Uniform Terminal Area: How to Abolish the Physical Separation of International and Domestic Passengers at Airports Using the European Example

摘要

Airports worldwide suffer from a physical separation of national and international travelers due to border control regulations. For the European case, the present Schengen Border Code prescribes airport operators to "physically separate (...) passengers on internal flights from passengers (...) on other flights." As a result, terminal gate areas at airports can be used solely for either Schengen or Non-Schengen flights. This constraint affects daily airport operations, causing capacity losses, and is costly for passengers and airport operators. This paper presents a possible solution in the name of a Uniform Terminal Area (UTA). It will overcome the aforementioned problems, will generate capacity benefits, and will lead to a flexible and jointly used airport terminal area. With the help of biometric identification, sustainable and modern passenger processes will be enabled. This article is launching the system idea of a UTA for the very first time and applying it to the European case. Furthermore, this paper will suggest a strategic roadmap for introducing a UTA. By using an analytical gate-capacity model and introducing a generic simulation environment, initial answers regarding capacity issues will be given. A collocation of operational and security benefits through a UTA will complete this paper. Having the potential to be applied worldwide, a UTA may help airports around the world to deal with capacity issues and improve their level of security.