Many airports have become familiar with synthetic turf while constructing pet relief areas to meet requirements of the Service Animal Relief Act that took effect on Aug. 4. What airport administrators may not realize, however, is the limitless potential that artificial grass has to create a multitude of deluxe services throughout airports, both indoors and out.
Consider this: a surface that provides the look and feel of natural grass, but can withstand the heavy traffic of the busiest travel center and can be used indoors. That’s what today’s synthetic turf provides. Now airport designers and administrators are no longer limited to traditional indoor surfaces. Synthetic turf gives airports the opportunity to expand their interior design conventions, and bring the outdoors inside the terminal.
How Realistic is It?
Some of the products available today are so lush and realistic that people have to bend down to touch the grass to see if it’s real or synthetic. Imagine having a beautiful grass lawn inside the airport terminal, where travelers can forget they are in an enclosed, sterilized space and take a moment to breathe and relax while they await their flight. The look and feel of natural grass gives people a sense of the outdoors and can provide a welcome respite from the stress of air travel. All of this can be accomplished by replacing a hard surface within the airport with a high-quality synthetic turf.
The products have been tested and proven in some extreme conditions. For the past eight years, for example, these products have been installed at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival that hosts a multitude of guests every year. The artificial grass provides a solution that allows this heavily-attended festival to offer lush, beautiful grass with the performance and resilience of a hard surface. Guests of the festival marvel at the beauty and realism of the grass and indeed have to touch it with their own hands to believe it isn’t real.
Playgrounds
One of the applications for synthetic turf in airports is to create a safe play space for children who are traveling. Giving children the means to expend energy in a positive manner results in happier parents and less annoyed passengers who otherwise may have to deal with other peoples’ frustrated children. Traveling with children is difficult enough. Offering a recreational space inside the airport that is safe, attractive, and durable can go a long way toward improving customer satisfaction at any airport.
Synthetic turf is an excellent choice for indoor playgrounds, since it can be installed over a safety system that can protect children should they fall. It also provides a boundless play opportunity for children with wheelchairs, braces or disabilities that require an ADA-accessible surface (which is also suitable for wheeled luggage). Some products even offer anti-static protection for children equipped with hearing devices.
Creative Leisure Space
When designing spaces for travelers to relax and unwind between flights, ideas such as restaurants, coffee shops and seating areas with outlets to connect electronic devices are all excellent, and can also be revenue-generating spaces for the airport. The more these areas can be enhanced for comfort and appearance, the more that passengers will want to spend extended time in each area. Synthetic grass can be used to create an oasis in the coffee shop to give a guest the experience of having a coffee in the park, or installed near a window to give a customer the feel of grass beneath their feet while they watch the planes come and go.
Exclusive lounges for first-class passengers and other VIPs are also ideal places to consider incorporating artificial turf. Many passengers pay a premium for access to these elite lounges. Imagine creating a plush outdoor experience where passengers can be transported to a serene environment while they wait for their flight. This type of creative thinking can take an airport from a utilitarian travel center to a place where people actually look forward to spending their time.
Durable, Attractive Landscaping
While many creative opportunities exist for enhancing indoor areas with synthetic grass, it continues to be a smart choice for landscaping outside the terminal. Not only does synthetic turf require significantly less maintenance and water than natural grass, it also provides longevity up to 10 years or more depending on the product selected.
Synthetic turf can be used to improve the appearance of landscaped areas throughout the grounds of the airport and offers the realism of natural grass with extreme durability and longevity. With less attention needed to maintain grassy areas, resources can be diverted to keeping other common areas cleaner such as smoking areas, bathrooms and other spots that require a significant amount of upkeep.
With drought and water usage on everyone’s mind, the water savings alone can be a strong determining factor when choosing landscaping materials for airports. Since synthetic turf today mimics the look and feel of natural grass, without the need for water, fertilizer, lawn care equipment or other heavy maintenance, the question airports should be asking is: why aren’t we using artificial turf?
Donna Kent is the marketing director for ForeverLawn Inc.
