Get An Inside Look Behind The World's Longest Flight | Spark

each year over 300 million passengers fly over 6 billion miles on Mongol flights epic daily Journeys made by some of the world's biggest planes like flying hotels they transport people across the world in comfort and style but what does it take to keep these Giants in the sky well our team is running for action it's almost like a choreographed dance for the key is just keeping moving come with us as we hitch a ride on one of the longest Journeys in the world London to Sydney Australia as with exclusive behind the scenes access we can reveal the confessions of the cabin crew sometimes we do get a few weird requests such as marriage proposals we go below stairs to their secret crew rest and Welcome to our secrets sleepover we meet the back office staff who monitor every second of each flight the ISE is the Nerf Center to the airline without they literally would be Flying Blind and follow the stories of passengers both animal and human who have their own reason to board flight 002 from London today from starting a new life down under it's a big move for both of us we haven't got a clue what to expect a meeting a long lost family for the very first time they've been looking for me for 20 years filmed at 40 000 feet this is the ultimate Insider's Guide to Life in the skies so make sure your seat is in the upright position and your seatbelt is fastened as we prepare to uncover The Secret Life of the long-haul flight It's Just Before Dawn Under the Sea throw the world's largest passenger plane the Airbus A380 is towed onto stand costing over 280 million pounds 73 meters long 25 meters high and has a tip to tip wingspan of 80 meters in just two hours time it will depart on its daily long-haul flight to Sydney Australia [Music] loaded with up to 484 passengers the 11 000 mile Journey will take 24 hours but long before the passenger from board a whole Army of service personnel must get her ready to fly in the world of long-haul flying there is not a second to lose we don't want any of our planes hanging around the ground the best place for our aircraft is operating within the air so it's all hands on deck and everyone's onto the aircraft straight away to get their jobs done and we can make that turn around within that two-hour time frame now a well rehearsed ballet swings into action as the refuelers baggage handlers Engineers cleaners and Catering teams all set to work there's certain jobs that have to be done the wheels have to be inspected the engines have to be checked oiled you have to do a walk around to make sure there's nothing hanging off of the whole of the outside same for the inside it's a very very structured process and it's broken down minute by minute each department and each team have a job to do within a certain amount of time frame it literally does go to the minute so we need to have the aircraft closed up by 10 minutes before departure [Music] with our plane not suffering any serious faults the engineers can crack on with more cosmetic jobs like a sticky TV screen tiny screw someone's just diameter tightened it can we get this thing in there too got this yeah to leave it while below the wing the action is in full swing 90 minutes before departure the 21 cabin crew clock in for their pre-flight briefing we all have individual roles like there are business and first class flight attendants on board um economy flight attendants Sarah Kelly has been flying for five years for her Aviation is in the blood my father is a cornice Captain so yeah I've just grown up with him traveling around and going to different exotic destinations and yeah just the whole thrill of just flying I think that's an interesting thing this one piece will make 52 layers watch on mobile devices or the big screen all for free no subscription required there's somebody amongst a crew who you've not met yet please spend some time having a little chat with him and get to know each other on the tarmac Second Officer Adam Thompson carries out his visual inspection so this is the infection is to make sure that there's no ground service vehicles or possibly damage there's nothing leaking from any pipes it's not meant to be in the engine looking to see if there's been any stretches I've been from the bandwidth and the indication that something's gone through the engine it should have if they've had a bird strike perhaps something like that on the previous sector on the tires we're looking to see that there's no gases or any any problems at all with the tires [Music] on every long-haul flight each passenger has a story and we're following four of them we're just a long-haul flight away from painting Three Sisters Malcolm and adenade are about to board their first long or flight to meet the family they never knew they had you can't work I've never seen them in real life can't believe it and young parents Daniel and Bethany are heading down under to see if they want to make Sydney their new home Daniel or Bethany and got a lot planned we've got a list written up of all the places we want to go and visit and different neighborhoods people kind of want to see and exciting red isn't it back on the tarmac Second Officer Adam Thompson checks the a380's huge Wings which are so large you could park 70 cars up there they only just fit really don't they they do only just fit yeah it's quite common on such a large eggplant to have a ground service vehicle follow us just detect the wing tips to make sure that we're all safe do not want to hit anyway looks very good good to go back in terminal 3 28 year old Australian Sean checks in going home to surprise my mum for a 60th she has no idea I'm coming while fellow Aussie Belinda is leaving fiance say Alice behind to return home after almost four years we're getting married we're getting married soon it's going to be okay for her for our flight time is a little overwhelming I've done a lot of long-haul flights so it's not like I'm new to the game um but I just find them rather horrendous to be honest like long I don't think anyone enjoys a long-haul flight I know but I've I don't know I just read it and I think that's a part of that stopped me from going back all these years but Belinda's in for a surprise as she's been upgraded yeah actually business class and actually I'm flying business class which is crazy because I've never flown any kind of class before except for comedy it can't how do you say economy yeah and I I feel like I'm a little bit emotional actually off to the gate here we go we're babies doing really well baby Island say hello [Music] everyone wave and it's not just our human passengers that are about to go Long Haul every day Planters alone make 4 000 Freight shipments the two huge holes can carry up to 20 tons of freight although anything bigger than a suitcase is handled by the Specialists I would say we're a big check-in for Freight [Music] just a few miles from Heathrow is Donatos Bonded Warehouse a high security 24 7 cargo facility where they handle up to 450 tons a day we're open all the time every day of the year and it is it's very fast pace it comes in it goes out anything from clothing to cars live animals absolutely anything we had an armored vehicle come in customized and at all leather seats in fridges so that was quite unusual spare engines a bit of a tight fit they'll go out