Left luggage/baggage storage at airports.

[randomness]

Adding to the list of facilities all major airports should have is a left luggage office. This is one of those services that in many places has been discontinued in the name of "security". Given that airports like London Gatwick and Lima Jorge Chávez have managed to keep their baggage storage offices running in the face of rather extreme terrorist threat--the ones at Gatwick have luggage scanners to make sure you're not trying to store explosives or something--I wonder about the "security" excuse.

Left luggage, showers, sleep cubicles...there are probably lots of other features I'm forgetting that would be really useful to have at an airport. I mean, aside from the basic services airports generally do provide.

Any features you'd like to see at an airport?

Comments

[frotz.livejournal.com]

Airside viewing area for them as who like planes. (This is much better than it has been, though; many newer airports seem to have good options.)

I'm curious if "take a book, leave a book" lending shelves would work out. Likely make the bookstores sad, though.

Art. Obviously there's some of this out there. The underground galleries in Atlanta are a stunningly nice example; I just booked through there somewhat gratuitously so I can see what they've got right now. More generally, art/information/exhibits talking about stuff that's actually relevant to where the airport is so I can perhaps relate to it a bit instead of having just another anonymous transit lounge experience. Similarly, local food.