11 December 2016
AIRPORT WASHROOMS: A FRESH APPROACH
As the festive season gets underway, airports become increasingly busy, transporting people all over the world to be with their loved ones. Heathrow hosted a staggering 1,543,218 passengers travelling to and from the airport between the 19th and 25th December last year.
During this time, almost two thirds of passengers travel to see family and friends, whilst in total, five million people flew abroad for Christmas from UK airports in 2015.
Freshening up
With over 200 million passengers travelling from UK airports each year, ensuring airport washrooms are streamlined and efficient can make a real difference to the customer experience. It’s essential that travellers can freshen up in a pleasant washroom ahead of their journey or upon arrival.
Designing washrooms in a way that promotes the seamless movement of passengers around the space, rather than people crossing paths, is recommended. This must take into account the location of toilet stalls from the entrance, in addition to the position of basins and troughs, hand dryers/ paper towel dispensers, soap dispensers and mirrors.
Integrating the soap dispensers, taps, and hand dryers into one ‘behind mirror’ unit can be particularly effective as this saves on space whilst the limited number of edges and corners also reduces the workload for cleaning teams as there are less locations for dirt to become trapped.
The use of infrared sensor technology for hand washing and drying doesn’t only look good; it also reduces bacteria cross contamination thanks to its touch-free qualities.
Ensuring washroom dispensers are easily replenished and consumable levels checked, lessens the chance of empty dispensers, which can be a frustration for travellers.
Key considerations for airport washrooms
- Ensure there is enough space in the toilet cubicle to enable passengers to take in a small travel case. This removes the need for passengers to leave cases unattended in the washroom which can also present a security risk
- If there is capacity, additional mirrors can be located away from the basin area to free up this space for passengers to wash their hands. The additional mirrors are a benefit for travellers wishing to spend time freshening up before continuing their journey
- Streamlined and well-maintained washrooms provide a luxurious feel. Having pleasant washrooms available for travellers provides a feeling of a home-from-home
For more information or to book an appointment with one of our washroom consultants don’t hestitate to get in touch and don’t forget to look at some of our case studies for inspiration.