MAKURDI AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDING, MARKURDI, BENUE STATE
INTRODUCTION
The subject of airport passenger terminal building must involve a discussion of transportation.
Transportation has remained one of the most vital factors that influence the development of a nation. The credibility of this statement has been proven over the centuries, that if one decides to take a critical look at earlier civilizations, from the time of early Egyptian civilization to the current civilized world, one will discover that many of the great feats achieved during these civilizations would have been impossible without one form of transportation or the other.
By way of definition; transportation (or transport) is the movement of people, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles and operations. Transportation is important since it enables trade between people, which in turn establishes civilizations.
Transport infrastructure consists of the fixed installations necessary for transport, including roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals and pipelines and terminals such as airports, railway stations, bus stations, warehouses, trucking terminals, refuelling depots (including fuelling docks and fuel stations) and seaports. Terminals may be used both for interchange of passengers and cargo and for maintenance.
Vehicles travelling on these networks may include automobiles, bicycles, buses, trains, trucks, people, helicopters and aircraft. Operations deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this purpose including financing, legalities and policies. In the transport industry, operations and ownership of infrastructure can be either public or private, depending on the country and mode.
Transportation can be broadly classified under three broad groups thus: Land transportation; Water transportation; and Air transportation.
Land transportation is the most common and dates back to the beginning of civilization. Land transportation can take various forms, which are dependent on the sophistication, stage of civilization and development, and on the technical stratum of the society in question. It can be by the use of animals (camels, mules, horses, dogs, etc.) or by use of machines such as wheelbarrows, carts, cars etc.
Similarly, water transportation dates back a long time as humanity can recall. Water transportation, as land transportation, has also been developed in complexity, technical superiority, and usage.
Air transportation has its origin in the 20th century. The superiority of air transport over the rest can be attributed the reason behind its progressive growth and preference as the safest modern mode of transportation.
1.1.0 BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT
The airpot terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from the aircraft. Within the terminal, passengers purchase tickets, transfer their luggage, and go through security. The buildings that provide access to the airplanes (via gates) are typically called concoures. However, the terms terminals and concourses are used interchangably, depending on the configuration of the airport.
Smaller airports have one terminal while larger airports have several terminals and/or concourses. At small airports, the single terminal building typically serves all of the functions of a terminal and a concourse. Some larger airports have one terminal that is connected to multiple concourses via walkways, sky-bridges, or underground tunnels (such as Denver International Airport). Some larger airports have more than one terminal, each with one or more concourses (such as New York‟s John F. Kennedy Airport). Still other larger airports have multiple terminals each of which incorporate the functions of a concourse (such as Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport).
According to Frommers, most airport terminals are built in a plain style, with the concrete boxes of the 1960s and ‟70s generally gave way to glass boxes in the ‟90s and ‟00s, with the best terminals making a vague stab at incorporating ideas of light and air. However, some, such as Baghdad International Airport, are monumental in stature, while others are considered architectural masterpieces, such as Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris or Terminal 5 at New York‟s John F. Kennedy Airport. A few are designed to reflect the culture of a particular area, some examples being the terminal at Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico, which is designed in the Pueblo Revival Style popularized by architect John Gaw Meem, as well as the one at Bahiasde Huatulco International Airport in Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico, which features some palapas that are interconnected to form the airport terminal building.
Due to the rapid rise in popularity of passenger flight, many early terminals were built in the 1930s–1940s and reflected the popular art deco style architecture of the time. One such surviving example from 1940 is the Houston Municipal Airport Terminal. Early airport terminals opened directly onto the tarmac: passengers would walk or take a bus to their aircraft. This design is still common among smaller airports, and even many larger airports have “bus gates” to accommodate aircraft beyond the main terminal building.