this afternoon on a special vehicle they direct load onto the aircraft just squeezes in and out but uh yeah that's quite tight [Music] luxury cars that are going long haul as two very important passengers arrive Mitzi and Alfie are being relocated back to Australia and a few days ago it was time to say goodbye to mum and dad come on we're gonna go quick quick we won't see them for about 12-13 days which is a long time for us and Mitzi here suffers from a little bit of separation anxiety so hopefully the flights are not too bad for them good boy good boy just a little bit uncertain she probably thinks we're going with it it's probably going to get a surprise we're all going to go on a car ride that's right yeah so she's all up for the ride it's just when when she walks out we're not going Mitzi and Alfie are traveling with a specialized pet transport service and they've just realized they're going alone see you soon but they're in safe hands as the animal's welfare is top priority for all the airlines even before they fly they get a thorough checkup [Music] Australia species are super paranoid about importing infectious diseases so that's parasites and other signs of contagious diseases so I just work from head to toe go through these guys make sure they're all well everything's healthy lovely cleaners super go through his court to make sure there's no signs of ticks fleas anything like that hanging around I choose cardiovascular systems up to the trip you are good we'll have a look at your sister but I'm very happy with how things look with him you worried you're coming on the table as well I'm afraid you are pretty laid-back customer nice steady heart rate nice clear chest good very good and it's not just domestic pets that travel long haul every day of the year you could be sitting there on a plane and Below you don't realize they are literally half dozen animals going from one place to another around the world and it's not just cats and dogs there's Exotics as well on International breeding programs from zooter Zoo the largest animal I've moved by here is a Asian model horned greater rhino rhinocerosa in a big box today the dogs are accompanied by a few feline friends so Mick has to be careful about who sits where we try and separate everyone this we've got some cats on the corner uh we obviously face them away from the dogs so don't upset each other but no they all look quite happy to sworn in although the holds on the aircraft are pressurized they are not usually heated but with outside temperatures at forty thousand feet of miners 50 degrees Centigrade today these guys will be well looked after they'll actually warm the compartment so it's comfortable for the animals their main concern is their welfare the nlv are just two of the 65 000 domestic pets carried by Qantas each year tiny fraction of the 100 million animals flown worldwide back at the airport with just 60 minutes before departure the catering trucks arrive specially built to reach the plains two decks the service team now has to replace forty thousand items including 70 mil carts two and a half thousand glasses and five thousand pieces of cutlery our business with 45 minutes to go boarding begins but delays on the roads around Heathrow mean getting the flight away on time could be a challenge as a consequence we have laid passengers in late crew so we everything that we did this morning was a little bit behind as the crew rushed to prep the plane now even some of the checked in passengers have gone walk about Qantas good morning oh orange juice thank you where do they go um this is the one million dollar question is undeterred for her getting the flight away on time is a matter of pride the flight on time is when I watch those reels move right on the dot if that doesn't happen then we fail everyone that has worked very hard to get all the passengers all the crew you know the aircraft at its destination so yes it would be they would be disappointed in me if I didn't deliver with boarding about to close most of the passengers have been found but there's always one one Premier economy we're just trying to get a phone number okay thank you thank you thank you bye so we are 20 minutes to departure we're missing one passenger and at minus 15 minutes we start looking for their bags next willing has avoid costly delays and get flight 002 away on time I sometimes say that waiting for the door to close ages me [Music] and a very good morning to you ladies and gentlemen my name is manager at London Heathrow boarding a flight 002 to Sydney is almost complete as The Last Passenger is rounded up we've located him and um yes and um yes so we should be all good to go Inez can now make sure the doors are all sealed we're just waiting for engineers to get off I sometimes say that waiting for the door to close ages me a very happy moment I know it's a bit sort of obvious because I work here but that is with the door sealed the Aero bridge is retract and flight 002 is pushed back for takeoff on time [Music] There She Goes and she slides away from us [Music] confirmed takeoff is one of the most critical faces of the flight Captain Rob Duncan and his crew now accelerate the plane to 138 miles per hour we always only use as much thrust as we need that just saves wear and tear on the engine so it never seems to accelerate really quickly as the speed increases the air pressure around the massive winds changes now air flowing over the wing has a lower pressure than the air flowing under it with enough speed the pressure difference begins to lift the aircraft into the air once you get to that speed if you have an engine failure or a major problem prior to that speed you'll stop on the runway and if you have a engine failure or a problem after that speed you'll sort it out in the air as the giant aircraft heads Southeast it's following the kangaroo route a 70 year old airlink between Australia and the mother country the 11 000 mile trip crosses Europe the Middle East and the Indian Ocean before arriving in Australia in just over a day's time one Epic Journey that's a tiny fraction of the 6.28 billion long-haul miles flow each year hi so here at business class section I've just been given some champagne life is pretty good right now [Music] unfortunately baby Alice was sick on Bethany shoulder it's so not the greatest in fact she's now fast asleep so hopefully she can stay like that now for the rest of the flow 70c five-year-old Malcolm has hardly ever flown before this is the first time I've ever flown a long long haul oh my gosh I should ever fly long oh wow that's what brings you to Australia oh well what it was one one Friday night or Moon rough watching television got a phone call this woman on the phone again she told me all my details and all that she says I'm your system oh gosh there's another two of us oh wow so I've got three Malcolm's parents split up when he was just three months old [Music] until his sister Alison tracked him down in October 2016. he had no idea he had another family in Australia [Music] she said they'd been looking for me for 20 years my dad's been looking for me for 40 years well I just went there and I just completely went tears were rolling down my faces both of us at either end and we just with five five minutes before we started talking and I just couldn't believe it Malcolm's Father David I