairs and then across
the apron to the aircraft. This is an intermediate phase in use, where the future development
would employ the use of jetways.

3. This method shows a jetway which rotates into position and has the capability of telescoping to
accomplish the interface between aircraft of different sill height . This diagram demonstrates a
power-in, pushout gate position.

4. This is the same as method 3 above, however, it differs only in that this diagram demonstrates a
power-in, power-out gate position.
5. This diagram demonstrates a fixed jet way of short length and with a small amount of
telescoping capability. This jetway also has the capability of making some adjustments in sill
height. The gate position can only be a power-in, push-out condition.

6. This method, which is used in some present-day airports, consists of a train of carts designed to
carry passengers or it may consist of the use of buses to deliver the passengers to a remote
aircraft parking position. The terminal building can be either a one-level or two-level structure.
7. This method is known as the Mobil-lounge and consists of an elaborately furnished bus with a
scissor lift end a telescoping front to achieve the interface between both the aircraft and the
terminal building. The aircraft is parked at a remote position from the terminal building.

8. This method is used for the wide-bodied aircraft. The two main corridors are fixed in their
location, however, the four short jetways nave telescoping capability in order to achieve the
interface with the aircraft. The gate position, requires a power-in, push-out condition.

9. This method is also used for the wide-bodied aircraft. It is based upon the concept of a fixed
corridor for access to the front two passenger doors and a cantilevered jet way over the wing to
reach the back door. Here again, the gate position requires a power-in, push-out condition.
Baggage Handling Systems

Area Considerations for Baggage Systems

1. Enplaning Baggage
a. Curbside check-in. This area must provide convenience of tagging and usually some
mechanical conveyance back to a central bag room.
b. Counter check-in. This will coincide with the usual ticket counter in the main terminal
area. It is customary to provide mechanization from an area directly in the back of the
ticket counter to the central baggage room.
c. Gate check-in. In small quantities, bags are received at the gate. Bags must be checked
in at this point because many passengers mistakenly believe that their suitcases will be
accepted for storage in the passenger portion of the plane.
d. Transfer baggage. Additional bags will be received at a convenient location adjacent to
the baggage room for transfer from other airlines or the same carrier.
 2. Deplaning Baggage.
a. In order to size a baggage claim area, the architect must have the following information:
the number of passengers and the amount of baggage that will be claimed within the
peak condition, the type of claiming device and its physical size, its capacity, and its
linear feet of frontage.

Baggage Claim Systems

a. The baggage is transported from the aircraft to the claiming device by a cart and is then off-
loaded manually by an attendant.

b. DIVERTER. In this system the baggage is placed on a conveyor at one end. A diverter moves back
and forth along the conveyor and disperses the baggage onto the claiming device.

c. CAROUSEL. A conveyor, from underneath or from above, delivers the baggage to a rotating
carousel.

d. RACE TRACK. A conveyor from underneath or from above, delivers the baggage to a
continuously circulating conveyor, the length of which will depend upon the terminal layout.
e. POD. The baggage pod is removed from the aircraft and delivered to the claim area. The
passengers remove their baggage from the pod.

f. AMOEBA. This system is an extension of the race track system. The only difference being that
the baggage is manually loaded directly onto the conveyor by an attendant behind a wall and out
of view from the passengers.

g. AUTOMATED. This system consists of carts that are operated by a computer system. The
passenger inserts his claim ticket into a call box at a desired location, the cart then delivers the
baggage at that location.
General Considerations

Needless to say, passengers who may be carrying baggage should be offered such conveniences
of design as automated doors, sufficiently wide escalators, moving sidewalks, and similar devices. At all
times the analysis of traffic flow, volume of passengers, and direction of movement should be carefully
considered.

The terminal must also provide amenities for the traveling public. These may include any o1 the
following list and such other items as may be determined by a particular- locale:

 Bank
 Newsstand
 Berber shop
 Observation deck
 Camera shop
 Parcel lockers
 Candy store
 Restaurant and supplementary eating facilities
 Car rental agencies
 Cocktail lounge
 Drug store
 Rest room facilities
 Duty free shops
 Shoe shine
 Employee snack bar and cafeteria
 Showers/ dressing rooms
 Teenage lounge
 Flower shop
 Gift shop
 Hotel
 Television lounge
 Insurance vending
 Valet
 Money exchange
 Women's wear

Traveler's aid in large installations and nursery facilities adjacent to the women's lounge in the
main portion of the facility. Medical and first-aid facilities should be included in the passenger terminal
if they are not provided elsewhere in the airport.

Terminal Area Concepts

1. Simple Terminal Concept
 The simple terminal consists of a single common waiting and ticketing area with exits leading
to the aircraft parking apron. It is adaptable to airports with low airline activity which will
usually have an apron providing close-in parking for three to six commercial transport
aircraft. A simple terminal will normally consist of a single-level structure with two to four
gates where access to aircraft is afforded by a walk across the aircraft parking apron. The
layout of the simple terminal should take into account the possibility of pier or linear
extensions for terminal expansion.
2. Pier Concept
 Has an interface with aircraft along piers extending from the main terminal area. In the pier
concept, aircraft are usually arranged around the axis of the pier in a parallel or
perpendicular parked relationship. Each pier has a row of aircraft gate positions on both
sides, with the passenger right-of-way or concourse running along the axis of the pier which
serves as the circulation space for enplaning and deplaning passengers.

