Impacts of Aging Travelers on Airports (2014)

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6 Once an older person has made the decision to travel by air, he or she must set about planning the journey, including mak- ing allowances for the extra time it will likely take to get to the airport and traversing the terminal to the gate. Travelers may also have recourse to one or more of the trip planning aids that can be found online, such as the FAA’s “Preparing to Fly.” There are also a number of commercial websites that offer advice on how to prepare for a journey by air. Neverthe- less, air travel can be stressful, beginning with the journey from home or office to the airport and terminal entrance. If the trip to the airport is by some form of public tran- sit, there should be no wayfinding issue unless the train or bus does not drop off directly at the terminal front door, but rather at a remote location such as a ground transportation center (Figure 3). In this case, requiring a secondary method of transportation to the terminal can provide a challenge for the elderly in finding their way to the appropriate shuttle or moving walkway system. This may be exacerbated by the fact that they are probably still hauling the bags they intend to check. Most airports mitigate this problem by running shuttle buses with low decks that closely align with the curb, and having paid or volunteer staff to assist with directions. HIGHWAY WAYFINDING If the traveler is driving to the airport, there may be several wayfinding issues to deal with, including roadway signage design, sign spacing, and extraneous clutter. One respondent noted that signs are often erected in response to a specific issue but remain long after the issue is no longer relevant. That airport had instigated periodic signage inventories leading to the removal of redundant signs as appropriate. At another surveyed airport, the terminal roadway signage had been replaced by signs that had a design similar to the state highway signage en route to the airport, which was consid- ered more comprehensible by the driver. There are also multiple factors that increase the complex- ity of the journey, such as a series of arrivals or departures in a single journey, short-term or long-term parking, rental car return, etc. Airline signage can also be an issue, especially at large airports where a single airline may occupy more than one terminal with many gates in each, leading to the possibility of gate changes during the course of the journey to the airport. PARKING CHALLENGES Parking options at the airport can be especially confusing to older travelers. Because of the higher cost of close-in parking and the longer stays associated with leisure travel, aging pas- sengers frequently use remote parking facilities. Often these facilities are large surface lots exposed to the weather, where there may be long waits for shuttle buses. These remote lots create the same problems of transferring to the termi- nal that the ground transportation centers do. Some remote parking and most close-in parking is in large multi-level parking structures, where it may be difficult to identify the most convenient area to park in order to minimize the walk distance to the appropriate terminal entrance. Even close-in lots can be hazardous in winter, when ice can lead to falls. One airport representative reported that the parking sections were identified by the gates and airlines to which they were closest. For the technology-savvy traveler, there is a range of assistance available for finding a parking place. Gate infor- mation smart phone applications such as FlightTrack can help determine the most convenient parking location in rela- tion to the aircraft departure gate; and there are smart phone applications that direct the driver to any available parking space (“Airport Apps Put You First in Line,” The New York Times, 2010). Most parking garages do not have baggage carts available within them because of their potential damage to cars. This requires passengers to transport their check-in and carry-on bags to the terminal unassisted. This issue has been ame- liorated somewhat for the elderly by ADA requirements for ramps and automatic doors along travel paths. One airport had a passenger services website that allowed passengers to call and arrange for an agent to meet them at their park- ing space with a wheelchair to convey them to the check-in lobby. DEALING WITH BAGS Apart from wayfinding, the greatest challenge at the airport for aging travelers is dealing with their baggage. The ultimate solution to this problem is to have one’s baggage picked up at home or other originating location. However, this raises sev- eral TSA security issues, primarily that the baggage may have chapter three FROM HOME OR OFFICE TO THE AIRPORT TERMINAL

7 States. The airports surveyed did indicate there is a trend toward on-airport bag check at parking garages and con- solidated rental car facilities, etc., which is certainly a boon to the elderly. However, there are logistical and cost issues that have slowed the implementation of remote bag drop. CURBSIDE CHECK The most common method of checking a bag prior to enter- ing the terminal is at curbside. This is generally convenient for the older traveler, and is available at all the larger airports surveyed. However, this does not eliminate all the issues for those who find it difficult to handle their bags. Generally, curbside agents will not lift bags from the trunks of cars, and curbside porters may only be interested in conveying bags from the car to the ticket counter. Also, elderly passengers who are dropped off at the curb while their traveling com- panion is parking the car or while waiting for a wheelchair can rarely find a place to sit, although waiting in what is often an unpleasant environment of vehicle exhaust fumes and traffic noise (see Table 1). been tampered with. Also, there is no opportunity to have an airline employee positively identify the person checking the bag. Nevertheless, there are many off-site locations such as large hotels, resorts, convention centers, and cruise ship terminals certified by the TSA that deliver bags directly to the airport for screening and loading onto the aircraft (“On the Road with Harriet Baskas,” USA Today, 2008). These services, as well as on-site locations, are generally provided by third-party vendors. The newer trend of shipping bags door-to-door is an alternative that could be a relief for elderly travelers. In Europe, a number of airports have remote terminals, usually located in the city center or at major transportation nodes, where bags may be checked prior to riding a transit system to the airport (Figure 4). Because of regional demo- graphic and infrastructural issues, including a lack of rail- way networks and generally dispersed population centers, this concept has not generally been adopted in the United FIGURE 3 Remote terminal—Vienna (Corgan). FIGURE 4 Garage bag check.

8 Issues Obstacles Strategies Trip Anxiety - FAA’s “Preparing to Fly” - Commercial flight prep websites Using Ground Transportation Within the Airport - Shuttle buses with curb-height decks - Shuttle boarding platforms Following Roadway Signage - Signage inventories to remove redundant signs - Use of similar signs to surrounding highways Using Large Parking Garages - Wheelchair service to the passenger’s parking space - Smart phone applications for locating parking spaces - Ramps at level changes on pedestrian routes - Automatic doors - Smart garage systems that enable empty space finding Handling Heavy Baggage - Bag shipping - Check-in at off-site locations - Check-in at a remote terminal; e.g., downtown - Remote check-in on airport, long-term parking, or car rental - Garage check - Curbside/valet check ICON KEY Capital Cost to Implement. Operational Costs/Staff Required. Existing Buildings Constraints/Disruption. No Obstacles to Implementation. TABLE 1 CHAPTER THREE SUMMARY