Figure 1.1 Typical design of a terminal, showing the Departures (upper half of page) and Arrivals levels. 1. Departures Lounge. 2. Gates and jet bridges. 3. Security Clearance Gates. 4 Baggage Check-in. 5. Baggage Carousels
1.2.0 STATEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEM
A functional airport passenger terminal is meant to ease the stress encountered by airpassengers during the process of air travel. Therefore the architectural problem of the project is how best to provide an aesthetically pleasant, efficient, economical, bigger and more modern domestic airport passenger terminal, with good flexibility and expansion capabilities, to replace the outdated and small existing airprot terminal at Makurdi for Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
1.3.0 AIMS
The primary aims/goals of the design are as follows: to provide/design a suitable passenger terminal building in the Makurdi Airport which would potray a good image of Benue State to provde a passenger terminal building as well as other auxilliary facilities with the necessary tools requisite for air transportation activities as well as upgrade the economic facet of Makurdi city. to ensure these facilities will streamline the productivity in the airport without interruption or interference from each other or any source; and to provide a design that will adequately contain all the kinds of functions and activities associated with air travel to be carried out in the airport which will be expanded for this purpose.
1.4.0 OBJECTIVES
The principal objective of this project is to provide Makurdi Airport with a ultra-modern, befitting and function passenger airport terminal building which has been badly absent since the construction of that airport and also to upgrade the landscape around it and prescribe other salient facilities which have been omitted.
In appreciation of the particular demands of the project, I opt; To situate the structure in an ideal location that easily catches eye sight from around the environment and can be easily accessible to staff, air travellers, as well as visitors; To ensure good road network that create easy flow of vehicular and human traffic; To consider the environmental consequences as far as they are not a detriment to the proposed development. To minimise costs by putting construction techniques, and employing materials within the level of technology that is commensurate with our national aspiration. To ensure flexibility and adaptability for future changes in use of facilities or space; To ensure efficient security within and around the facility premises; To ensure the terminal building, the parking lots and other auxilliary facilities are strategically placed for easy accessibilty from one to the others;
1.5.0 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
The required information for proper planning and design of a domestic passenger terminal that will raise the quality and standard of the Makurdi Airport will be obtained through primary data; direct interviews with personnel or representatives of existing airports in Nigeria which basically are FAAN officials, porters on the airport grounds and locals residing around the airport vicinity, case studies, library research, and internet surfing. The emerging ideas and opinions or results are manually organized. On site physical survey will reveal the statistical data inherent of the site venue and will be gainfully utilized.
Figure 1.2 Project research requires various techniques of data collection(Photo: A. Kazda)
1.6.0 PROJECT MOTIVATION
The Federal Government of Nigeria has, in recent times, moved a motion for the rebranding of the Aviation Industry to upgrade the facilities within airports owned by the Federal Government as well as check the activities of private parastatals within the Aviation Industry. Previously, the airports in the Federation have been either dilapidated or grounded that no aviation activities take place in such airports. It is to this end that the Federal Government has moved to build or renovate existing terminal facilities in the airports within the federation listed below: Enugu Airport (re-christened Akanu Ibiam International Airport), Enugu, Enugu State; Gen. Yakubu Gowon Airport, Jos, Plateau State; Nnamdi 999Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory; Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, Imo State; Makurdi Airport, Makurdi, Benue State
1.7.0 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT
This scope of this thesis is restricted to the passenger terminal building within the airport and NOT the entire airport as a whole. This is to say that the work involves the only the landside of the airport (and not the airside) which includes the terminal building and auxiliary (supporting) facilities within the landside premises. These are briefly listed below:
Exterior elements: Terminal building; Well-defined road network; Parking lots; Signs; Fire station; Motel;
Terminal building: Entrance hall; Departure lounge; Arrivals lounge; Customs and Immigration; Baggage reclaim hall; Outbound baggage hall; Shops and snack bars; Conveniences; Supporting office spaces.
