Airport carpets are disappearing - but is it terminal?

You've paced over it countless times as you prowl the terminals waiting for your delayed flight.

But have you noticed the sad demise of the airport carpet?

As the world's transport hubs roll up the furry floor coverings in favour of wood panelling, one author is hoping to spark a little nostalgia with a coffee table book.

George Pendle is collecting facts and photos for his upcoming volume Carpets for Airports after spending years gazing at floors around the globe.

While some can't get enough of shiny surfaces, the writer - who has been published in The Financial Times and Los Angeles Times - describes the loss of the carpet as "one of the greatest aesthetic tragedies of our time".

He said: "Airport carpets stand at a nation's gateway and provide the weary traveller with their first glimpse of a country.

"For instance, the red, white and black neo-Constructivist speckling of London's Heathrow airport immediately makes one realise that you are entering a city of delays and queues, obstructions and chaos.

"The stained blue-white blocks of John F Kennedy airport in New York prepares one for the noxious and noisome gridlock to be found on the city's streets.

"The growing preponderance for chrome and wood floor surfaces – the 'international' style – destroys all specificity, suggesting all cities and countries are blandly the same."

George first dedicated himself to the study of airport carpets during a long wait in Newark in 2002.

He said: "Maybe it was the Xanax talking - foolishly taken at the time of scheduled departure, not actual departure - but the drab carpets suddenly came alive and seemed to hold an uncharted world of promise."

His favourites include the "Kandinsky-esque flourishes" of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the "triskele-infused design" in the Isle of Man, and the "tropical" offering at Bermuda's LF Wade International. But he describes the carpet at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino as "terribly disappointing".

The good, the bad and the ugly: How do these carpets from (clockwise) London's Heathrow, New York's JFK, Charlotte, Isle of Man, Bermuda and Rome measure up?

Since he started his research, seasoned travellers have been filling his inbox with photos of airports as far afield as Murmansk and Bishkek.

But airport operators often do not share his affection, especially in these security-conscious times. One large carpet manufacturer revealed his workers are now allowed less than four hours a day to install or replace carpets.

He said: "In the wake of 9/11, security became such an issue in airports around the world that carpet manufacturers found it increasingly difficult not just to install carpets but to repair and maintain them.

"Since the work has to be done at night, the cost of overtime alone causes costs to spiral. Airport managers have thus begun searching for more hard-wearing floor coverings that require less maintenance. But at what cost?"

George hopes to release his book by 2010, and is also planning a limited edition "luxury" carpeted version. Anyone wishing to submit airport carpet photos for the book can send them to carpetsforairports@gmail.com.

But while George describes the airport carpet as "a veritable Louvre beneath one's feet", he shockingly prefers wood floors in his own home.

He said: "I don't like to take my work home with me."