I spend a lot of time in airports & visit a lot of different airports. I know a fair bit about what goes on behind the scenes in them, particularly with airport development, and the amount of money which goes into designing signage. Which is perhaps why I’m left scratching my head at some airport signs more than the average passenger. Airports are places where you get people from different cultures, speaking different languages, so its critical that icons communicate clearly and direct people with minimal stress & uncertainty.
Umm so exactly what am I not allowed to take into this terminal – rockets, rayguns & robots?????
I’ve always believed in honesty in signage but to apologise for the convenience??
Ummm thank you for letting me know – wasn’t planning on drinking the toilet water but I guess one has to consider different cultural tastes.
And from Bangkok – say what? Still trying to work this one out.
And during wars I can enter? Yes, from Beijing but hey its Beijing’s new terminal – you know the one with lots of westerners involved in the terminal design.
Again from Beijing, T3 this time – and no I have no idea whatsoever what I am or am not meant to do based on this sign.
Many airports revert to symbols. Here in Bergen Germany obviously they segregate the public phones – this one’s for men only from what I can tell. Either that or the payphone doubles as a urinal.
In Brussels they have a “Escalator to Heaven” obviously – oddly enough not the icon I would have chosen for the chapel.
In Cuba their bags must be very big – you have to climb them.
Are the toilets open at Dulles or is it just windy in men’s loo’s?
Not in Bangkok though, where you’re not allowed to fart.
As for Delhi airport, I’ll choose to interpret this as having a sense of humor.
Which seems to also be the case at Dublin.
Though people obviously need reminding at Dublin that infants are not hand baggage.
And again at Dublin – no this isn’t a type, its a joke – or at least I think it is……
Dulles is obviously a very honest airport – though I really don’t know what they are researching with toilet cameras? Passenger demographics might be very interesting to see there.
Riding Bulls isn’t allowed at Edinburgh – a very clear sign but who on earth would have thought to put that one in the signage brief!
This one from Germany still mystifies me – is it unisex toilets? Is it a viewing area? Is it the sex shop? Really don’t know
And this one from Tapei is similarly confusing. Don’t inject infants inside a condom?
No teargas in Swedish Airports – cool I get that, nice & clear but again what on earth happens there which requires something like this?
An another WTF moment – maximum occupant loads in toilets?
Couldn’t quite work out in Prague whether this was no machine guns, no bayonets on rifles or no coffee trays.
This one at Oakland however was both clear and helpful – I can find men at Gate 23 – whoopie a full service airport finally. Bet their passenger spend rate is good.
And in Miami they even allow you to go to the toilet duty free.
At Madrid they tell you their doors are easy to open – well thank you for that.
And Latvia obviously don’t believe in being too prescriptive in their directions.
Smokers have to run in Helsinki obviously.
And this sign at Kolkata in India takes longer to interpret than it takes to get through customs.
At Kansai the instructions for smokers took so long to read I ran out of time for a cigaretted but it did give a good laugh.
And men in Kansas are not as tough as I was led to believe.
They cremate their bacon at the stores at Narita
And I’m still trying to work out how many people in Pudong have tried to carry crabs in their hands onto flights.
Then of course there’s the joys of digital signage ……..
I felt Marid truely empathised with me as a passenger
But at St Thomas it was more confusing – exactly how do you gosub?
Asian countries, particularly China though are terrific for funny signs created by poor translation into English. One would think though that given they’re permanent & expensive signs, someone would have taken the time to make it ummm a little less funny…
But then again you get these cultural mistranslations in western countries too – what possessed someone to call a store at Gatwick “Lovejuice”?
Or a store in Barcelona “Ars”