joined the thousands of ten pounds who emigrated to Australia in the 1950s starting a new life he had remarried and had three daughters I could imagine how you would be feeling after that phone call really surreal and we're on the form for at least an hour and a half that night it would just the nicest thing I found that was he's been looking for me for all these years you know how that makes me feel and obviously the first thing is we've got to meet we've got to meet I don't know what's going on I want to see him at the other end when you get off this plane that's it yeah that's it Malcolm's dad passed away in 1996 having never been reunited with his son and now Malcolm's got a lifetime of catching up to do with his new family I'm never gonna make me down in real life but the next best thing is my three sisters fabulous oh I've got goosebumps everywhere I'm actually seeing things so beautiful that reminds me why this is my dream job as flight 002 begins its track across Mainland Europe 11 000 miles away in Sydney it's just one of a hundred Qantas flights that is being tracked second by second in the integrated operations center or ioc the IC essentially is the nerve center to the airline we provide information to all the aircraft that we have flying anywhere anytime around the world timeline of all the aircraft that we have at any given moment through their face or flight that information is updated as soon as an aircraft releases breaks takes off lands or comes back to the terminal yeah that's right we might be diverting to Sydney Qantas 94. a lot can vary in approximately 18 to 24 hours speed that weather information engineering medical assistance security assistance so we're always providing updates to those aircraft throughout the course of their Journey okay let me go and check with maintenance watch and I'll come back communication isn't just one way as each A380 is equipped with hundreds of sensors which mean real-time data about the health of the plane and its engines across the globe have a look at the Telemetry from the airplane at this stage and we'll see if it's carrying any defects which may of course an issue it does have one or two minor niggles all aircraft carries some minor defectors like your car the ashtray may be full or the window may not wind down properly or something like that if it's a serious fault there's other alerting from the engine manufacturers they've been monitored also Airbus themselves a monitoring aircraft and if they believe it's a serious issue they can also send us some additional information if the engineers do spot a worrying problem they can pick up the sap phone and talk directly to the pilots we have to be very mindful that we don't bother them during a predatory phase of flight so if they're just starting their flight we won't call and if they're just towards the end of a flight definitely won't be calling Engineers like David are just one of the many of the long-haul flight London City could have anywhere from approximately 10 350 people involved so there's a lot of people behind the scenes that are making that aircraft get to where it's going without the IRC the airline wouldn't function you'd have aircraft in the air that wouldn't be able to get real-time information better mechanical be there for weather be that security or medical related situations and as a result they literally would be fine blind which is exactly what used to happen when the pioneers of long-haul took to the skies nearly 80 years ago 1938 and qea Qantas Empire Airways operates the short C-Class flying boats in modern luxury and comfort and what's more the trip only takes nine days which includes 70 hours of flying and 36 stops essentially Long Haul was a series of short hops none of them longer than 200 maximum 300 miles between each hop you would come down the plane would be refueled you had to be adventurous there was a lot of forced Landings you had to be prepared more or less for anything [Music] there is even a demand for fishing lines at refueling stops where both passengers and crew members can enjoy the relaxation of dropping a line over the side back on board our passengers won't need to be fishing for their dinner as just 30 minutes into the flight it's time to eat of course you can do thank you very much there you are my pleasure [Music] meal service is the busiest time for the 21 crew and each one has their own specific role depending on where we're seated for takeoff and Landing uh depends on what we're doing either in the cabin or in the galley so basically I'm taking the opportunity to get things ready for the research service now while all the other cabin crew were out doing the bar service today Aaron is one of the 10 Crew looking after the 64 passengers in business class give the passengers a nice glass of wine with their mail a small side salad where they get a choice of dressings and then we start delivering entrees and main course [Music] part of the long-haul experience each year over 1 billion meals are dished up at 40 000 feet Qantas alone serves 7.5 million on their long-haul flights 400 000 In First Class 2 million in business and 5 million in economy [Music] everywhere in the world at any minute of the day there's a queen up there and we're serving a meal to somebody Neil Perry is one of Australia's best-known chefs for 20 years he's been putting the food he serves in his Rock pool restaurants into the sky it can be a massive risk putting your name on something you have no control over landline Foods always had a bad rap so when we got involved the most important thing is we created sort of a number of cornerstones so we said what are the airlines always done well they've flown really bad bread so we have to have great bread they're flown pretty poor cheese let's have beautiful ripe cheeses that are ready salad not great let's do great salads and then we'd roll dishes around that foreign all the food is prepared in huge catering centers the 105 chefs are alpha LSG in London produce 31 000 meals per day in the premium dressed and plated the same way across every flight it's going to be calm collected go along step by step no it's all good there is pressure but I can't let the nerves get to you serving restaurant quality food is an idea that harks back to the pioneering days of Aviation feeling back [Music] or flight dining you'd have had a seven course meal you'll be served by a steward who'll be wearing a white jacket and a white cap like a waiter in a fine restaurant really this was served on the 14th of September 1952 they started with lobster bisque roast fillet of beef fresh sliced peaches with Kirsch fresh double cream Martini cocktails Grand Vander borgonia and bisqui du Boucher I'm sorry about my friend Jackson but you get the idea the tricky dishes is one thing but serving them is quite an event as in the air both equipment and space are severely limited yeah a bit of a circus trick this one yeah it's like a wall it's like a dance one moves one way and we move in and backwards and forwards you are all jammed in a small area you have to be very comfortable on the aircraft with people in your personal space you do learn very quickly how to maneuver around like we almost have eyes behind our heads because we sort of just like move away and we all just get out of each other's way we can just sort of you know would never