The main reason is that people generally want to leave the airport immediately when they arrive. There is no point in making the arrival side nice since no one is supposed to nor wants to linger or wait there.
The departure side has the passengers who are waiting for their flights. In cases of stopovers, transit flights, and due to security checks, this might be quite a few hours of waiting. Therefore there must be waiting areas and, in modern times, shopping areas, waiting lounges, restaurants etc.
Latest Answers