Whats wrong with the new international terminal at San Francisco International Airport?
In December 2000 international flights to and from my home airport, San Francisco International Airport (SFO), were switched to a just-opened, much-hyped new international terminal that’s the showpiece of an ongoing multi-billion (US) dollar airport expansion and construction project. Airport users are concerned primarily with how far we have to walk, how long we have to wait in lines, how comfortable the waiting areas are, and how easy it is to find our way — not with the esthetics of airports as civic symbols. I make my living advising international travelers on how to cope with practicalities like airports. So I attended the advance press reception and tour at the new international terminal at San Francisco International Airport with an eye for how it will work, more than how it looks. The verdict: grand in appearance, but flawed in functionality. What’s wrong with the new international terminal at SFO? • English-only signs The international terminal at SFO should be a model of mul
