Hi, I would like to propose some ideas that I have for the upcoming terminal update in Alpha 35. I believe some of these have been suggested by other people on the forums but I would like to give my input on how I think they should work. Hope these ideas are interesting and helpful. I left the main points in bold if you are too lazy to read the whole thing.
1. One Way Movement
I think something that is lacking in Airport CEO currently is the ability to control the movement of the passengers in the terminal buildings. For example, I tried building a terminal with a designated baggage claim hall. However, it seemed that departing passengers would enter the hall even though the way to security was the opposite direction. I suggest implementing one-way doors and one-way paths to allow separation of departing and arriving passengers, and also allowing players to control the flow of passengers in the terminal.
2. Security Upgrades
I feel that it is time we move away from the current security set up we have in Airport CEO. Currently, the only forms of security are Baggage Scanners, Checkpoints (Scans Handcarry and Metal Detectors), and âSecurity Exitâ. I feel that these security measures when implemented are only suitable for a domestic terminal. However, with the game seemingly scheduling international flights, more needs to be implemented. Immigration & Passport Control is one thing I would like to see. In every international airport in the world, passport control is a must. Traditionally, we have manual immigration, with queues for immigration officers to check your passport. Today, in modern airports, we have airports opting for Automated Immigration for Citizens and some other groups, and even airports who have moved to fully Automated Immigration for All Travellers on Departure. These 3 ways of Immigration and Passport Control would give players different alternatives, and I think can be implemented into the âTech Treesâ that is coming in Alpha 34 the gameplay update. Customs should also be implemented after baggage claim with the goods to declare and nothing to declare channels, with passengers randomly being stopped by Custom Officers to do checks in the nothing to declare channel, and passengers stopping to declare in the goods to declare channel. Animal and Plant Quarantine can also be implemented as part of customs. I briefly touched on a few types of Security staff (Immigration and Customs Officers), and I think it would be cool and interesting if there were different security staffs rather than the generic security staff we have now. Patrols is something seen in the game but I am not sure has been implemented. Currently, in the âShiftsâ tab in the game, we see a slider to adjust the shift time for patrols done by security staff. However, I do not see any patrols being done by security officers. I think we can implement patrols in two ways. Have the game automatically determine where security staff patrol, or have patrol routes determined by the players manually.
3. Cargo, Domestic and International Terminals
I saw in the Dev Blog for upcoming updates that the terminal update would allow for multiple terminals and was thinking if it was possible to assign terminals specifically for Domestic flights, and terminals only for International flights. Additionally, I think there could be Cargo terminals with planes only carrying cargo. I am not sure Cargo is an area the developers are going to bring into the game but I feel would definitely be interesting. Domestic terminals could have lighter security, with immigration and customs (from the suggested security upgrades) removed while International terminals would have tightened security.
4. Separation of Arrival and Departure areas
In some airports today, such as Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea. Passengers who have just disembarked from a flight are immediately directed to a separate area from the departing passengers where they will go through security and so on. I think this could be interesting with certain floors dedicated to departure and other floors for arrivals. Currently, in Airport CEO, this is impossible as arrival passengers choose to go wherever they want. I think the idea of one-way paths and one-way doors could help with this.
5. Above Ground Roads, Separated Pickup and Dropoffs
In Changi International Airport in Singapore, Departing passengers taking private vehicles to the airport can be dropped off at the road that goes to the second floor. Meanwhile, arriving passengers taking cars or buses are picked up on the first floor. Taxis or Cabs picking up passengers have their own dedicated areas with queues on the first floor as well. I think Airport CEO can implement these Above Ground Roads, Separated Pickup and Dropoffs, as well as Taxi Stands, and they would also help with the separation of arrival and departure areas.
6. Standby Gates
In Airport CEO, it is rather common to have flights that get slightly delayed and depart late. This would sometimes result in the next flight taking the stand being unable to land. As a result, I would like to suggest Standby Gates where gates of all 3 sizes can be designated as a standby gate and planes with their stands still taken up would use the standby gate instead for their turnaround.
9. Staff and Staff Room Upgrades
Currently, in the game, many delays can be caused by Ramp Agents not arriving at the stand on time, Airport Staff not arriving at the Boarding Desks on time and so on. I feel that some of the aspects of the staff are rather unrealistic. In which of the worldâs best airports, does airport staff only arrive when boarding or check-in starts? I think that players should be allowed to choose when Airport Staff are to be at the gates and also be able to choose if Ramp Agents should be at the gates before the plane arrives. Another thing that I suggest would be to give the players the ability to assign all staff in the game their work areas. For example, Airport Staff Andy Holmes could be assigned to the Boarding Desk of Gate A1. The staff could also be assigned to multiple work stations if the timings do not clash, and allow multiple staff to be assigned to one work station which would allow for shifts. In the game currently, there is the ability to create multiple staff rooms. However, it seems that staff can choose whichever staff room they want to go to to take breaks even if it means walking across the entire airport, as long as that staff room is open for their specific staff type. I think it would also be good to allow players to assign staff to a staff room while also being assigned to their work stations. Additionally, Staff Rooms could have more facilities, such as Water Dispensers, Food Vending Machines and so on, to use during their breaks.
10. Boarding
In airports today, planes never wait for passengers. If passengers do not show up, the plane will still leave on time without them. In Airport CEO however, it is the other way around, planes wait for passengers, and cause delays that have a ripple effect on the airport. I think this is something that must be changed. Players should be allowed to decide when the gate closes and boarding ends. Passengers that are late will not be allowed to board.
Another thing that would be more relevant to Alpha 36 the panic update, would be to have âLost Passengersâ that can be helped by patrolling airport staff or security staff. Or if there is a nearby information desk, âLost Passengersâ will go up to it and find their way. Airport Staff at boarding desks should go and find passengers that are going to be late and get them on board the plane before boarding ends.
11. Runway and Stand Repairs
I feel that the current way of repairing runways and repairing stands is rather unrealistic too. In real life, airports have to close a runway or a stand, in order to repair it. Repairs also do not happen instantly. I think Runway Closure for Runway Maintenance should be implemented. Same for stands. I suggest that service technicians go to the runway to repair the stand during the allocated time for runway maintenance. During days with snow, the runways could also need to close for snowploughs to remove the snow on the runway.