IF you need a loud announcement to tell you when it’s time to board, you might be in trouble at certain airports.
More silent airports are being introduced all over the globe – and these ones have no background noise, but it means you could potentially miss your flight.
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Silent airports were first launched in 2015 to create a calmer, less stressful environment for travellers.
Essentially these are terminals that significantly reduces certain sounds like general boarding calls, final calls, and flight updates – or gets rid of them altogether.
Airports Council International (ACI) Angela Gittens previously told CNN Travel that silent airports are designed to “create a calm, relaxed ambiance.”
She added: “Passengers can wind down while they wait for their flight to board in the common airside lounges, commercial, and food and beverage areas.”
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Instead of announcement over loud speakers, lots of airlines are opting for live updates when it comes to their flights on apps or text messages.
Any sort of changes are usually sent straight to the passenger.
But for anyone not paying attention, it could cause problems – and even mean missed flights.
If any passengers are running late, in a silent airport, they will not be called to board their flight.
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It’s likely that any last-minute gate changes won’t be announced either.
The very first silent airport was Helsinki Airport in Finland and many others have since followed suit.
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Currently only two airports in the UK are ‘silent’ – Bristol and London City.
Around the world, other silent airports include Riyadh Airport, Barcelona El Prat Airport, and Venice Marco Polo Airport in Italy.
Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey almost missed her flight at the airport at Amsterdam Schipol Airport in the Netherlands because there were no announcements.
Kara said: “Returning from Amsterdam Schipol Airport and having checked what gate I would be flying from, I headed straight there and sat down with my headphones on, waiting to board.”
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Kara continued: “Yet I didn’t realise the gate had changed until I saw a group of people from the corner of my eye all get up and start running.
“It was only when I saw the women leaving the boarding gate desk that I asked and she told me the gate had moved to one on the other side of the airport.
“So while they can be “less stressful” – keep an eye on your flights.”