Manchester: £45m Redevelopment on Time and on BudgetAs part of its master plan to 2030, Manchester Airport has undergone a major £1 billion investment programme (lasting until 2017) to redevelop all three of its terminals. The airport is currently undertaking a £35 million redevelopment of it’s busiest terminal, Terminal 1, and a further £12 million redevelopment of Terminal 2. Before work began, a radical psychological human engineering study was conducted.
Passengers felt very stressed throughout the airport process, finding the new security measures for liquids confusing, according to the Human Engineering Study. Most notably, there was a strong desire among passengers to just get check-in and security “over with”, explained Brad Miller, head of construction at Manchester Airport Developments (MADL), the property and development arm of the Manchester Airports Group.
Accordingly, Manchester Airport has remodelled its terminals to put the new, extended security screening area just behind check-in and has moved all the shops, restaurants and bars to the airside area. This reconfiguration includes a new mezzanine level food court, which opened in autumn 2007, and work is moving ahead on a contemporary shopping mall that will include leading high street brands.
In addition, the first part of Biza, the new duty and tax-free store, opened in Terminal 1 earlier this year. On completion in September, Biza will be one of the largest tax and duty-free shops in Europe. A project to improve the Terminal 1 arrivals area with a new dining area, a Boots store (which opened last month) and a newsagent is on programme and scheduled for completion in November. The strategy for the redevelopment of Terminal 2 is similar to Terminal 1, with a new extended security area and similar plans for improvement of the Terminal 2 arrivals area.
Airfield work is already underway to extend the apron area at Terminal 3 with the creation of three new stands. In addition, the airport is finalising the design for a new £11 million air traffic control tower, for which architects CPMG were appointed.
Innovation Pioneer
On release, the results from the passenger study were a radical turning point for airports and their understanding of their passengers. Manchester Airport’s reaction to the information – a £45 million redevelopment – has marked it as a ‘forward thinking’ airport.
“It’s important to be ahead of the curve, provided that the innovation is to deliver an even better experience for our passengers, the airlines and our service partners. The airport has to be fit for purpose, so we are building what we know our passengers actually want from our airport,” said Miller.
The digital signage agency, Pixel inspiration, has completed the installation of a 72-screen digital signage network in Terminal 2. This is the first digital screen installation of its kind in any airport. The installation comprises a 116-metre run of 72 individual 84” diagonal rear projection screens, coupled with 72 Panasonic PTD 5700 dual bulb projectors positioned above the check-in desks. The screens are able to display animated airline branding, promotional material and passenger safety information and will, interestingly, not be used for advertising. Last year, the company completed the hardware installation of 97 screens in Terminal 1. Pixel Inspirations CEO Frank Emerson said: “Pixel has been able to develop something very specific for Manchester’s requirements as the airport is very forward thinking. The screens will have a significant impact on the operational efficiency of the airport, as flexible branding can move airlines branding at the touch of a button, so changing check out desks can be done very quickly and unobtrusively.”
£10m Security Area Open
Manchester Airport has just opened its new £10 million security screening area, making it the first airport to respond to the tightened security climate by abolishing all “before security” shops and restaurants and fast tracking people through the screening process – largely influenced by results from the Human Engineering Study. Miller said: “The opening of the new security area marks a major milestone in the £35 million redevelopment of Terminal 1. The changes from the Department for Transport to the security screening process at all UK airports since August 10th 2006 meant that passengers felt added pressure prompting our investment in the new outbound control area.”
The airport has invested more than £2.2 million in new X-ray machines, supplied by Rapiscan Security, which provide full colour 3D images of the contents of hand baggage and it has installed special vapour testing machines to sniff out any unauthorised liquids. A total of 10 lanes are now fully operational in Terminal 1, with the final four lanes due to be opened in June in time for the summer passenger peak. New staff have been taken on and the current team has been given refresher training.
To remain at the leading edge of innovative security measures, CEM and HRS (Human Recognition Systems) provided a biometric iris recognition technology, implemented into the existing CEM access control system. As a result, the airport has a fully integrated single solution for both biometric template management and access control. To eliminate the requirement for an additional biometric network and enrolment process, CEM provided Manchester Airport with the ability to capture iris image templates on the CEM AC2000 access control enrolment station at the same time as staff personnel details and image. Data is then saved to the AC2000 Server rather than just an ID card, so that iris templates are quickly distributed via the secure CEM access control system network to an IP card reader at the door.
Different Passengers want Different Things
In accordance with passenger preferences found through the study, five distinct zones have been determined. Zone 1 is the transference zone where passenger pass through check-in and security. Zone 2 is where the ‘must have’ purchases are located, such as newspapers and toiletries. Zone 3 is a 25,000 sq ft tax and duty-free zone. Zone 4 is a High Street shopping area and Zone 5 comprises a large dining and drinking area, which also includes a pub.
Miller said: “We know that different passengers want different things. Business passengers may be keen to grab a coffee and a paper and speed through the departure area, whereas leisure passengers may want to browse the shops and perhaps enjoy a drink or a meal. That’s why we’ve zoned our departure lounge into an essential zone where passengers can buy the things they need for their holidays from shops like Boots and WHSmith and then given them one of Europe’s largest tax and duty-free stores to enjoy. The next zone is the shopping mall before finishing with a food court that in Terminal 1 offers a multi-purpose food court and selection of bars.”
Liz Jeffrey, director of strategy at Milligan, agrees that passengers need variation. She said: “Understanding passenger’s wants and needs cannot be determined through their demographics. Someone will want different things depending on who they are travelling with, so it is very important that we integrated this reasoning into the layout of the terminal. Terminal 1 is looking good with a new part of Alpha’s duty free, which has opened, with the rest opening later this year. We are undergoing planning for Terminal 2 and looking at the opportunities in Terminal 3, though the latter is in the very early stages.”
The zones have been linked together using minimal signage and blue lights on the ceiling, which act as a ‘central path’ throughout the zones. Jeffrey said: “What we really want is for passengers to intuitively find their way through the terminal as we have kept signage to a minimum. We are also very focused on making sure the flowing and seating for example are stylish, but durable. Essentially, we want to create something that is different from the norm.”
Good Planning Results in Smooth Execution
Undergoing such a large development in an airport that process 2.2million passengers a year has resulted in very few difficulties. The project has been carefully designed and phased to minimise the disruption to passengers. A slight difficulty was redeveloping Terminal 1. Miller said: “The terminal has evolved over a number of years and has been built on different levels and in different styles. The new design has to find a way of unifying the building, utilising existing empty space and revitalising the terminal as a whole.”
Milligan agrees that undergoing considerable developments in a 40-year-old building is an interesting process. Jeffrey said: “Despite the small hurdles, there have not been any serious delays or costs issues. Right now, we are trying to get as much done as possible before the busy summer period starts. Then, it will be a question of doing what we can over summer without disrupting any of the operations and then starting construction work again in the autumn.”
PRM Regulation
As of the 26 July this year, EU airports will become responsible for providing assistance to passengers with reduced mobility (PRMs). This assistance must be provided to PRMs departing, arriving and transiting at EU airports. Manchester Airport met the regulation requirements a year early. More than 169,000 people with restricted mobility travel through the airport annually and this is expected to increase.
Andrew Holl, Manchester Airport’s operations director, said: “It’s a credit to the efforts of all those involved in setting up the service that we started operations well ahead of the legislative deadline.”