Airport passenger terminal design and operations: Critical challenges for configuring emerging spatial conversions

The dissertation identifies problems associated with space relocation and adaptation to accommodate emerging security requirements in airports. It is a documentation of passenger experiences in airport terminals after September 11, 2001, based on the perceptions of changes or relocation of airport terminal functions to accommodate security requirements.; Questions examined through the study seek to understand the impact of security procedures on passenger spaces in airport terminals. The relocation of existing spaces, modifications of terminal spaces to new uses as well as procedures used by airport managers to adapt security functions into terminal spaces, were assessed.; One hundred passengers reserving and buying tickets from four Milwaukee travel agents between March and July 2003 were surveyed. Passengers were asked questions relating to their experiences of the new spaces in airports they frequently use.; Airport officials of two international airports in the United States Midwest, (Milwaukee and Chicago) were also asked to respond to questionnaires on procedures used for allocating spaces to accommodate security requirements in their airports.; A telephone survey of architectural design and industrial engineering firms in the U.S. specializing in airport design was also conducted. Participants at these firms were asked questions on procedures used for space relocation in passenger terminals post September 11, 2001.; Conclusions show that passengers regard airport security as important, and that existing terminal spaces need to be redesigned to adapt to new security requirements. However, they also perceive that most of the changes that are in process in the airports terminals are uncoordinated and negatively impact on the travel experience.; Airport managers suggest that regulatory requirements in place are not coordinated with actual space needs, changes and management policies within airports.