1.8.0 PROJECT JUSTIFICATION
The passenger terminal building is chosen and located in the Makurdi Airport premises, which is a domestic airport in Makurdi, Benue State, for the following reasons: The existing terminal building on the site is small and outdated; Aviation prospects in the state of project location is terribly poor; The existing facility has no provision for future expansion.
1.9.0 RELEVANCE OF PROJECT
This rearch will help to contribute and extend the frontiers of knowledge in the academic development of aviation architecture. It also exposes all aspects of professional details and necessary techniques of scientific investigation in this field.
In other words, this guide provides the basic criteria to organize, evaluate, plan, programme and design airport terminal facilities. The information presented is intended to make researchers aware of important design considerations and to aid them in project development.
1.10.0 DEFINITION OF TERMS
(1.) The Terminal Building:The structure located on the landside of the airport which is the interface between the airfield and the rest of the airport. It include those facilities that are required for passenger handling, cargo handling, maintenance, and airport administration.
(2.) Amenities:That part of a terminal building housing convenience, service, and diversion facilities for the passengers, tenants, and public.
(3.) Apron:The apron comprises the area and facilities used for aircraft gate parking and aircraft support and servicing operations. It includes the following subcomponents: Aircraft Gate Parking Positions: Used for the parking aircraft to enplane and deplane passengers. The passenger boarding device is part of the gate position. Aircraft Service Areas: On or adjacent to an aircraft parking position. They are used by airline personnel/equipment for servicing aircraft and the staging of baggage, freight, and mail for loading and unloading of aircraft. Taxi Lanes: Reserved to provide taxing aircraft with access to and from parking positions. Service/Fire Lanes: Identified rights-of-way on the apron designated for aircraft ground service vehicles and fire equipment.
(4.) Average Peak Hour:The peak hour of the average peak day. The peak hour is the one hour period of any peak day during which the highest percentage of the day‟s traffic is experienced. The average peak day is the average of the top 37 days (10 percent) of a year in terms of traffic volume.
(5.) Baggage Diverted:A mechanical device for transferring baggage from a moving conveyor belt to a baggage claim counter in such manner that the baggage is evenly distributed along the baggage counter.
(6.) Boarding Control Point: The point at which a passenger‟s credentials are inspected to assure that they are authorized to board a particular flight. Normally, this point is located in the vicinity of the gate from which the flight will depart.
(7.) Boarding Passenger:Any originating or connecting passenger authorized to board a flight.
(8.) Connecting Passenger:A passenger who arrives on one flight only for the purpose of transferring to another flight to reach her destination. These passengers are broken down into two categories: intraline and interline passengers.
(9.) Connector:The connector consists of the structure(s) and/or facilities normally located between the aircraft gate and the main terminal building, at low activity airports, i.e., less than approximately 200,000 annual enplaned passengers, this component is often combined with the terminal building component. It normally contains the following elements: Concourse: A passageway for circulation between aircraft gate parking positions and the main terminal building. Departing Lounge: An area for assembling and holding passengers prior to a flight departure. In some instances, it may be a mobile lounge also used to transport passengers to a parked aircraft. Security Inspection Station: A control point for passenger and baggage inspection and controlling public access to parked aircraft. Airline Operation Areas: Areas set aside for airline personnel, equipment, and servicing activities related to aircraft arrivals and departures. Passenger Amenities: Areas normally provided in both the connector as well as the terminal components, particularly at the busier airports with relatively long connectors. These amenities include rest rooms, snack bars, beverage lounges, and other concessions and passenger services. Building Maintenance and Utilities: Areas often included in the connector to provide terminal building maintenance and utilities.
(10.)Customs: This is an area under federal jurisdiction through which passengers arriving from foreign countries are require by law to pass, in order to make a declaration related to baggage which is accompanying them upon entry to the a country. This area is used for receipt of a declaration and/or examination of baggage. If duty is required, the customs agent will receive same in the customs area. Special attention must be paid to the design of this area because of changing techniques of operation.
