Towards a Psychogeography of the Long-haul Flight: Part V

Entering the departure lounge of Terminal 2 in Manchester airport, I was immediately surrounded by the racks, stands and shevles of the duty free shop. There had been an interior redesign of the terminal and there was now no direct path to the departure gates. Rather, I had to weave my way through the shop space. The duty-free store had become an inescapable part of my passage to the departure gate. It was there to navigate even before I could see the departure screen.

Retail space is embedded in the airport terminal and its inescapability is connected to the heightened security of the airport. There is no conspiracy here. But retail takes the opportunities that tight security provide. Currently there is a liquid restriction on all British flights, with liquids confiscated if over 100 ml. However, the exact same product can be purchased once passed the security check.

However, perhaps more importantly for retailers is that once a passenger passes through the security check, they cannot turn back. The passengers present a captive audience and new airport terminals have taken this on board in their design. Terminal 5 of Heathrow expects 30 million passengers to pass through every year, but only 700 seats have been provided. A tired, weary, passenger will, almost by necessity, have to enter a shop, restaurant, cafe or bar to find a seat. With Heathrow Terminal 5 as an example, the modern transport hub is designed for pimpin' cash out of passengers. As Mark Riches, Managing Director of World Duty Free, stated, "If we can't sell to people who can't leave the building, then there is something wrong with us". ('30 million passengers, 23,00 square metres of shops . . . and just 700 seats' in The Guardian, Friday 15 June, 2007)