Who wants to wait in endless security lines and be caught between the masses trudging to the boarding gates if you can afford a private jet? That’s what Los Angeles International Airport thought, so decided to open a segregated terminal for the world’s rich and famous.

With $385 billion currently invested in global airport developments, lounges and runways are changing rapidly. It might be decades before ‘airport cities’ are developed, but we’re already seeing new outdoor spaces, retail opportunities and better logistics. What does the future of airports hold?

Ever struggled to find your way around a large, crowded building? Complex indoor environments like sports stadiums and shopping malls can be a nightmare to navigate, so in a bid to help passengers, Gatwick Airport is kitting out its terminals with Bluetooth beacons.

In 2013, over 3 billion passengers took to the skies. As airlines aim to make flying as simple as taking the train, could everything people would normally associate with air travel – endless queues, bad food, cramped, uncomfortable seats – be about to change for the better?