Robert Deillon, Geneva Airport’s general director, and Thomas Melcher, managing director and inventor of TMT The Mobile Terminal, at the official opening of the first TMT facility at Geneva International Airport.
The central idea behind TMT The Mobile Terminal is to provide infrastructure as quickly and simply as possible. Its flexibility means that the solution can be used to accommodate unexpectedly fast traffic growth, major events in an airport’s catchment area, and the renovation and extension of existing terminal facilities. Melcher explained that the terminal can also be used by airlines to try out new flight destinations.
The Mobile Terminal can be installed and disassembled within one week, and reused at other locations. The base model comprises a TMT Departure module and a TMT Arrival module, which include all necessary facilities and equipment to handle one flight, such as an A320 or 737, in a low-cost configuration – around 180-200 passengers – within two hours. The modular structure of the TMT solutions allows a flexible, customised configuration of the functional units inside the terminal, as well as customised solutions with regards to the overall terminal size and capacity.
Flexible, sustainable solution
The 310sqm facility at Geneva International Airport will provide additional capacity for the increased traffic during the winter season, when a significant number of passengers use the airport as the gateway to the surrounding mountains and ski resorts. The airport will use The Mobile Terminal during the winter season and will remove it in May this year – it will then be installed again for the next winter season.
Melcher said: “Geneva International Airport required urgent capacity and is very happy with this new capacity for the winter season. The feedback from the airport has been very good – they like the atmosphere in this kind of temporary building. Passengers also like it – it is not a tent; it brings an atmosphere of comfortable surroundings like a fixed building.”
The 310sqm facility at Geneva International Airport will provide additional capacity for the increased traffic during the winter season, when a significant number of passengers use the airport as the gateway to the surrounding mountains and ski resorts.
As a development partner, Geneva International Airport will support The Mobile Terminal by allowing the company to conduct product related research when it is not using the facility, and also to demonstrate the facility to other potential clients.
“It has been years now that we have been looking for a temporary solution that allows us to provide additional handling space flexibly on our airport premises and that at the same time still offers convenient service levels for our passengers,” said Robert Deillon, Geneva Airport’s general director.
In addition to providing a solution in the busy winter months, the airport also plans a major terminal expansion during which it will need a mobile terminal solution to secure smooth operations. Deillon described it as a “quadrature of the circle” for a single product to meet all their needs but is convinced that “TMT has managed to do so”. Melcher has ambitious plans for TMT The Mobile Terminal, particularly in emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America. “In the next three years, we are targeting 20 to 25 mobile terminals worldwide,” he said. Indeed, the effectiveness of the terminal solution during major events in an airport’s catchment area means discussions are already underway with the Russian market with regards to the 2014 Winter Olympics, which take place in Sochi, and the 2012 European Football Championships in Poland and Ukraine. TMT The Mobile Terminal is also exploring the possibility of renting its terminal solutions for short-term periods.
