1666503 - International Airports with and without Automated People Movers

The first APM in airport was opened in 1971 in Tampa International Airport. It was included in the airport design to meet the requirement of limiting passenger walk distance between the roadway curb and aircraft gate to 700 feet. Since then, the APM shuttles became an integral part of the international airports around the world to connect satellite terminals with main terminal. Thus, the APMs became an essential element in the design of international airports to improve convenience and comfort of passengers by reducing walking in the airports.

Recently, many developing countries built several international airports. Some new international airports are in various stages of planning, design, or construction. Due to budget constraints and other reasons, these airports are being built without Automated People Movers (APM). As air travel is growing very fast beyond their projections, these new international airports are now extending their terminals and adding new gates. In some international airports, these extended terminals are reaching over one-mile-long concourses with shops on either side. Although short segments of automated walkways are provided in the concourses, people with carry-on luggage, passengers in wheelchairs, and passengers with children in strollers are subjected to walk long distances. The major reasons for not considering the APMs in these airports are: 1) the site is not sufficient to consider the concept of main and satellite terminals connected by APM shuttles and whatever land available is to be reserved for future extensions of the terminal, new runways, and extensions of the existing runways and 2) APMs are expensive to build, operate, and maintain.

This paper will discuss in detail the two above issues that were raised in not including the APM in the international airports using the information gathered from one of the international airports with APM in the USA and the information from a recently built international airport without APM, which is under extension, in India.