How to solve the chaos at airports?
Heathrow Airport users have long complained about the airport's congestion problems. Beyond the debate about whether or not a third runway is needed, many criticisms focus on the large number of passengers who wander haphazardly through the terminals, hindering smooth passenger flow. Heathrow serves a large number of passengers in a smaller area than other major airports. hubs Europeans. A week ago, when asked about this issue, the airport's general manager, Thomas Woldbye, placed the blame squarely on the users. In his opinion, it's not a problem of space, but rather that people are walking where they shouldn't. The newspaper The Guardian He quoted his remarks: "The problem is that all the British keep to the left, and Europeans usually keep to the right. And they do it in both directions. So we end up bumping into each other, and I say that from personal experience." Woldbye suggested that if it weren't for that, everything would be easier: "We just need to make sure that everyone going in the same direction keeps to the left and everyone going in the opposite direction keeps to the right. I know it's an oversimplification, but it's the approach we need right now."
For Woldbye, people are not right in the head. The airport director has a wet dream in which, at zero cost, the congestion problem would be solved thanks to discipline. Overnight, the disorderly crowd will understand that it itself is generating the chaos and will establish a single lane for each direction, aware of the collective benefit. For once in the history of humankind, thousands of people with nothing in common would prioritize the community spirit over individual interests. A perfect choreography would form, with a suitable flow of traffic so that all users could move forward without crushing their shoes, without obstacles or difficulties. Everyone at the same pace. The hand used to pick up luggage could also be stipulated to reduce the chances of friction. Perhaps some kind of roundabout would need to be built to facilitate turning around if a seatbelt had been forgotten at baggage check. People would walk with fascinating fluidity, weaving through the boarding gates like worker ants organizing their nest. People moving without hesitation, with firm and light steps. Focused, with manageable luggage, no children, no need to use the restroom, no hunger, and always on time. Neither too early nor too late. In perfect sync with the flight.
In reality, airports are places designed for frequent stops, not for moving at a military pace. Enormous facilities with users unfamiliar with the space. Screens every few meters crammed with small print displaying codes and schedules. Confusing directions. Waiting areas teeming with passengers who missed flights or whose lives were erratic. Queues at boarding gates and kilometer-long, winding paths to organize the waiting crowds. Signs indicating restrooms that are sometimes out of service. Shops tempting you to make one last purchase and supermarkets. duty free More crowded and better lit than the ones on our street. Organized groups moving like bewildered flies, families arguing, strollers with babies, and children discovering a runway in the vastness of the gleaming floor. People in a hurry, tired, laden, and disoriented. Cultures that generate different habits, temperaments, and languages.
The problem isn't the design or the overcrowding of the infrastructure. What bothers us are the people. Faced with this utopia, perhaps it's more realistic to pack ourselves up at the arrivals counter and appear, neatly arranged, on the baggage carousel.
