Reducing airport maintenance costs while still providing a safe and attractive environment for passengers is a challenge for many airport owners.
Here are four ways in which you can reduce your airport terminal maintenance costs.
- Terminal entrance
The entrance to an airport terminal is an ideal place to remove dirt and moisture from passengers’ feet, luggage wheels and trolleys. However, many entrance floor systems are not optimized for scrubbing, brushing, and absorption, allowing too much dirt and debris to enter the terminal, increasing cleaning costs as well as wear and tear on expensive interior floor coverings.
Choose an entrance flooring solution that has a documented scraping, scrubbing and absorption action and is able to withstand high footfall in the airport terminal.
- Baggage claim areas
Damage to walls by luggage and trolleys in baggage claim areas can quickly become unsightly and a safety hazard. Standard wall coatings are simply not able to protect walls from frequent scratches and heavy impacts, resulting in frequent and costly maintenance and re-coating.
Instead of opting for plain paint or stainless steel, look for a wall protection solution that can absorb impact, hide scratches and scuffs, and maintain appearance without requiring frequent maintenance.
- Terminal interior
Like all large buildings, airport terminals can be subject to movement due to wind, thermal expansion and seismic events. While expansion joints will be built into the terminal structure, choosing the right expansion joint covers is critical to passenger safety and preventing damage to expensive walls and floors.
Select an expansion joint cover with a reputation in airport terminals that matches the expected building movements as well as the aesthetic design of the terminal.
- Terminal exterior appearance
Large commercial buildings can consume huge amounts of energy for lighting, heating and cooling, so many airports are turning to environmental programs such as LEED & BREEAM to help them design sustainable buildings that save energy.
One approach to significantly reducing energy consumption in a terminal is to let in more natural light and retain heat. So look for dynamic solar shading that not only reduces heat and glare, but can also significantly reduce air conditioning load requirements and lighting energy consumption.