Passenger Terminal – Kos Airport, Greece

Technical Details

The project entails the architectural design of a new passenger terminal at Kos Airport, in accordance with the requirements stipulated in the concession agreement between the Consortium Fraport AG – Slentel Ltd and the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund. The design addresses operational capacity, future expansion potential, and passenger service levels.

For the airport on the island of Kos (KGS) a new terminal building is required to address the surging tourist loads. The terminal layout accommodates key passenger processes, including check-in, security screening, passport control, pre-boarding waiting areas, arrival waiting areas, baggage claim, and meeters & greeters’ areas. The design year is set to 2023, targeting an annual throughput of approximately 2.5 million passengers and a peak hour demand of 1,600 passengers. The terminal must achieve Level of Service (LoS) D during the 150 busiest hours and LoS C during all other periods. Detailed spatial programming and capacity calculations informed the allocation of areas for each process. This includes major processes sizing and configuration, such as security lanes, check-in counters, baggage claim units, and additional spaces such as restrooms, concession zones, and passenger seating.

The terminal features an irregular footprint, a result of the requirement for the new terminal to occupy the area where the existing terminal was and to design for construction in phases under ongoing operation and gradual transfer of operations from existing to new terminal. The building is a single-storey structure with an extensive landside curb and a split airside curb, separately serving departures and arrivals. Passenger flows for Schengen and non-Schengen operations are fully segregated, with adaptable areas that can dynamically accommodate fluctuations in real-time demand.

The facility encompasses a total functional area of 23,014 m² and a total built area of 21,680 m², allocated in 6 structurally independent building modules, which relate to the project’s construction phases. The building’s length is approx. 300 m, while the landside entrance and exit canopies have a combined length of more than 100 m.

All architectural design phases were subject to oversight by the Independent Engineer, who reviewed the documentation and issued the Design Approval Certificate. The design was also approved by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority. Construction was completed in 2021, with as-built documentation duly submitted.

Services Provided

Obermeyer was responsible for the full scope of architectural design services, delivered in four primary stages: baseline/functional design, permit design and detailed design as well as as-built documentation. Obermeyer’s scope included several supporting designs/studies: energy efficiency study, accessibility design, master key study, colour study, acoustic design and signage design. Obermeyer also undertook all permitting procedures. Furthermore, Obermeyer provided technical assistance to the Contractor regarding design change requests during construction.