Airport arrivals: something to celebrate

09/09/2016
GULLIVER was struck this summer by the difference between arriving at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and London’s Heathrow.

At Schiphol the doors for arrivals opened from the sterile airside customs-hall onto a party atmosphere of welcome-home banners, shiny balloons and excited relatives and partners. Even if it wasn’t intended for your correspondent, it was a cheery site to pass through.
At Heathrow the deafening silence of taxi drivers in cheap suits, wearing earpieces, staring at their phone screens and holding up misspelt passenger names, was a study in contrasts. What is the explanation for the divergence between these jubilant and dour scenes at airport arrivals? Differing national personalities may be one. It is not that uncommon to arrive at an American airport, for instance, and witness the kind of exuberant welcoming committee for friends or lovers that was laid on at Amsterdam. In all his years of flying, Gulliver cannot remember once such incidence at a British airport. But Brits and the Dutch share pretty much the same introverted personality traits, so why are the Dutch such enthusiastic greeters?
One reason is that the landside arrivals concourse in Amsterdam is stuffed full of shops selling the paraphernalia that lights up a party welcome. It even has a banner-vending machine, the BannerXpress, which can be used to design and print instant banners. In London, those waiting in arrivals to embrace the lonely international traveller can at best pick up a coffee, or a soggy sandwich and a pint of milk. (Though overall, Heathrow was ranked eighth best airport in the world in this year’s passenger survey from Skytrax.)
Spawning so many shops and facilities is canny entrepreneurship, fulfilling the demand of those whiling away the time waiting for loved ones. Design and accessibility are also important. Not all Western airports have austere arrival concourses à la Heathrow; many have eateries and bars (Gulliver remembers taking an hour once to leave LAX arrivals because of the offer of a beer, or two, at the concourse bar from a welcoming friend).
Most airports do make an effort to make the ambience more relaxing by providing free Wi-Fi, artwork, quiet zones, and even sleep pods, but these all tend to be airside. Some are having a rethink and enhancing the experience of arrivals, the poorer cousin to departures. For example, more shopping is being provided at Oslo, which has just opened a huge retail space for domestic arrivals, said to be the largest such facility in the world. Still, anyone wishing to create a memorable welcome at most airports must plan ahead and buy accordingly. Visiting dignitaries may tire of the full-on reception lavished on them, but after a long flight a familiar face and a welcome smile can make the world of difference to the weary traveller. Perhaps Hawaii does it best, with its tradition of greeting tourist visitors with a lei or a bunch of flowers.

Fonte:http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2016/09/designing-airports?fsrc=scn/li/te/bl/ed/designingairportsairportarrivalssomethingtocelebrate

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