The hick guy from the boondocks wending his dazed way around the big, bad metropolis is a familiar theme of cinema the world over. In today’s hi-tech environment, the movie moguls could, perhaps, rework the scenario to include the illiterate jobseeker trying to navigate the complex and multidimensional spaces of the "city state" that is today’s airport environment.

With deregulation forcing airports to change their profile to attract more traffic, passenger terminals are becoming increasingly large and complicated, as airports add on money spinning propositions like duty free areas and lounges to relax in. The city state is a world in constant transit, with planes downloading and uploading as many as 30 million passengers a year, apart from their baggage and cargo.

Signage should be continual and clear. It should also be in as many languages as possible. It should be well lit. Arrows under signage are more helpful. Gates should be clearly marked. Ground staff should be able to spot "lost" looking travelers and attend to their needs. In more than half the airports of the world there is an inadequacy and it leads to major delays and confusion.

All too often passengers cannot distinguish between “Baggage Claim" pointers and Immigration and "Exit" markers. Even more troublesome is poor signage at "transit" areas in an airport and the most harrowing of all experiences at major terminals is moving from one to the other.

Charles De Gaulle, for example, can reduce a person to tears if he or she is not well versed in terminal terminology.

Again, TV screens announcing change of gates should makes references to the old gate because voice announcements are but unintelligible.

All too often passengers arrive at the original gate because they haven’t figured out that their departure point has been changed. Even more mix ups are caused by alliances because passengers see the same number of the flight but not the same carrier (or they miss the message turnover) and the end result is further delay.

Signages are not only meant for guidance to arriving and departing passengers in where to go. Warning signage is a new addition in this day and age and no one reads them because they are squeegeed into corners or written in very small letters. This is one of the major reasons for delays because passengers fail to read what they can carry, what the penalties are for breaking aviation laws and what the Customs and Immigration rules are… these scenarios are all compounded

by misplaced language chauvinism in that if you write them in your native language they are no help to foreign travelers.

Toilets are another area that are often poorly marked or hidden away along with the facilities. This causes people to go a-hunting and they can end up in high security areas by sheer default. When you have to go you really have to go.

While much humour can be derived from incidents that occur through misreading airport signs the irritation level is very high and there is nothing funny about being harried when there is a flight to catch.

Recently, at an African airport a senior executive failed to catch his flight connection even though he had time to spare. His luggage did make the connection. He was unable to decipher the voice that

ostensibly announced a change of gates and also found it tough to read the signs. By that very token the a family traveling from Copenhagen after a vacation were unable to locate signage in time to make their charter flight and an Indian couple in April lost themselves at Charles de Gaulle’s domestic terminal and were unable to locate the surface transport for Terminal 1 for a flight to Dubai. As passenger age increases and the plus sixties become a large percentage element

in the manifest airports which depend on the PA systems discover that the elderly could not make out what they were saying. The saga of lost and confused travelers continues unabated and has now become the major factor in passenger stress. As airports turn from being friendly

little exit and entrance points into huge and intimidating cityports the average passenger finds it an intimidating factor to find his gate and his aircraft.

The three areas that still need address are signage, ground staff support and clearly enunciated voice announcements at airports.

Passengers with extra hand baggage or those who speak alien tongues are more likely to be confused. While English is the operative language the way air travel is shaping up now, as many as 45 percent of those trafficking through an international airport may not be conversant with reading English. The confusion between terminals and gate numbers and the codes on the ticket coupon is rife. Passengers are also unable to identify ground personnel what with there now being

multiple uniforms at an airport and very little signage to "help" areas. This is particularly the case for passengers who are late checking-in. Clear signage is the key to them finding their way

quickly to the gate. Airline users are also keen to ensure that directions to gates are clearly signed; there is nothing more frustrating than losing a take — off slot because one passenger with a

bag on board has got 'lost' in the terminal.

Airlines find it a nuisance in both manpower and time terms to have passengers go astray. Even advance airports have personnel going about yelling on their voices calling out flight numbers because of errant passengers. All too often the resultant delay in takeoff while the hunt is on means back of the queue status at the landing point and a cumulative ripple effect for the scheduled flights ahead. Once you lose a slot it tends to telescope.

Signage is now both a science and an art. The position is vital. Eye level is best. Keeping both women and men in mind 5feet and six inches is about the right height. Otherwise larger signs can be placed on overhangs so that they can be read from a distance. Too high and too

low can mean it is missed being spotted by passengers. Again, if boldness is sacrificed for aesthetics and a blending with the décor the daily result can be less than pleasing. Décor detracts from the

basics and cute and fancy motifs only add to the confusion.

Passengers are not particularly intelligent in their airport conduct.

They have already gone into a semi-numb mode brought on by several factors including fear of flying, disorientation, lack of sleep, jet lag, stress over Immigration and Customs formalities, alien atmosphere and people, hunger and protectiveness for their passports, currencies, papers and baggage. In this state they are just about able to comprehend the obvious and not the subtle.

By that token today’s airports need to have high acoustic values.

There is nothing more alarming than to be unable to make out what is being said over the public address system when you are rushing about at an airport with no idea if there is now a change of plan for what might have been an announcement about your specific flight.