Airside

Meridian International runs whether or not you fly: eight gates cycle real arrivals and departures on one runway, the departure boards flip as each flight moves through its day, and the PA calls boarding like it means it. Print a boarding pass at any kiosk and the e-gates will let you through security (the arch beeps at everyone; it’s how it says hello). Ride the escalators to the mezzanine food hall, take the underground shuttle to Concourse B, or the tower lift to the best view on the field — then board your flight and fly the round trip over Meridian Bay, wheels-up to wheels-down. Somewhere below the check-in hall, a lift has a button it doesn’t admit to. Everything — the vaulted terminal, the airliners, the travellers and their roller bags — is generated in code; no borrowed art, no low-poly kits.