Post-COVID Design: Arora Featured in Passenger Terminal World Article

Consumer habits have changed drastically in response to COVID-19, and consumers are continuing to seek a more seamless experience with minimal person-to-person contact. The COVID-19 pandemic also has long-term implications that will influence the way airports look and operate. Passenger Terminal World recently spoke with industry experts about how design trends will align with the aspirations of the modern traveler.

Arora Engineers, Inc. (Arora)’s Chief Compliance Officer Jason Shevrin, PE, DSCE, was featured in an article in Passenger Terminal World entitled “Post-COVID Design,” and ruminates on the ways in which personalization and shifts in consumerism may shape the overall floorplans of airports across the world. Jason explains that Biometrics will not only shape boarding areas and hold rooms, but also the way airports approach passenger processing and security screening. Security screening has been trending toward single-token authentication, meaning there will be a single credential by which you deposit your luggage, obtain your boarding pass, go through security and get on your airplane. Biometrics will be the key to this touchless passenger processing and screening, and facial recognition will likely be the single-token authentication we see embraced by airports in the future.

Jason also goes on to suggest that retail and food/beverage functions could be moved to back-of-house storage and kitchen prep areas that would allow for the elimination of all but a few key retail and restaurant areas so that hold room and boarding areas could be expanded. This would likely entail an expansion of back-of-house space for restaurants and retail to store their consumables, though perhaps could also offer airports an opportunity to stock even more variety in their inventory if branded storefronts will be replaced with personalized purchasing via customers mobile devices. This could also eliminate the need for passengers to select only from the offerings within the terminal their flight departs from – they could purchase the goods they desire from any terminal and provide airports with the potential for even greater revenue generation.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the aviation industry, it has also served as a reminder of the importance of flexibility when designing airports. The ability to adapt in an ever-changing environment will continue to help airports respond swiftly to unforeseen crises that may appear.

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