Airport Terminal Number disasters

Note departure terminal and arrival terminal.

Disaster Story Of Two Terminals
Members of our family recently left an airport from terminal 3 (Singapore).


Several hours later, somebody - I won't say who, told the car meeting us at the other end (Heathrow): "We are at Terminal 3."


On arrival, the terminal's number is on very small sign which we walked past without noticing.

Our arrival terminal was terminal 2. We were left in the cold waiting.

After a long conversation, 'you are at level so and so?'
"Yes, so am I - but I can't see you,"
"Your car number?"
"Number of passengers and bags?"
"Let's go through it again, such and such an airport, yes, level so and so, yes, terminal so and so ...?"
 At 'terminal so and so', we realised what was wrong.

The taxi wanted extra money for the extra time - and paying two lots of entrance to two car parks.

Moral for travellers: Rememberthe different terminal numbers at both ends.
Moral for taxi drivers: Check not just level but terminal, and tally it with the airline's flight arrivals. If a particular airline does not arrive at terminal 2 or 3, no wonder they are not there.

Moral for airport designers:
Name the Terminals and levels in large letters - and give pick up points numbers. Terminal 2 with two cups of tea.  If I am waiting at G for ground - picture of Giraffe, level one one Giraffe, level two two Giraffes,  but my taxi has three teas, maybe red-brown for basement, green for ground, sky blue for level three.

Colour Coding Car Parks
Disney - in Florida I think,  uses animals for car parks. You need the colours as well as animals. If you remember on day one it was crocodile, a reptile, and on day two it was a large four-legged animal - then you come back and don't remember whether it was a black silhouette of an elephant or camel or zebra or horse.

Colours in Paris
A car park in Paris used colours for different levels. I remember we looked at the blue sky with white clouds and thought, this is not where we parked our car.)

Feedback For Planning and Upgrading
Singapore asks the public for suggestions.
Heathrow terminals have feedback forms. Please add your thoughts to their forms.

If you do so, thank you for your help making life easier for all of us travellers.

Handy Websites
https://www.heathrow.com/arrivals

https://www.visitsingapore.com/travel-guide-tips/travelling-to-singapore/changi-airport-singapore

Author Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer. Author and Speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.