I shook my head in bewilderment as I have seen some people's tirade against Adelaide Airport's new world-class terminal.

While some may wish for a return to the days of braving driving rain and sweltering heat on the journey across the tarmac to catch a flight, the strong (and very vocal) tide of public opinion among South Australians and visitors to our State has for many years been that Adelaide needed a modern, world class airport terminal.

Today, thanks to the vision and dogged determination of Adelaide Airport Limited and the hard work of a committed and talented team of South Australian architects, builders, contractors and suppliers, we have such a facility (delivered on time and on budget) and everyone I meet is proud of it and enjoying it.

Whether one likes it or not, South Australia is looking to the future. This new terminal has been designed to meet Adelaide's current passenger movements - more than 6 million a year (and up to 3000 passengers an hour and 27 aircraft simultaneously) and to cater for expected passenger and flight demand up to 2015, at which time it can be easily expanded.

That means it's much larger than the former separate domestic and international terminal ... but not so large as to make it easy to do, walking 20 kilometres in three hours or the equivalent of 30 trips up and down the entire 700 metre concourse! Even the most distant departure gate is little more than 300 metres from the central security 'throat' - a much lesser distance than travelers face when changing planes at major airports such as Sydney, Melbourne or elsewhere in the world, even for REX passengers who indisputably must travel further to safely reach their aircraft without the benefit of aerobridges.

Certainly, the new terminal is spacious with the soccer field-sized departures hall, and its 42 check-in desks designed to ensure travelers avoid the long delays often experienced at other airports - a fact that leads me to think and that any passenger queues are likely to be more the result of human factors than of the physical environment.

In one breath, people complain about the Terminal's cantilevered verandah not providing enough weather protection while also questioning the need for passenger aerobridges (which just happen to be air conditioned with glass sides to provide the best of all worlds for visitors - views, comfort and convenience).

And talking of fresh air, we make no apologies for the fact there are no "smoking lounges" in the terminal. But if passengers and visitors do want to lounge around (without smoking) they can choose between the various airline lounges, seating areas in the retail hall, a choice of restaurants and coffee shops or several thousand seats designed and supplied by South Australian firm Indigo-Aura in the departure lounges. Hardly "nowhere in the airport to sit comfortably and relax."

And as for people's claim "there's no art - except for some hideously kitsch glass partitions," I am sure the South Australian artists who created them and those in the State Government and representing Arts SA's Public Art and Design program would take exception, while of course allowing that art is a very subjective thing! Just for the record, the terminal's public lounges are highlighted by the collaborative work of award-winning South Australian designers David Zhu and Jerry Wedd in the form of massive glass panels representing aspects of our State including the arts, lifestyle, environment, heritage, tourism, indigenous culture, science and innovation. Their backdrop... the ever-changing canvas of the city skyline and Adelaide's hills.

There may be a few regular travelers who miss the Morgan's Corner "emporium" in the old domestic terminal - but hopefully next time they're off on a trip, they can take some time to enjoy one or more of the 25-plus retail, food and beverage outlets - some serving iconic SA foods and drinks and others a broad range of books, magazines, CDs, fashions, perfume, and electrical goods to name a few.

Passengers using Adelaide Airport T1 can also relax in the knowledge that it is one of the most secure in the world, with high levels of security technology the unfortunate by-product of a sometimes difficult world. Of course, this also means the unavoidable intrusion of security screening, immigration control and the legislated requirement for vehicles to be parked well away from operational areas, which all travelers are learning to live with.

All this, encompassed over two levels within a light, spacious and airy (but certainly not sterile!)contemporary building designed to provide an exciting and welcoming gateway to South Australia.

As to the former domestic and international terminals, I think they're largely forgotten - perhaps entirely by those who embrace the future and selectively by those who cling to the parochial past.