really Collide anymore we're used to it yeah we come to work knowing that it's going to be full and we're trained to work when it's full and yeah another day at the office [Music] foreign [Music] next we'll take a sneaky peek at Life Below stairs as we inspect the crew's secret Porters there we go flight double O2 out of Heathrow is on its way to Sydney Australia as the world's only fully double decker passenger plane the a380s upper deck is mostly business class while the lower deck is the main economy cabin [Music] in row 81 Daniel and Bethany are enjoying a rare moment of calm I think this is the first meal mummies had without baby eyeless crying saying feed me first so it's actually quite nice to do that isn't it the routine is whatever she wants so when she's hungry she'll cry and she will ask for food and when she started she will sleep the young parents are preparing to move away from their families to start a new life in Sydney we've just kind of going to go out there and kind of research the areas look at the neighborhoods get some houses and just kind of look at what we potentially letting ourselves in for in the future we haven't got a clue what to expect we could go there and we could hate it we haven't got anyone nearby to help out it's a big move for both of us but I'm not scared because I know we're a good team [Music] three hours into the flight and with service over for some of the crew it's a chance to sneak a quick break when to check out all my passengers my passengers are all good oh my God absolutely so we thought we would reward ourselves or with a cheeky cafeteria cheers that's what we're doing now Beatrice has been flying for nine years for her keeping the passengers happy is one of the things that keeps her in the air thank you I'm a people pleaser to a certain degree and that's what I really like meeting the people and making them live happy I think I could be sat in an office nine to five looking to at 4 30 and yeah obviously there are some flights where I'm thinking oh I can't wait to get to the end of this flight but then my reward is that I'm in Dubai for 24 hours or I'm from Australia for three days so I don't really know what what more you could wish for really but all that excitement does come at a surprise so I've just had to get stuck into every cabin crew is my favorite job which is so off I go people tell you it's the Glamorous job I think they lied so we just come and do this like every half an hour just to check all everything's really good in the toilet and look there's some paper in there because no one likes going to put a little bit dry paper a little Spritz beautiful we have like a friendly family sort of atmosphere on board we'll go out together I'll go to the beach really nice job of life today the kangaroo route has a single stop of 90 minutes in the world's busiest airport Dubai welcome to Dubai recruit refueled and re-catered the plane is ready for the longest leg of the flight 14 hours to Sydney we're about to hop on the plane not much longer back in the air the crew are preparing for another meal service we have a little trick that we like to call Grant you know about Tom Cruise don't you when we talk about Tom Cruise on the aircraft we're not we certainly are not we are talking about tea and coffee how did you put them on the trolley tea then coffee Tom Cruise there you go fact of the day [Music] on the upper day in business class Belinda settles in for lunch it's awesome you're joining us for something to eat thank you thank you so much this is our first experience in the premium cabin and she's not yet used to the restaurant-like service so I'm serving a side salad with your meal and I have a choice of dressings for you I have HBO start like I have a very few what's a visual but he should ask and it's not just the food jug and she needs some help with Aaron's just been talking about the lifestyle of her ass yes flight attendant laughs Australian Belinda left home to pursue her dream as an actress and singer I think I underestimated how hard it would be setting up in London it's not easy to come over with like two suitcases and that's all you have but she might have to get used to the high life as things are on the up so we're getting married um legally married which is a little bit different for um if we were in Australia but in the UK we can get married which is incredible yeah it's very exciting so keep your eyes at the point that you're looking at but just drop your nose down a little bit and she's also landed the role of Judy Garland in a new West End show I can't wait for my mum to see this I don't think she'll quite believe it but I think should be really proud of everything that I'm achieving over here Judy really is going to us isn't it Judy's going to us she's going back to Arts yes absolutely the Qantas A380 a 64 business class seats I took to eight times the cost of an economy seat this premium cabin is vital to the success of the airline what they're selling is exclusivity it's that great sort of social cachet if you turn left at the top of the steps instead of turning right for the airline is the question of economics if you're a standard economy class traveler they're not making much profit on you in fact they're hardly making anything at all so in a sense those business Travelers who are paying a great deal more are paying for the ordinary passengers like you and me often say this have been full on every flight lots of business Travelers or people that have saved up for a little while to take that trip of a lifetime it's very exclusive with the sky beds that go fully flat you can have privacy there's these mid-seat dividers it's all about service tailored to the customer oh business classes is is the business really it's not just the business class passengers who travel in comfort in the forward hole directly below first class are the animals like Mitzi and Alfie while it's not possible for owners to visit their pets in Flight if they're in the serenity of first class they occasionally might hear them sometimes you can actually hear the dogs chatting to each other and barking which can be a little bit distracting it's really interesting hearing hearing those noises and thinking that your ears are playing tricks on you it's forty thousand feet the A380 is one of the most comfortable planes in the sky quiet and stable it travels at more than 500 miles an hour almost effortlessly through the thin frigid atmosphere but it wasn't always this way the early long-haul passengers had to endure flying much lower in primitive and pressurized planes okay the good news about flying low that's 89 000 maximum 10 000 feet is you get a good view of what's down below the pyramids or the Taj Mahal or the Sydney Harbor Bridge the bad news is because they're going through the weather your stomach is being thrown all over the place and up to 50 percent of people in pre-war flights were nauseous they were queasy and a great many of those were actually vomiting on the floor and it's interesting that when the first stewardesses were introduced they had to be qualified nurses no such problems today as 10 hours into the flight the lights dim for the passengers to get some rest although few of them realize that there is another secret compartment in the belly of the plane and Welcome to our secrets sleepover job one big slumber