3. Satellite Concept
 consists of a building, surrounded by aircraft, which is separated from the terminal and is
usually reached by means of a surface, underground, or above-grade connector. The aircraft
are normally parked in radial or parallel positions around the satellite, which can have
common or separate departure lounges.
4. Linear Concept
 aircraft are parked along the face of the terminal building. Concourses connect the various
terminal functions with the aircraft gate positions.

5. Transporter Concept
  Aircraft and aircraft-servicing functions in the transporter concept are remotely located from
the terminal. The connection to the terminal is provided by vehicular transport for enplaning
and deplaning passengers.

Medium-type Air-passenger Terminal

Parking Requirements

The different types of parking are short-term (metered parking), medium-term (one or two

days), long-term parking, valet parking, and rent-a-car parking.

AIRPORT LAYOUT SAMPLE

HISTORY

The history of airports clearly reflects the evolution of transportation and the changing needs of society.
From ancient times to today, airports have played a crucial role in facilitating travel and commerce. Thus,
they have undergone numerous changes and developments along the way. Airports as we know them
today did not exist until the 20th century. Aviation technology advancements made it possible for planes
to fly longer distances and carry more passengers.

The concept of an airport, or a designated area for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, has likely been
around for as long as humans have been flying. However, the first recorded use of an airport was in
1909, at College Park Airport in Maryland, United States. This airport was established by the United
States Army Signal Corps and was used as a training ground for military pilots. It became a civilian airport
and served as the site of the first scheduled commercial flight in the United States in 1926.

Timeline of the airline industry in the Philippines:

1931 – To handle the airline matters, the government created an office under of the Department of
Commerce and Communications.

1941 – The first domestic airline, Philippine Airlines (PAL), was founded. PAL is now also the flag-carrier
airline of the Philippines.

1952 – The Civil Aeronautics Board and the Civil Aeronautics Administration was reorganized due to the
Republic Act 776.
1973 – As it is the sole domestic airline, Philippine Airlines (PAL) was virtually monopolizing the country’s
aviation industry.

1974 – PAL continues to dominate the industry by having the monopoly on domestic travels.

1978 – The airline was given a new franchise, however, under a provision that the government regulated
the fares.

1995 – The industry was liberalized with the establishment of domestic and international civil aviation
liberalization policy and the government control was removed.

1999 – Competing airlines increased. Due to this, PAL’s market share decreased.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the country has 71 airports. Eleven of them
can handle international flights. 32 of them only accommodate domestic travel, and 28 of them are
primarily used for general navigation. The most prominent of these airports is the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport, which is located in Pasay City. It has four terminals and can handle hundreds of
both international and domestic flights every day, making it by far the busiest airport in the country.

In these airports are hundreds of planes coming in and out, handled by different airlines. There are four
major commercial airlines in the country: Cebu Pacific, Air Asia, Philippine Airlines, and Skyjet. These
airlines carry majority of the international and domestic flights in the country.

Aerodromes are divided into four categories in the country: International, Principal Class I, Principal
Class II, and Community. These categories are defined by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
(CAAP) based on certain criteria:

International airports are considered gateways to and from the country. Since these airports handle
foreign arrivals, they are required to have border control facilities that monitor and handle the ingress
and egress of passengers in the Philippines.

DOMESTIC AIRPORTS ARE FURTHER DIVIDED INTO TWO CLASSES:

 Principal Class I airports are airports that are capable of handling jet aircraft with a capacity of
100 or more passengers.
 Principal Class II airports are defined as those that can accommodate aircraft smaller than the
minimum size for Class I, but still capable of carrying 19 passengers or more.

COMMUNITY AIRPORTS are small-scale airfields primarily designed to serve general aviation traffic,
rather than commercial flights

Domestic airport

A domestic airport is an airport that primarily handles flights within a country. Domestic airports do not
have customs and immigration facilities and so cannot handle flights to or from a foreign airport. These
airports often have short runways sufficient to handle short or medium haul aircraft and regional air
traffic. Security check/metal detectors are used in most countries, but in many cases they were installed
decades after security checks for international flights had become commonplace.

Some airports that are named "international" are essentially domestic airports that handles international
traffic on an irregular basis. It is an important area of study in the field of architecture because domestic
airports play a significant role in a city's transportation infrastructure and can have a major impact on the
overall urban identity and culture . The design of domestic airport buildings can incorporate elements of
local architecture to reflect the history, culture, and identity of the city .

Additionally, domestic airports serve as gateways to a city and are often the first impression that visitors
have, making the form and function of the terminal buildings crucial in creating a positive experience .
Furthermore, the structural systems of airport terminal buildings can contribute to their architectural
expression and symbolic function, reflecting the values and identity of the country and nation . Overall,
studying domestic airports in the field of architecture allows for the exploration of design strategies that
enhance the functionality, aesthetics, and cultural significance of these important transportation hubs.

REFERENCE:

https://www.arch2o.com/airport-design-standards/

https://www.wccaviation.com/blogs/an-overview-of-the-airline-industry-in-the-
philippines#:~:text=1941%20%E2%80%93%20The%20first%20domestic%20airline,carrier%20airline
%20of%20the%20Philippines.

https://tavtechnologies.aero/en-EN/review/pages/airporthistory

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_airport

https://www.traveloka.com/en-ph/explore/tips/domestic-international-airports-philippines/63570

https://www.aviationupdatesph.com/airports-in-the-philippines/