From Contracting to Cabling, U.S. Airports Go Hi-Tech
Nothing quite like the Passenger Information and Paging System, installed just this spring, exists at any other U.S. airportyet. "Coming up with custom products is something we do," says John Dungan, spokesman for PIPS supplier ARINC, Annapolis, Md. "We have a standard line of products for passenger processing systems, but it seems everyone wants a custom-made one."
As U.S. airports look for technology custom-tailored to their facilities and passengers, they also are looking at making their facilitiesincluding IT infrastructureavailable for use by airline tenants. These trends are affecting how designers and engineers do business at airportsboth in terms of physical building and in terms of working with airport owners and high-tech vendors. From consolidated communications rooms to construction management-at-risk contracts, flexible and redundant IT infrastructure and IT specialists on construction teams, U.S. airport building is entering a new era.