Passenger Level of Service and Spatial Planning for Airport Terminals (2011)

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36 Background These guidelines are intended to provide updated guidance to aviation stakeholders when evaluating or developing new, expanded, or upgraded North American airport facilities. As detailed in this report, research completed in North American airports in the summer of 2008 did not discern a graduated framework of increased or decreased passenger perception of LOS associated with the density of passenger queues. More- over, the data collection showed conclusively that passengers do not perceive higher LOS due to more space being allocated to them as they wait for service at airports. Therefore, it is not suggested that airport owners or design- ers who want to produce facilities that will provide higher passenger perception of LOS attempt to achieve this goal by increasing allocation of space per passenger or by making passenger queue spaces larger. Passengers care far more about the quality of the space provided as related to how well that space serves their needs for productivity of waiting time and sanctuary from the stresses of travel. These guidelines are based on the passenger space allocation guideline for LOS C discussed in IATA’s Airport Development Reference Manual (1). The IATA guidelines are very similar to the space allocation guidelines offered by Transport Canada and by Dr. John Fruin in his book, Pedestrian Planning and Design (2). This work has been used in practice since the 1970s and has formed the basis for airport terminal develop- ment since then. The relatively good passenger-waiting LOS observed in all of the study airports is testimony to the valid- ity of this guidance. A Few Words of Caution The ACRP 03-05 study team proposes use of LOS C as an appropriate passenger space allocation goal so long as: • All necessary airport terminal processors are present in the design and sized to produce a balanced flow. • There are convenient, adjacent, or nearby places for pas- sengers to wait when congestion in one particular area produces excessive density, since the study observed that passengers self-regulate their comfort by waiting in adja- cent or nearby areas. • Passenger demand used to size the space is based on the end of the planning and design horizon. It is important that the data used to plan and design pas- senger spaces be reliable. This means that the data represent current conditions at the airport with respect to air service markets served, airline processing methods and policies in use, and prevailing government regulations. Furthermore, it is important that the data be adjusted as appropriate to rep- resent future conditions at the end of the planning and design horizon so that the terminal layout will be robust through the entire design life. If standard data are used, it is important to understand the operating conditions implicit in the standard in order to ensure that the data are applicable to the airport operation being planned. Peak Occupancy Demand Forecast To start, each area studied must have a validated forecast of the peak occupancy of that airport processing area. There are many ways to develop these forecasts, including the appli- cation of planning standards to typical demand data usually found in airport master plans. Alternatively, peak occupancy for each area may be derived from an airport programming spreadsheet—either a proprietary tool developed by a quali- fied aviation consultant or the guidance provided by ACRP. Another option is the output of a detailed computer simulation modeling analysis that provides estimates of peak occupancy for each airport processing area. Since the peak occupancy forecasts are evaluated by the avi- ation consultant, it is critical to ensure that certain passenger- behavior–related and air-service–related factors have been accurately applied, including C H A P T E R 5 Space Allocation Guidelines

