I’m a huge fan of airports, and it’s always nice to see what each of them have to offer. My least favorite airport has to be the one in our country; the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is said to have been the most modern airport in Asia when it first opened. Today, pretty much every airport in Asia has long left NAIA in the dust. It would be nice if the government took a long, hard look at it and realized that the appearance of the airport says, “Seedy, third-world country” rather than the industrialized investor-magnet they hope the country is. The airport is one of the first faces a country presents to tourists and business travelers, after all.
Take a look at India. It’s known for its strong environmental efforts, efforts which stretch even to their airports. The Hyderabad airport is seeking LEED certification and is exercising all options to be energy-efficient and eco-friendly.
The notable features of the new airport which makes it energy efficient are reduced overall conductance for the walls and roof, high performance glass with low shading coefficient and optimum visual light transmittance, overhangs and vertical fins to reduce solar gains, efficient chillers, efficient lighting using T5 lamps, amply day lit common spaces with photo sensor-controlled electric lighting, economiser and primary and secondary chilled water pumping for increased energy-efficiency.
India’s Mumbai airport is also going green by implementing recycling and waste management programs as well as constructing green buildings. Going green may initially be a costly undertaking, but it’s a great thing that people are starting to see that it’s not just cheaper in the long run or improves their image, but it also does wonders for the environment.
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