Delhi Airport: The airport looks a lot like airports in the US with carpeted floors.
The time we got off, there were plenty of Indians too. Interestingly, during immigration, most of them were in the queue of OCI (overseas citizen of India)/foreign passport holders. The queue for Indian passport holders was the shortest.
I did notice some design flaws in the airport. A big one for me was, there was almost NO information to a first time visitor that indicated the existence of 2 other domestic terminals.
The toilet entrance have big poster size photographs of an Indian woman indicating the Women’s toilet and an Indian man indicating the Men’s toilet. At first instance, these big photographs can be easily misunderstood to be some kind of advertisements.
The domestic terminals are not very close to the International terminal. Different domestic flight carriers fly from different domestic terminals. There is no information about this available on display in the International terminal. Once you figure out which domestic terminal to get to, the next challenge is to figure out how to get there. There are very few information desks and depending on the time of the day, they may/may not be staffed.
The exit signs show signs for Taxi, Car Rentals etc but none for Inter-terminal Shuttles.
So? The only way is to ASK. Ask a security staff/ staff at a coffee shop…ask anyone who might know. You learn that there is a counter outside the exit gate of the International terminal for the inter-terminal shuttles. Get out of this gate and yet there are no signs. In one non-descript corner is a small counter for the inter-terminal shuttles. Present the tickets of your onward journey and you will be told the number of a relevant bus station. At this bus station, there is no bus. The bus parked at the adjacent station is also going to the domestic terminals and is waiting for more passengers before it leaves.
Shall I get into that one? Or shall I stay put at the bus station I was told to get a bus from?
As an Indian, asking people and finding my way through places is inherent in me. But having traveled a lot through international airports, I was just putting myself in the shoes of a first time visitor. In most international airports, one can get around without asking anyone anything – using maps/signage etc. So I wonder if there needs to be some form of standardization in International airports so it’s a one time learning process for travelers?
On the other hand, can't we just work on our culture of ‘asking’ and design with it in mind? That's what we do to ask for directions, to find out things...We are a country with a large population and human capital. We also have a large English speaking population. So why not leverage it? We do not necessarily have to go the direction of automation and/or self-service. We could potentially have our own unique approach to address these issues by making it equally intuitive and adoptable.
The time we got off, there were plenty of Indians too. Interestingly, during immigration, most of them were in the queue of OCI (overseas citizen of India)/foreign passport holders. The queue for Indian passport holders was the shortest.
I did notice some design flaws in the airport. A big one for me was, there was almost NO information to a first time visitor that indicated the existence of 2 other domestic terminals.
The toilet entrance have big poster size photographs of an Indian woman indicating the Women’s toilet and an Indian man indicating the Men’s toilet. At first instance, these big photographs can be easily misunderstood to be some kind of advertisements.
The domestic terminals are not very close to the International terminal. Different domestic flight carriers fly from different domestic terminals. There is no information about this available on display in the International terminal. Once you figure out which domestic terminal to get to, the next challenge is to figure out how to get there. There are very few information desks and depending on the time of the day, they may/may not be staffed.
The exit signs show signs for Taxi, Car Rentals etc but none for Inter-terminal Shuttles.
So? The only way is to ASK. Ask a security staff/ staff at a coffee shop…ask anyone who might know. You learn that there is a counter outside the exit gate of the International terminal for the inter-terminal shuttles. Get out of this gate and yet there are no signs. In one non-descript corner is a small counter for the inter-terminal shuttles. Present the tickets of your onward journey and you will be told the number of a relevant bus station. At this bus station, there is no bus. The bus parked at the adjacent station is also going to the domestic terminals and is waiting for more passengers before it leaves.
Shall I get into that one? Or shall I stay put at the bus station I was told to get a bus from?
As an Indian, asking people and finding my way through places is inherent in me. But having traveled a lot through international airports, I was just putting myself in the shoes of a first time visitor. In most international airports, one can get around without asking anyone anything – using maps/signage etc. So I wonder if there needs to be some form of standardization in International airports so it’s a one time learning process for travelers?
On the other hand, can't we just work on our culture of ‘asking’ and design with it in mind? That's what we do to ask for directions, to find out things...We are a country with a large population and human capital. We also have a large English speaking population. So why not leverage it? We do not necessarily have to go the direction of automation and/or self-service. We could potentially have our own unique approach to address these issues by making it equally intuitive and adoptable.
I feel asking comes very naturally especially in Indian context.......I am amazed how easily & without hesitation we ask strangers for directions & also how easily we rely on what information they provide. May be someone can translate this into service wherein Migrants can ask virtually & be provided answers, are able to connect & build comfort in new places. Yahoo answers is there but that expereince of connecting is not there...........
ReplyDeleteWas also wondering how can designers design airports which provide a new & fresh expereince to frequent travellers even though they have visited the same place multiple times. what all should be there.
Neeraj
Neeraj,
ReplyDeletethanks for your comment. Yes, I think asking is a very natural form of interaction in the Indian context. Your question about what can be done to provide a new & fresh experience to frequent travellers is interesting...scope for a nice research project :)