While the expansion may be a long way off, Woldbye told Aviation Club UK there were still “soft skills” the airport could use to manage more passengers — such stopping Europeans and Brits from bumping into each other.
“We can change that,” he said, adding the airport needs to make sure people going one way keep to a different side to people going the other direction.
“And I know that’s simplified, but that’s the sort of thinking that you need.”
“We measure crowding, but we also measure people’s perceptions of crowding… And interestingly, Terminal 3 has the best score and Terminal 5 has one of the worst, and there’s way more space in Terminal 5, so what are we doing wrong?”
He said the airport has removed some seating, telephone boxes, and other “clutter” in Terminal 3 and that it feels less crowded as a result, even though there are more people.
“People feel more at ease… because they can see where they are going,” he added.
