Clean And Convenient: What Travelers Want in Airport Restrooms

We’ve asked people about their airport restroom experiences, and for the most part, they’re pretty positive. For instance, our privately commissioned survey of North American airport travelers revealed that:

• In all but a handful of airports, at least 90% of travelers found the restroom stalls in good condition.
• Only one airport in North America (we won’t say which one) had fewer than 90% of restroom fixtures working. The average was 95%.
• The bigger the airport, the lower their average restroom cleanliness scores—but the overall differences between medium, large, and mega-size airports wasn’t much.
• Relatively few travelers (less than 20%) reported having to wait in line at airport restrooms—except at one airport, where 88% reported they had to wait. 

The two most important factors in travelers’ satisfaction with airport restrooms were cleanliness and convenience. Here are some ways airports can improve both factors.

Keeping Airport Restrooms Clean

Standing water on the floor of an airport restroom isn’t just unclean—it’s a slip-and fall risk. That’s why so many airports trust AER-DEC® Integrated Sinks, with a soap dispenser, faucet, hand dryer, and sink basin that work together as a single stylish, touch-free handwashing system. When travelers don’t have to cross the restroom to find a hand dryer, they’re less likely to drip water onto the floor.

AER-DEC Sinks aren’t just hygienic—they’re visually arresting, as you can see from this five-station sink installed during the recent LAX Modernization Project.

Two more factors that holler “Clean!” for air travelers are touchless faucets and sensor flushometers. After all, if you want to avoid germs, the last thing you want to do is touch a faucet knob or toilet handle that’s also been touched by many, many people.

Another way to enhance the cleanliness of your restroom is installing water closets with SloanTec® Hydrophobic Glaze, a unique and proprietary glaze that inhibits the growth of germs and bacteria to keep the bowl looking cleaner, longer.

Making Airport Restrooms More Convenient

Air travelers are often tired and loaded down with luggage (and sometimes kids). A convenient airport restroom can make a long trip a little less wearisome.

One way to make your restrooms more convenient is to install multi-level sinks, like Sloan’s FLITE-DEC™ Integrated Sink System at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Multi-level sinks help with ADA compliance and are a nice touch for people of shorter stature. Plus, parents and kids can wash their hands side-by-side. 

Family-friendly restrooms are an even bigger convenience, letting moms, dads, and kids stay together. And many parts of the world are recognizing the benefit of gender-neutral restrooms as a comfortable place for every type of traveler.

Concealed sensor flushometers let maintenance crews work on flush valves behind the wall, so the restroom can stay open while facilities personnel work on a single stall and travelers can use the other stalls. And the sleek design of Sloan’s CX Flushometer looks amazing, too!

Finally, every air traveler needs the convenience of cool, fresh water. Help them avoid paying high prices for bottled water—and boost your sustainability profile—by installing bottle-filling stations just outside the restrooms and throughout the terminal. 

Whether you’re designing completely new airport restrooms or updating existing ones, making cleanliness and convenience a priority will help give travelers a more favorable impression of your entire facility. Now, let’s talk about the lines at boarding…

For more ideas and solutions about making your next airport restroom design cleaner and more convenient, contact Sloan!