party in here this is where the cabin crew go on their downtime Naomi and Sarah have agreed to show us around the monsters 12 12 12 Monkeys crew rest is the best thing on the aircraft hi guys hello welcome welcome we are ready for a nap three hours off and then we'll switch and then the next bus will get the three hours off yeah do a demonstration of how we get into the top bunk best medicine okay and you normally have a hot water bottle down here normally because it's freezing down here it can get quite cold right not nice good night we get cozy pillows blankets hot water bottles you know lucky you don't see us in our pajamas but uh we saved that four down there yeah it's just like a little cozy compartment Underground and where's the Harry Potter book who gets the Harry Potter book yeah we do have one bunk which we call the Harry Potter bunk which is just under the stairs all right let's go to very pretty ah it's easiest I've ever done that I actually don't mind it because it's like someone's actually giving you a hug under there because it's like you've got a wall That's halfway through and you kind of just all you know cozy up in there and it's quite warm good night nice and cozy [Music] it's not just the camping crew getting some rest even Pilots get a moment or two to enjoy the scenery there's a lot to see and you've got new maps so you know where you are and you see some great sunrises sunsets and mountains [Music] in the economy calendar is 28 year old Australian Sean living in the UK he's been plotting with Dad to be the surprise guest is mum's 60th birthday party yeah my mom's very emotional I think when she sees me she's probably gonna scream run and hug me possibly even cry I think she'll be very entertaining John's not the only one with secrets sometimes I guess we do get a few weird requests such as marriage proposals after they've had a few wines you just make sure that they know that we're just there for their safety and the service we're not you know there for anything else next with just a thousand miles to run in Sydney a whole Army prepares a welcome flight 002 [Music] with flight 002 now just hours from Sydney the International Airport prepares to open after its overnight curfew are you doing the tour arrival as well not sure okay on board the pilots make contact with the air traffic control honestly super hello to you zero two zero air traffic control is pretty much a policeman of the Skies we make sure that the rules and procedures are followed and that separation standards aren't breached it takes a special kind of scale you need to be able to think faster on your feet you need that spatial awareness a lot of people think in two-dimensional but we're thinking in three-dimensional but we're also thinking four-dimensional at times because we've got speed involved as well meanwhile in the daily briefing at the ioc it's the weather that's the worry Sydney we are looking at storm potential staying quite likely within the next two hours at the airport those storm cells hugging the coast whether or not there's going to be a tropical Cyclone over the fly path of several flights becomes increasingly important to hide passenger volume flights such as those that go to China those who go to London we are looking at storm cells to the northwest of port and they are likely to move over if you think they're fast moving then they're quite fast moving we have some stuff to the Southwest at the moment but that should stay offshore I'm just concerned that those things that are developing to the northwest while the worst of the storms are not yet over Sydney the pilots prepared to land in some typically British weather thank you in the cabin as the dawn breaks the crew prepare breakfast drinks or anything like that the last service was hours ago so I guess they're ready for their their brekkie before they land [Music] A first order of cheeky James boats at Sunrise Joshua is loading up the oven yeah it's doing a great job of being Galley operator yeah I've just got the card on down in the crew quarters the early morning alarm call is less welcome I've just come downstairs to do the worst just waking everyone who can give you a heart attack at the past few times but um and then when that hand does come up you're like okay and then you come up and you feel sorry for any passengers that don't come across you in that process between going from the career store to the toilet my favorite things during flight is to see the crew that are coming back from break and how upset they look after coming back from great here's Edward he's looking really happy morning in the first class Galley Marissa is tackling a tricky dish fresh scrambled eggs cooked in a steam oven we gotta keep a close eye on it constantly stir it because if I take my eye off them I either burn them or they go a bit dry which we don't want oh yes Platinum passengers little nerves but all good sir 35 A.M yeah I'm just seeing where we are we're just flying over Camp right now so um yeah I think we touched down in like 36 minutes which is really exciting Sean two is excited Hamming traveled 11 000 miles just to be his mother's very special birthday present literally my plan is to get a box that's big enough to fit me to wrap it up in paper maybe put a bow on it I think when I leap out of the box I think my mum's on a screen Panic a little bit and then once you realize whose it is I should probably give you a big hug probably start crying um I think it'd be very entertaining keeping the emotions in check is also going to be a challenge for Malcolm who after 65 years is now just minutes away from meeting his long-lost family first time a meeting I'm pulling in the flat nerves are we going now [Music] a lot [Music] not just Malcolm feeling the nerves as at Sydney airport his welcoming party has arrived my two sisters are here with me my partner my daughter my grandson and my nephew we are so excited nerves have been chattering all the way down here yeah it's really exciting can't wait to see plus two turn right heading one two five to join final one six right and you are clear the eyeless theorem approach right any one two five join final Olympics right clear the DRM approach with the runway in sight the plane enters its most critical phase Landing and the a380's massive size creates a huge amount of weight turbulence or jet wash white tournaments is the unstable air that is produced from the wings and the body of the aircraft as it flies through the air the weight turbines hangs behind the aircraft for a period of time and we put like an envelope around the aircraft so we've got one thousand feet below and for a super it's six nautical miles behind it so we don't want anything in that envelope otherwise they get buffeted around a lot if you're quite close to the the weight turbulence coming up the back of a super or heavy and you're in a light aircraft like a Cessna it could flip the aircraft Corners two win one three zero degrees one zero knots Runway one six right please while the A380 can land automatically but is handled by the human Pilots all right visual procedures check one thousand in tough conditions they can be challenging Crosswinds make it harder usually happens just in the last little bit and at that stage you nearly are always flying it manually [Music] it's probably the most satisfying part where