From weekly business travelers to family vacationers, the increasing need to stay connected leaves many airline passengers looking for a place to recharge tablets, smart and mobile phones, gaming devices, e-readers, digital cameras and a host of other electronic devices. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona is no exception. With more than 100,000 passengers arriving and departing each day, totaling more than 40 million passengers in 2012 alone, the airport is one of the top 10 busiest in the United States. Based on feedback from these "connected passengers" and airport industry trends, the airport recognized the need to provide travelers with on-the-go charging capabilities and sought to install charging stations in the airport's busiest locations throughout the terminals.
The airport's initial solution was to install charging kiosk stations, allowing travelers to plug in electronic devices while waiting to depart the airport. These charging stations, while offering the necessary charging capabilities, had been installed in outlet strips that required the entire area containing the devices to be disassembled to service just one receptacle.
With thousands of passengers plugging in their electronic devices at the airport each day, the outlet strip solution presented an issue when service was needed. The entire disassembled charging kiosk remained out of service and unusable to travelers during the maintenance period. As the charging kiosks proved to be the most popular seating areas in the airport, fewer charging stations were available in the in-demand areas.