Airport operator, VINCI Airports has installed pedal-powered phone chargers at Guanacaste Airport (LIR) in Costa Rica, as its latest initiative to reduce electricity consumption.
Increasing energy efficiency and reducing consumption is a key objective in VINCI Airports’ sustainability goals. By enabling passengers to generate their own electricity to charge their phones before a flight, VINCI Airports says it is lessening its reliance on non-renewable energy sources.
This installation consists of fixed tables in the boarding lounges, featuring dynamos connected to pedals, where energy can be generated by physical movement.
Each minute of pedalling will charge an average phone battery by 1%.
César Jaramillo, General Manager of Guanacaste Airport said:We know that cell phones are part of our daily routine and that the time spent waiting for a flight can be used to charge them. This is how we implement innovative projects, as a pillar of VINCI Airports, that can add value to the experience of being in transit in our terminal and plant a seed of why sustainable tourism is the best option.
As well as saving energy, the chargers have been designed to promote physical activity. A ‘non-professional user’ who pedals for 30 minutes will travel approximately 4.5 kilometres, which is equivalent to the distance from Playa Hermosa to Playa Bonita in Guanacaste.
The charging stations are currently located in Guanacaste Airport’s East boarding lounge. They were installed by Morpho Travel and feature the advertising slogan ‘movement is energy and energy is life’.