you try and fly the airplane as efficiently as you can and do a good Landing if possible if you do you basically feel satisfied it was a good job I'm gonna see him in a minute oh wow I'll be so excited how exciting how exciting Malcolm is just moments away from coming face to face with his past [Music] flight 002 from London has just landed into Sydney International Airport where a small army of service Personnel are ready to welcome the plane how many baggage containers you've got to take off or four more to go you're going to use these ones here ramp manager Sam Shannon oversees the offloading it's almost like a choreographed dance we've got engineering stuff that are overviewing the aircraft and looking for any damage they might have occurred in Flight we've got our ground service team that are offloading all the bags in cargo we'll also have catering come to the aircraft and start offloading all the rubbish from the inbound flight refuelers are also coming around to refuel the aircraft with the flight burning through over 300 000 liters of fuel the plane has lost half its takeoff weight although a little extra has been added obviously after such a long flight with over 480 passengers there's a lot of toilet waste so this gentlemania is just taking it out of the aircraft and also flushing all the tanks in the aircraft to make sure they're all clean for the next flight no we don't dump it in here I can assure you of that Sam's team need to get all the passengers reunited with their 600 bags in less than 45 minutes and for three special ladies that can't happen soon enough we'll take them a little while to get through customs and then get their bags and stuff so [Music] with all the passengers disembarked the crew can finally clock off bye Jason but while it's good buys for the crew Malcolm's three sisters are desperate to say hello [Music] finally after what has literally been a lifetime Malcolm arrives [Music] [Applause] [Music] don't touch me finally finally oh my God it's fantastic I can't believe it [Music] I can't wait to tell him just about our dad what he was like growing up it's a little bit Bittersweet sort of we don't want to tell it too much I want to think he's missed out on everything but he just wants to hear about everything that we shared with Dad [Music] oh [Music] my God the vibe the only one four months ago now I've got three sisters how lucky are you oh lucky me yeah with the plane due to be back in the air in just seven hours there is just enough time for some regular maintenance the tug has now grabbed it closed its jaws elevating the aircraft up so it's pivoting on its landing gear the dead weightless aircraft at the moment will possibly about 300 odd ton we're going to follow the A380 line out just to keep these wing tips clear from all around the aircrafts all around us that big you can have an accident you could hit a wing on something so you must concentrate on handing it onto the center of those lines with the engineering hanger on the opposite side of the airport Louis must tow the 73 meter long aircraft across a live Runway Cleveland won its Final Approach so we have to move [Music] aircraft's pretty close what's coming in now here we go seven-story hanger was specially converted to accommodate the giant A380 and even then it only just fits the aircraft is very high and was a great challenge for us a lot of the equipment that we need to do a job at a normal human level has to be elevated to those Heights it's not just getting the people there it's getting some of the specialized tooling there as well one of the regular you went to the aircraft and you'll apply the foam over the aircraft scrub it off rinse it off so how do they get dirt I mean they're flying in the air bugs moths the rubber coming off the tires hitting the back of the aircraft exhaust fumes hydraulic leaks all sorts of various ways they can get dirty and all this effort is not just for show obviously for our customers to look at a bright and shiny airplane he's very nice however there's a hidden agenda there in filburn I'm a clean airplane the fuel burn is significantly reduced [Music] well our plane is being readied for its next trip Belinda's finally made it home Australia has a smell this sort of fresh grass kind of smell is just like I can't explain it so it's quite comforting it's very emotional coming back to an old life that I used to have you know but it's also just so nice to be able to see mum Yvonne's delighted that Belinda's musical theater career is taking off at last [Music] very proud of her finally she's going to be considered a professional and getting paid and that's so yeah I've been paid before though yeah like West End theaters West End is definitely a yes a first for me definitely [Music] it's not just Belinda that's happy to be home next the rest of the passengers have their own emotional reunions you found a great spot for him anywhere [Music] thank you so we're in Sydney now and we're just off to our first destination Fuji the kangaroo route is thousands of long-haul flights that deliver passengers around the world as each day tens of thousands of Travelers begin their own Journeys we've got a beautiful view behind us of Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House [Music] for Daniel and Bethany their journey is just get a possible future in Sydney hello hello welcome let's have a look around so we've got a lovely open plan kitchen Lounge dining bedrooms just to uh your left here so the mirror is solder straight away and waking up to that every morning oh wow yeah fell in love with the apartments be honest here it's it's perfectly located that balcony in the mornings having a cup of coffee or having some breakfast really settled our nerves kind of coming out here and seeing how beautiful Sydney is we're looking forward to it my nan summed it up she she said it'll break my heart to see you go and at the same time it's the best thing for you and if my grandpa was still alive he'd be proud of us for moving out here because this is a big step but she knows that for our future this is the best move for us and this is where our future lies while Daniel and Bethany look to the Future for Mitzi and Alfie after 10 days in quarantine it's a case of home at last [Music] I just got off the phone with your parents they're very excited to see you I've got them out at the airport in Sydney just to stretch their legs chance to go to the toilet and both of their body languages were fantastic they handled the flight really well they're both happy and obviously glad to be on the ground [Music] everything while the dog's settle in at home back at the airport the countdown is on to get the next long-haul flight out on time thanks everyone we've had one minute before corbettes are there in about 10 minutes before passengers board but the crew aren't the only ones on a countdown it's good to be back in Sydney Sean and his brother put the final touches to his mum's ultimate birthday surprise it's my brother Mark just pick me up here manly [Music] plan is cover this box um I'm gonna put a couple of eyes on it and so I've got a couple of peepholes there's already some cutouts on the side so as she goes to open the box um pop my arms out [Music] it's not going to be neat but it will do Sean takes up his position as mommy's due at any moment oh they're coming they're