(11.) Departing Room:An assembly area, including the boarding control point, located at a gate position(s) for passengers pending availability of aircraft for boarding.
(12.) Deplaning:Any passenger, cargo, baggage, visitor, etc., which is related to the unloading from an arriving flight.
(13.) Domestic Passengers: All passengers travelling in the territorial limits of a country or its terriories are considered as domestic. Foreign nationals within the confines and territory require no special checking and operate as domestics.
(14.) Enplaning: Any passenger, cargo, baggage, visitor, etc., which is related to the boarding of a departing flight.
(15.) Gate: A location to which aircraft are brought for the purpose of discharging and loading passengers and their baggage.
(16.) Gate Concourse:An extension from the main terminal building primarily intended to provide protected access for passengers and the gates. In addition to the passenger between the main terminal building corridor, the concourse may include airline functional areas and minimum consumer services.
(17.) Ground Transportation:The independently operated transportation vehicles scheduled for passenger‟s use between airports and the areas served thereby is called ground transportation.
(18.) Immigration: This area is devoted to the examination of passports of the nationals of the country where the airport is located and aliens seeking to enter that territory. Consideration for design and function of this area must be correlated federal authorities.
(19.) Interline Connecting(ion): A term used to describe passengers and baggage which arrive on the flight of one airline and depart on the flight of another.
(20.) Intown Terminal:A facility located apart from the airport, usually in the downtown area of the city, at which passengers may be processed, baggage checked to passengers‟ destinations, and from which ground transportation is provided.
(21.) Intraline Connecting(ion): A term used to describe passengers and baggage which arrive on one flight and depart on another flight of the same airline.
(22.) In-Transit Passenger: If an internationally bound aircraft stops at an airport for refuelling or discharge of passengers and a remaning number of passengers are to be detained in the aircraft of another destination, the convenience of providing a totally segregated lounge facility may be warranted for the continuing passengers. This facility is reffered to as an in-transit area. Security of the area is important.
(23.) Long-Haul: A term used to defined flights of or traffic which travel over a relatively long distance as opposed to those which travel over a shorter distance. Normally, long-haul passengers arrive at the originating airport earlier than short-haul passengers, carry more baggage than short-haul passengers, and are accompanied to or are met at the airport by more persons than short-haul passengers.
(24.)Originating Passenger: A passenger who is starting a trip.
(25.) Public Health Service: The function of the Public Health Service is to determine whether an arriving passenger will present a health hazard to the general population. Design requires correlation with federal authorities. This may require inoculation, special examination, and possibly quarantine.
(26.) Ready Room:An area adjacent to the normal work areas in which personnel whose duties are performed out-of-doors may assemble, be protected, and form which they may receive their work assignments. These rooms should be concealed from public view.
(27.)Self-Claim Baggage: A method under which passengers have direct access to terminating baggage in a controlledarea. As passengers leave the area, an attendat retrieves baggage claim checks and matches them to strap checks to assure that passengers have selected only baggage to which they are entitled.
(28.) Short-Haul: A term used to define flights or traffics which travel over relatively short distance as opposed to those which travel over a long distance. Normally, passengers arrive at the airport of origin late, carry less luggage than long-haul passengers, and are accompanied to or met at the airport by fewer persons.
(29.) Standby Passenger: A passenger not holding confirmed space but who is on hand at departure time for space that might become available.
(30.) Terminating Passenger: A passenger who has arrived at their destination.
(31.) Through Passenger: A passenger who arrives and departs on the same flight.
(32.) Transfer Baggage Room: The area to which checked baggage of connecting passengers is delivered for sorting by flight prior to its being dispatched to the aircraft for loading. This may be combined with outbound baggage room at the same locations.
(33.) Unit Terminal: One of several functionally completed terminal areas (which may be in the same or several buildings) each of which houses the activities of one or more airlines.
MAKURDI AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDING, MARKURDI, BENUE STATE
