Transit Design Tips: 5 Musts for Tile in Airports

At airports, we usually keep our head upwards, towards the sky we are heading for. But right underneath our feet is an important part of our safe travel: the floor. Millions of feet pass over it every day, luggage is rolled and dragged and sometimes even dropped heavily to the floor. The pressure that is exerted to the airport floor is enormous.

With increased airport renovations planned globally, architects are turning their attention to state-of-the-art materials that will stand the luggage test and more. Creating beautiful floors that can endure the demands of airports requires thoughtful specification.

Here’s why: Dropped, rolled and dragged luggage is just the beginning. Arrival and departure halls take massive abuse with foot traffic from millions of travelers, multiple food service areas with their inherent spills and heavy static and dynamic loads from small passenger vehicles.

The answer is porcelain tile, but not just any. At a minimum, make sure the tile you select for an airport meets current standards for:

1. Slip resistance
2. Abrasion resistance
3. Impact resistance
4. Breaking Strength
5. Bond Adhesion 

Especially the last point, the bond adhesion, is a critical factor. Vibrations from heavy traffic can cause tiles to lose adhesion and pop up. In addition, airport terminals typically have a lot of movement in the substrates – a major cause for failures.

For additional peace of mind, look into Mosa’s ceramics. The floor tile series exceed most industry standard tests, and are precisely rectified to help speed installation and minimize grout joints.

It may not be advisable to land a plane on ceramic tiles, but short of that, it is a remarkably resilient, enduring, maintenance-friendly and beautiful finish for airport design.