gonna hear some yells any second now he's not the only one undercover we've told mum that our camera crew are making a promotional film for the restaurant [Laughter] [Music] my whole being is just shaking I I it's I'm gobsmacked it's a dream come true in my head I'm thinking oh to make sure wouldn't that be wonderful but it won't happen foreign north of Sydney Malcolm is having a very different family reunion you show me the way hi Dad we're all there yeah 65 years ago yeah here we go again thank you it's been totally emotional since I've been here finding you three and my dad's gravy you can't explain it fabulous turn me well right around I'm sure he had something oh yeah he's probably sorted it out yeah sorted it out yeah [Music] the first non-stop 19-hour flight from the UK to Australia will begin forward that will further shrink our world yet while another long-haul Milestone will be achieved the Spirit a romance of long-distance travel remains Longhorn lights transport millions of people billions of miles to reconnect those who are half the world away even though we've been doing it now for half a century there's sort of certain magic about Long Haul which you can't equal with a short tall hop of 90 minutes in a sense Long Haul is what Aviation is really about [Music] he's dead on his journey over here I've never seen that one before that's going up on bedroom beside Elvis [Music] right Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the world [Music] five runways handle up to 250 flights an hour security staff check 95 000 bags every day we are taking anything you can eat drink or surf the web we're out of the bags before anything that could connect to make an exposed material the airport handles 2 million passengers a week and it employs 63 000 staff the pilot doesn't get this he can't go anywhere so how does this enormous airport work the volume here at Atlanta is always the difficult part exclusive access takes us behind the scenes it's kind of like the underground is the exploring the airport's hidden secrets some people don't even know that team on call 24 7. what I love most about this is being the good guy and incredible technology you process a U.S citizen in a matter of seconds that makes this extraordinary Place work what's Captain get his clearance out we're ready for on-time departure this is the secret life of the world's busiest airport final call Delta flight 353 service to Liberia Costa Rica Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta handles more flights than Heathrow and Gatwick airports combined good afternoon ladies and gentlemen your aircraft has just right here around 261 million people 80 of the U.S population live within two hours flight of here 21.79 to Pentacles and it's the home base for Delta Airlines one of the biggest carriers in the world the connection of information is here on the overhead monitor that's why 104 million passengers pass through the airport every year relying on the 2700 flights that arrive or depart every day so it's 104 affirmative and make a left turn on tax Windows to ensure everything runs on time hundreds of aircraft must be emptied prepared and reloaded at one of the airport's 192 Gates under such pressure every breakdown every weather delay every security alert has the potential to bring the operation to a grinding halt so how do you manage the job of getting all those aircraft in and out throughout the day this is where it all starts Delta Airlines ramp Tower one of three across the airport and America 1309 uh coming on your left side to your gate Tango 10. from here the staff control all the operations required to turn an aircraft around across 60 Gates simultaneously each flight has certain things that have to happen it has to be fueled has to have catering has to be cleaned so we're coordinating all those different inspections and activities that go into it every flight we're Ground Control so we bring the planes in and we push the planes out repeat and go repeat and go Roger United 4484 your push-approved tail South currently there's two and Q ramp controllers manage the flow of aircraft enabling Pilots to find the right gate and head for the right Runway 29 it's a ship number 950. gate controllers oversee the turnaround itself managing up to eight Gates simultaneously constantly troubleshooting problems my gate Bravo 31 he just pushed off the gate he was on time and I got Bravo 33. we have the jetway off and it looks like he's going to be early it's the gate controller's job to liaise with the ground crew to ensure baggage tugs arrive for the luggage and catering trucks arrive with newly loaded Galley cars one vehicle you won't see out here is a fuel tanker so how do these planes get refueled running underground is a hidden network of pipes 23 miles long which feed fuel to every single gate at the airport and the system pumps 11 million liters of aviation fuel every day Skywest 109 North cardio Dixie 35 the ramp tower has information on every aspect of an aircraft's operation from how much fuel it needs to how many bags should be on board this information is fed to the ground crew using the latest in handheld Electronics which is how they know that this flight has a problem they're out 41 bags Hey listen you guys got in the bag I got um 2330 Tampa Alpha seven we're missing about 40 bags okay 23.30 and uh we got uh 15 minutes on the clock five or ten minutes and the issue should be resolved all right 38.5 hey stand by one second Bob San Francisco Bravo 22. it's the jump of the ramp Tower staff to deal with any issue and minimize the risk of delay planes will come in and something goes wrong with it it'll break it needs tire changing you know doors won't open delays affect us greatly because we're such a tight operation there's one problem the ramp Tower dreads above anything else worst nightmare bad weather you know beer in the South we have thunderstorms that just pop up out of nowhere when it starts raining we start slowing the flow of traffic coming in here at that point we're taking major delays the ramp Tower staff constantly juggle resources to keep delays to a minimum 4803 what was the fuel on board can you tell me what maintenance is actually working on they can track every single inbound outbound and grounded aircraft coming through Atlanta in the next day and if a problem calls for a replacement plane they know exactly where to find one sometimes these aircraft come in and they might be sitting on the ground for two hours for their next flight so what we do is the aircraft that just broke has a two hour ready time we'll take that ship that's sitting here waiting for two hours and we'll put the passengers on them and then by the time that happens this one should be repaired who'll be able to make up we're moving things around we're trying to utilize all our resources that we have to get them up I mean it came in early you see the Standard Time right there is 11 50 or whatever but it came in 11 34. it's a constant battle against time technology and the elements and it never stops up here we're kind of like a beehive hey everybody I'm an activity if you were to take the lid off you're just gonna hear you know buzzing going on the tower is also in communication with the gate agents they must deal with the single most time consuming turnaround job of all us the passengers we should