Since the dawn of commercial aviation in the 1920s,
the popularity of air travel has grown at an insatiable rate.
Today, more 3.5 billion passengers travel by plane each year
equivalent to half of our planet’s population.
With technology, design and enhanced fuel efficiency now allowing commercial aircraft
to fly faster and cheaper than at any point before,
the ever-increasing demand for air
travel shows little sign of relenting.
As a result, destinations around the world are under pressure to expand their existing
facilities or to construct large new hubs.
With state-of-the-art facilities, automated systems, artificial intelligence, vast construction
project teams and designs from some of the world’s leading architects
this, is a new age of airport design.
With its main airport quickly approaching capacity, construction of Beijing’s second
international facility began in 2014.
Designed by the late Zaha Hadid, the USD $12BN scheme will deliver four runways and a terminal
that consists of a central hub from which six concourses radiate,
allowing flexible aircraft movements
while reducing walking distances for passengers.
Expected to become the world’s largest airport upon its completion in September 2019,
Beijing's Daxing International will serve 72 million passengers a year by 2025.
Despite its already vast scale, the site has been designed for further expansion in the future,
with space for three more runways
taking its capacity to over 100 million passengers a year.
Built on reclaimed land just off the coast of South Korea, Incheon International has
been undergoing a series of planned expansions since it first opened in 2001.
Completing Phase 3 and opening its second terminal just ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympic
Games in PyeongChang, the airport currently has a capacity for 62 million passengers each year
making it one of the busiest in Asia.
Along with the usual facilities, the airport also features a golf course, spa, casino,
indoor garden and museum of Korean Culture.
In addition, operators claim to have got processing
times down to just 19 minutes for departures, and 12 minutes for arrivals
well below the global averages.
Ranking consistently as one Airports Council International's best airports in the world,
the South Korean government has invested over USD $5BN into the project to date with the
aim to make it a mega hub for East Asia in terms of both passenger numbers and freight.
With the fourth and final phase of its development set for completion in 2020, Incheon International
will boast two terminals, four satellite concourses, 128 gates, five runways and a capacity of
100 million passengers each year.
The airport once described by former US Vice President Joe Biden as “third-world” is
undergoing a major USD $8BN re-development, transforming it into a world-class facility
that New Yorkers can be truly proud of.
Commencing in 2016 with works to Terminal B, the airport has so far continued to operate
throughout the redevelopment works with a number of airlines temporarily relocating
to other terminals.
The scheme will eventually unify Terminals B, C and D into one continuous structure almost
a mile long, offering state-of-the-art passenger facilities, improved mobility and an annual
capacity of over 50 million passengers.
Skybridges between the terminal building and departure gates will be high enough to allow
aircraft to taxi beneath, while the new AirTrain LaGuardia will connect the airport to New
York’s existing transport system.
Opening in stages up to 2021, the new LaGuardia will be the first airport to be built in the
United States in over 20 years.
Set to take-off by 2022, the new Terminal 2 at Kuwait International will significantly
expand the airport, adding 28 gates and increasing capacity by 13 million passengers each year.
The triangular building has a central height of 25 metres, facades that span over 1.2 kilometres
and a vast total area of 708,000 square metres.
Located in one of the hottest inhabited areas of the world, the roof features photovoltaics
and is punctuated to allow natural light into the building while deflecting direct solar radiation.
These features, along with the thermal properties of its concrete structure are set to make
the new facility the first LEED Gold certified passenger terminal in the world.
With Tan Son Nhat International Airport already the busiest in the country
and processing some 7 million passengers a year above its 25 million passenger capacity
the Vietnamese government approved the construction of a new airport to relieve pressure
and help boost their economy.
With construction originally due to commence in 2021, works on the Long Thanh International
Airport in Vietnam were brought forward two years, and are now due to start in 2019.
The airport's design draws heavily from lotus flowers, an inspiration which can be seen
throughout the terminal.
Planned in three phases, the USD $7.8 BN first stage is set to complete by 2025
and will consist of a terminal and two runways capable of processing 25 million passengers each year.
Phase 2 will expand the airport’s capacity to 50 million passengers by 2035, while its
third and final phase will allow Long Than to serve between 80 and 100 million passengers
each year by 2050.
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