Glasgow Airport Skyhub gets ready for takeoff
24.03.08
The Skyhub, Glasgow Airport's new £31 million extension, which is due to open on October 21, aims to transform the experience for passengers and reduce waiting times for security checks to five minutes for 95% of travellers. The biggest single investment at the airport since the international pier opened in 1994, the futuristic building is taking shape on the site of the walkway between the main terminal and T2.
The 4000sq ft area will be bathed in natural light as the entire front of the building will be covered in translucent cladding. The revolutionary system, called Kalwall, has been used at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, Orlando Sanford Airport in Florida and Nasa's base at Cape Canaveral. The material is energy efficient, allows daylight to flood into the interior of the building and retains heat.
The new facility will include the most advanced security zone in the UK. All passengers will be channelled through the two-storey hub, which will also have bars, shops and restaurants. More than £3m of the total build cost has been spent on a bomb-proof steel cage, which is wrapped under the structure. 88 pillars have been sunk 120ft into the ground to ensure Skyhub's foundations can withstand any terrorist attack.
Marks & Spencer Simply Food, a JD Wetherspoon pub and a New York-style bar and restaurant, Frankie and Benny's, will be based on the ground floor, with the security zone and a new World Duty Free store upstairs, leading to the remodelled main terminal.
A second phase will start in the autumn and is due to be completed by the end of next year. The existing three security areas, at international, domestic and the east pier, will be converted into shop space, lounge and leisure facilities.
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