Sydney Airport has given its Terminal 1 departure area a facelift in an attempt to encourage more departing passengers to turn their cameras on themselves and give the airport and the city a social media boost.
The newly launched “departures experience” includes a farewell point with a a 53-metre curved Tasmanian oak wall that incorporates more than 10,000 lineal metres of Tasmanian Oak weighing 9,000 kilograms. The farewell point also includes a 25-metre digital screen displaying images of Sydney. The airport says this provides “the perfect backdrop for a pre-flight selfie”.
“This is one of the most tagged social spots in Sydney and draws a huge selfie crowd. The upgrade has turned the experience into something special for travellers and we’re already seeing it feature heavily on Instagram and other social channels, which is really positive and a great advertisement for Sydney,” said Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert.
Other features include two expanded entry points to passport control and 252 “individual digital panels”, though the airport did not give details on what the panels are for. Business Traveller Asia-Pacific has reached out to the airport for more information.
The upgrades are part of the airport’s “ongoing investment of more than one million dollars per day in key facilities and services to enhance the customer experience”. It coincides with Sydney Airport’s 100-year anniversary.
“I’m thrilled with our new look SYD brand, it’s fresh, contemporary and a better representation of where we’re headed – connecting people to the world and striving to make Sydney proud every day,” Culbert said.
The airport said in a press release that it will shortly unveil “further works across the International and Domestic terminals”.
About two week ago, Australia’s busiest airport also welcomed its one billionth passenger.