37 1. Airport arrival earliness distributions, reflecting the per- cent of passengers who check in within a distribution of minutes before a departing flight. The earliness distribu- tion often varies based on time of flight departure and type of departure (domestic versus international). 2. First point of airport contact for check-in, the first place that passengers contact air carrier personnel to obtain travel documents or to check bags. Passengers may not need to contact any airline personnel until they reach the gate because they obtained a boarding pass via web check- in or a remote baggage check-in location or they used a personal wireless device to display their boarding docu- ments (and they have no baggage to check). But passen- gers may contact the airline at curbside to check their baggage and obtain boarding passes, at a self-service ma- chine (and associated bag drop location) to obtain travel documents and possibly check baggage, or at a staffed check-in counter to obtain assistance from an airline ticket agent. 3. Aircraft seat factor (sometimes termed “load factor”) to account for the number of seats occupied as opposed to the total number of seats available. 4. Percentage of passengers originating their travel or termi- nating their travel at the airport [origin and destination (O&D) factor]. These are the only outbound passengers that will use the curbside roadway, the check-in lobby, and the security screening checkpoint, and the only inbound passengers that will use the domestic baggage claim. Stated another way, these are the only passengers who will access the non-secure side of the airport terminal. The other passengers—connecting passengers—will only use the areas on the secure side of the airport terminal. 5. Applicable airport processing times so that as passengers queue for service, the product of the service time and the total number of processors determines the processing throughput of the area. The number of passengers who ar- rive in excess of the throughput of the area will determine the peak occupancy of the queue area. 6. Travel party size, representing the number of passengers that remain together while everyone in their group is processed. 7. Number of checked bags per passenger or travel party, representing the additional demand for space created by the checked bags in terminal areas where the passengers are in possession of their checked baggage; consideration should also be given to convenient ways to handle over- sized baggage, the percentage of passengers that use bag- gage carts, and so forth. 8. Mode of transportation to/from the airport, which in some cases will determine which entrance, exit, or route through the terminal that the passengers or their greeters may use. This information is useful in determining maximum peak occupancy of certain meeting areas. 9. Number of visitors who accompany the passenger while in the terminal. The planner/designer needs to accommo- date this additional occupancy as appropriate. Passenger Space Allocations Table 40 summarizes the space allocation guidelines and other important considerations for each terminal processing area. In applying these guidelines, remember that the space allocation applies only to the passenger queuing areas. Addi- tional space must be allocated for circulation to/from the area, and space must be set aside for special processing that may occur within the area. IATA Name of Area Application Space Allocation Important Considerations Check-in area Curbside check-in, check-in hall, FIS recheck Varies by bag cart use and bags per passenger: 12.9 sq ft per pax – few carts, few bags 14.0 sq ft per pax – few carts, 1-2 bags per pax 18.3 sq ft per pax – high % of carts 21.5 sq ft per pax high % of carts, 2+ bags per pax Do passengers’ visitors wait with them in queu e? If a uni-queue is used to organize the passenger waiting area, does the width of the queue require that the overall standard be increased to provide adequate length of space to accommodate the travel party, their baggage, and baggage cart ? Remember, this standard is used to generate passenger waiting area only. Additional area needs to be allocated for circulation to/fro m the queue exit to the face of the check-in counter. (continued on next page) Table 40. Passenger space allocation guidelines for processing areas.

38 IATA Name of Area Application Space Allocation Important Considerations Wait/ circulate Meeter/greeter halls, corridors Varies by type of area: 16.1 sq ft = airside, no carts 19.4 sq ft = public after check-in, few carts 24.8 sq ft = departure before check-in, carts Be sure to account for visitor earliness; it may be helpful to consult Fruin’s corridor or walkway LOS guidelines as well. Use of large m echanized carts or m oving sidewalks to transport passengers will require special planning considerations. Holdroo m Gate lounges or any seated waiting area 65% of capacity or less is LOS C Capacity measured by: 18.3 sq ft per seated pax 12.9 sq ft per standing pax This standard needs to be reviewed relative to the size of seats, the width of aisles between the seats, and the mi x of passengers seated and standing in the holdroo m. Additionally, area mu st be provided over and above the seating/waiting area for the gate agent counter, any boarding pass reader, and any specially organized area for the boarding bridge queue or the deplaning aisle. It is also im portant to consider any airline-specific strategic space allocation to passenger am enities. Baggage claim (exclusive of device) Do mes tic or international baggage claims 18.3 sq ft per pax based on 40% cart use. For some dom estic claims, it may be appropriate to m odify this to 14.0 sq ft to represent minimal cart use. The space allocation mu st also take into consideration the ability of passengers to reach the claim area in time to pick up their baggage. That means that the maxim um depth of queuing around the device must not exceed 11.5 ft (per IATA); consideration mu st also be given to the num ber of baggage carts used by passengers. This standard assum es that 40% of passengers use a baggage cart. The assum ption ma y need to be adjusted to represent local conditions. Governm ent inspection FIS primary inspection, out bound security inspection 10.8 sq ft This standard is good for areas within the govern me nt inspection facility where passengers do not have their checked baggage with them . Custom s secondary inspection areas or exit control lanes should use a larger space allocation (e.g., 17.2 sq ft). Source: IATA Airport Development Reference Manual (1) and Pedestrian Planning and Design, Fruin (2) Note: pax = passenger