Clack-clack-clack: how the Solari board became a travel icon

For travellers in the 20th century, few sounds were as familiar as the rhythmic “clack-clack-clack” of Solari boards updating in airport terminals.

These mechanical departure boards were ubiquitous in airports worldwide from the 1960s onwards, charming travellers with a whirring and flipping display of flight information.

Their tactile quality and hypnotic sound made them beloved icons of air travel, but today they are rare treasures, with only a few of these vintage machines still in operation.

The Solari board, from birth to boom

Invented in the 1950s by Italian architect Gino Valle, and named for the Solari di Udine company which manufactured them to Valle’s design, Solari boards used split-flap technology to display numbers and letters on rotating flaps that flicked into place with each update.

First intended for train stations, it became the industry standard for airports in the 1960s.

Its efficient design and ease of maintenance meant that it could manage frequent updates in bustling airport hubs such as New York, Los Angeles and Frankfurt.

One of the reasons the Solari board became a symbol of travel was a unique ability to connect with passengers: the audible clicks of the board flipping were more than mechanical noise, they were a promise of adventure and arrival.

The board’s aesthetic, particularly the sharp, white-on-black lettering, lent airports a sense of order, elegance, and gravity.

At the dawn of the Jet Age, Solari boards embodied the glamour of air travel – so much so that one is on permanent display at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, while JFK airport’s TWA Hotel features a restored Solari board which was a centrepiece of the futuristic Saarinen-designed TWA terminal.

An eye-catching Solari board at New York JFK's TWA Hotel.

Qantas honours the nostalgic legacy of these boards in its renowned first class Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne; photos taken standing in front of the departure board is perhaps the most popular snap for travellers.

Silent screens make a high-tech takeover

However, as airports expanded, Solari boards struggled to keep up.

By the 1990s, digital screens offered an easier, scalable solution, allowing for more flights to be displayed with greater accuracy and less need for frequent maintenance.

Solari boards were deemed too costly and difficult to repair as parts became scarce, and by the early 2000s they were replaced almost entirely by digital displays.

Yet for many travellers, the sterile silence of a silent screen couldn’t compare to those distinct audible clicks, each flip announcing a fresh destination as new flights rippled rhythmically towards departure.

Singapore's Changi Airport removed its last Solari board in 2020.

Today, only a handful of Solari boards are still in operation around the world: at airports in Milan, Boston, Zurich and Philadelphia, along with train stations in Connecticut (New Haven Union Station), France (Paris Gare du Nord) and Germany (Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof), where travellers pause to appreciate their gentle clatter.

There’s also been a growing movement to restore and preserve Solari boards as a nod to the golden age of air travel.

Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station is working to reinstall its Solari board, though this will be as a decorative feature due to accessibility concerns, as it lacks compatibility with modern accessibility standards.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania currently houses the original board removed from 30th Street, allowing fans to still see it preserved.

The last remaining flip-board from Singapore Changi Airport’s Terminal 2 was decommissioned  in early 2020 but donated to the National Museum of Singapore to feature in a travel-themed exhibit in 2023.

The fading presence of Solari boards reflects the changing nature of travel itself - from a leisurely luxury to an efficient, mass-market affair.

For those lucky enough to encounter a Solari board in action, it offers a rare, fleeting glimpse into a world where the journey was as evocative as the destination.