Is Yotel bound for San Francisco?

Rumours abound that Yotel, the European capsule chain, with branches in London Heathrow and Gatwick airports as well as Amsterdam Schiphol, is bound for its first stateside opening. The San Francisco Chronicle reported this morning: "The airport is seeking a concessionaire to build and operate what it calls "sleep units" in the International Terminal. SFO officials don't want a traditional hotel, but rather a collection of tiny rooms - like Japanese-style pod or capsule hotels - that fliers could rent for a couple of hours between flights.

Airports we love #3: Washington Dulles International

Some airports we love because they are so useable. Others, like Hong Kong, because they offer a consumer paradise. Washington's main hub, Dulles International, is none of these things. Indeed it can be a miserable experience to be delayed there (as the Terminalator was last year) but there's one thing that makes even a four-hour wait just just so bareable and that's the timeless architecture of Eero Saarinen with its huge sweeping roof looks as fabulous now as it did when it was opened in 1962.

"While Dulles remains a modern monument to the confluence of use and imagery... it is also handicapped by its uniqueness. No lessons flowed from this building because, apart from copying it, there was no way to expand its application. In the end Saarinen's was, like Wright's, an architecture of emotion applied to specific requirements and sites."

Carter Wiseman in Shaping a Nation, 1998

Face off: Standsted trials new biometric gates

Stansted Airport, on the outskirts of London, is encouraging its passengers travelling back to the UK to make use of "queue-busting" facial recognition technology at its arrivals gates.

The new system is open to any British or European passenger who has a new passport fitted with an electronic chip. Travellers simply have to stand in front of a machine that scans their face and checks the image against their passport photo before allowing them to pass through an automated gate.

Stansted Airport has been trialling the technology since December last year and there are plans to extend it to ten more UK terminals in August.

Inside South Korea's "ghost airports"

The mood may be buoyant at the Airport Show in Dubai but in South Korea many airports are empty and new developments are being postponed. BBC News has this interesting report from Yangyang International in the North East of the country which may enjoy the dubious honour of being the world's quietist.

One of its newest terminals, which cost almost US$400m to build, has not seen a single passenger in more than six months.

Pic of the Week: Munich Terminal II

Munich Airport - Terminal II, originally uploaded by yushimoto_02 [christian].

A small child walks with his father down a deserted Terminal II in Munich. Or is it a snapshot from some unmade Stanley Kubrick movie. I dunno. If only every terminal was so splendidly isolated.

If you've a great airport picture for us please feel free to email it at terminaladdiction AT gmail DOT COM

« Airport Show » opens in Dubai promising greener, cleaner aviation

Hearing airport developers promising green development is a bit like listening to an alcholic claiming that he is just popping out to top up on tea. The ninth annual « Airport Show » opened in Dubai today with much talk of sustainability.

Yeah, green airports. We'll all for them. But we'll be keeping a sharp eye for real developments rather than just the usual PR spin.

Despite the global recession the airport development is continuing almost unabated in the region. Not least in Dubai itself where a new airport, Al Maktoum International Airport is being built 40 kilometres away from the existing Dubai International airport. The budget is an eyewatering $33 billion. The first passenger terminal is 80% complete and will have a capacity of seven million passengers, however it will handle up to 160 million passengers annually after completion. The airport will have an annual cargo capacity of 12 million tons, more than three times that of Memphis International Airport, today's largest cargo hub

How green the new airport's six parallel runways will be is anyone's guess.

Changi, Singapore and SFO rated as world's best

According to the latest issue of Dwell Magazine has rated Changi Airport in Singapore as the best in the world.

It woos the common traveler who may be stuck here for a few hours ... thanks to a straightforward design that incorporates open-air spaces, including rooftop terraces and an out-
door swimming pool. Its atrium-like
 terminals are lush with indoor tropical
gardens that exhibit botanical thought-fulness. ... Ultimately, however, the vines, tasteful wood trim, and 
warm tones help offset the coldness commonly found in international 
hubs. A 24-hour cinema, spa, showers, children’s play areas, and free Internet service provide the means to kill 
time or freshen up before the next 
leg of your trip.

While San Francisco Airport gets the nod as best US airport:

SFO makes a big impression on those approaching by car or aboard the airport’s nifty AirTrains. The terminal elevates expectations with its sweeping, winglike roof and custom lettering oozing cosmopolitan style. The feeling doesn’t dissipate indoors, either. The concourse is a light and airy space—–
if a bit oversized for current traffic levels—–that hums quietly and instills confidence and calm in the traveler. International food vendors afford 
nontravelers quality good-bye time; security checks operate smoothly; 
and there are no pretzel-like corridors to get lost in. Waylaid travelers can busy themselves with an aquarium, 
an aviation museum, thoughtful art and culture exhibits, spa treatments, quality restaurants, and wireless Inter-
net. Convenient metro rail services connect the terminal to the city.