#6 ...

I want to look at the airport as a space in general, as an inbetween place, where nobody ever really wants to be. Airports are a stop you have to make in order to get to your final destination. When you are the airport, you have left (e.g. your home) and arrived (at the airport), but you are not really 'there' yet either - because 'there' is the place you want to go and not the departure lounge. Once your flight has landed, you have arrived somewhere, but at the same time, you are still en route to your final destination.

In relation to that, I’m exploring the traveler-airport relationship. At an airport, one always has to prove his innocence (e.g. showing your ID, letting your bag be searched to prove that there are no harmful objects in etc.) which has become significantly more difficult since 9/11. I want to look into how the relationship between the traveler and an airport has changed, how airports were perceived in the past and how they are perceived today. I’m conducting a series of experiments exploring that relationship and showing how people move and interact within the space.

I also want to look about how airport policies can completely change the perception of certain things, i.e. water, which is generally considered completely harmless, but once it is in a bottle and taken to airport security, it is suddenly regarded as a potentially dangerous ‘weapon’ that could be used to hijack a flight.

# 5 Airport Terminals by CJ Blow

I came across this fantastic book, Airport Terminals by CJ Blow today which covers just about anything related to airports, from layout to organisation and logistic. It's by far the most interesting book on the subject that I've ever read.Unfortunately, it was published in 1996 and some of the information is a bit outdated (Heathrow alone was extended by a new terminals since the book came out). Nevertheless, I hope that I can still get some good information out of the book.

For some reason most of the good books on Aviation seem to be written pre-9/11 therefore don't encompass the many changes that have been made since then....

#4 Pack A Suitcase

In case anyone still wants to pack 'virtual suitcases' for me, here's the link to little suitcase project I did for my territory presentation:
PACK A SUITCASE FOR ME*

#3 Airport Experience

So I've applied for a week long work experience at London City airport, but considering they are the same people who wanted to arrest me the other day for being 'too intrusive' I don't know if I have a chance there at all. I'd would really love to it, because they offer insight into all the areas I've interested in (aviation management, luggage handling, transit and customer services). Fingers crossed!
On another I booked my flight home for Christmas the other day and arranged for an interview with one of the customer service managers there.

#2 Airport Statistics

WORLD'S BUSIEST AIRPORT
ATL - Heartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Atlanta, GA.
Largest number of passengers annually (since 1988)
Most arrivals and departures annually. (1999–2000, since 2005)

#1 Interesting Airport Links

http://www.world-airport-codes.com/
http://www.airwise.com/
http://www.worldairportguide.com/