Airline passenger traffic is not slowing down, registering worldwide growth of 6.8% in 2015. The growing demand means more opportunity but also more competition, and airports need to be innovative to attract both business and pleasure air travelers.
Long layovers can be tiresome, but not necessarily in Changi, Singapore. With free video games, film screenings, a swimming pool and multiple green spaces, the airport has become a bonafide place to relax, part of which helped it get voted the best airport in the world last year.
No more fatigue in Helsinki airport either. Sleeping pods, yoga classes and massages are definitely a way to improve the weary travellers' well-being.
In Dubai, passengers don't have to waste time at immigration counters, thanks to automatic controls of passports, fingerprints and eye scans.
The creators of the new Beijing airport in China, which will be completed in 2018, also thought about efficient alternatives for travelers: With the design of a compact, vertically-oriented terminal, there will be only 650 yards separating the terminal center from the farthest boarding gate.
As for the managers of Kochi airport, in southern India, they've found a way to cut down on high electricity bills and at the same time, be more environmentally-friendly: A vast 45-acre field of solar panels makes it the world's first fully solar-powered airport.