begin boarding at 35 minutes prior to departure so we are getting ready to begin boy but the boarding process has been delayed Hi how are you good actually thank you no problem thank you whether the captain and first officer are here and not the all-flight attendants have to be here before we can board so right now we just have one we're still holding on three more control of your bags at all times we're all familiar with seating areas where we can wait for our flight but what about the Air Cruise hidden out of the way underneath the terminals are two other lounges [Music] one for cabin crew [Music] the other for Pilots you have a typical passenger that goes from the West Coast to East Coast on any given day they will tell you they're worn out and that's just from riding in the airplane while we're busily working and flying these airplanes and we need downtime too so if we're able to go into a lounge at our base we have enough time we'll go in there sit relax for a little while and kick back put our feet up and out of the public view because no one in the airport wants to see their pilot sleeping that is not a good look as Atlanta is the main hub for Craig's Airline he spends a lot of time down here there's a blue chair over there in front of the television that I am particularly fond of recline's almost completely flat I've spent many hours in it from their Lounge Pilots can get their schedule for the day and up to date weather forecasts [Music] but as they head for their gate it turns out that one of the most critical things the pilot of a 75 million pound plane relies on is an old-fashioned printout this is the Pilot's pre-departure paperwork that basically lets them know which Runway they need to take what elevation it has all of it how much fuel they need all the little details who his crew is everything so this is vital to the operation the pilot doesn't get this he can't go anywhere here you go gentlemen outstanding thank you we are able to accommodate any additional passengers for this right it has to definitely full there are still five minutes to go when the aircraft door is closed even though work can still be going on on the tarmac uh the clock is showing uh D minus two on there so everything was closed up at D3 uh we're ready for on-time departure um he's on the headset right now just waiting for the captain to call him once Captain get his clearance out he'll be ready to go we're ready to take the canopy off of the aircraft and get the plane back on time departure [Music] the ramp controller liaises with air traffic control Roger before giving the pilots clearance to move right now we got this aircraft is pushing back we're giving them instructions on how to to go so they can get oriented to the right Runway so they can take off flight DL 2330 heads off to Tampa bang on schedule but keeping Atlanta's 2700 flights a day on time isn't just down to the ramp Towers hidden out of sight is a vast Subterranean Network moving passengers and baggage from one part of this enormous airport to another 35 miles of conveyor system mostly hidden under the building so it's kind of like the underground Disney thank you to six thousand travel Runway seven Landers Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta has been the world's busiest airport for the last two decades and last year it handled a staggering 104 million passengers managing that number of people requires two massive Terminals and seven concourses spread across the two mile long axis of the airport [Music] T6 they've almost finished boarding a flight to New York hey how are you today but some passengers are missing we're missing still about eight passengers on board most of these passengers are coming from a connecting flight Atlanta is a massive Hub with flights coming in from all over the world as well as across the USA over 60 percent of passengers are changing from one flight to another and with Gates as much as a mile and a half apart getting them from one aircraft to another is a huge issue so how do you get passengers to their flight on time the solution lies Underground a Subterranean automated Railway which handles more passengers a day than all the terminals at Heathrow combined a three-mile loop of track runs along the spine of the airport connecting Terminals and Gates at peak times the trains run a minute apart allowing the plane train to shuttle 250 000 passengers staff and crew from terminal to terminal every day it's the busiest automated airport Railway in the world the next app is but what and who keeps it running [Music] you should head out to F2 Outdoors fell in the lock F2 we have to ensure that there's no glitches no Hang-Ups we want to keep it moving smooth it's all about getting people safely from entering the airport to their destinations from the control room Rod can monitor the performance of every train in the system any problem like faulty doors overloaded trains or power failures will raise an alarm [Music] and as soon as there's an issue Rod alerts his roving team of Engineers to fix it all right they are part of a secret army of people who keep the airports functioning we have three guys spread out across the entire system and they all have a certain area to cover if an issue happens you can tell them where the train is 34. what the problem is the pressure on Rod is immense a plane train breakdown is the nightmare scenario without that one minute train now the crowd starting to pile up and pile up and pile up those stations would be crowded in just five minutes it affects everything now the planes can't depart because they don't have the Fasteners I mean it's a ripple effect with 2 700 flights rooted via Atlanta each day the ripples spread far and wide it wouldn't affect just Atlanta we're talking a whole Southeast Eastern Seaboard I mean it is not a good thing not a good thing at all careful doors are closing and will not be open while Rod's team attend to every technical fault some problems are beyond their control number one would would probably be passenger interference that means people jamming doors [Music] the automated system requires the doors to close properly before a train can move off if the doors are jammed open or damaged it brings the plane train and possibly a significant slice of U.S air traffic to a complete halt these trains will not move without the doors being closed that's why it's so crucial it's so important but passengers aren't just worried about catching their flights I don't feel too comfortable checking in luggage like especially if I'm traveling with Dan's costumes or something important like I always get scared that they're gonna lose my bags this is actually only my second time I'm playing so the first time my baggage got lost worldwide around 20 million bags are lost or damaged each year costing the industry 1.8 billion pounds [Music] Atlanta uses the latest in technology to minimize the chance of your bags missing your flight welcome to Atlanta's high-tech baggage Highway first stop on the line the Transportation Security administration's screening facility sa as they're known scans every single check-in bag before it goes anywhere which adds up to 14.9 million bags a year times TSA will run 42 x-ray machines each costing 261 000 pounds to hunt for explosives or other banned items says we're okay with this bag it'll actually send it to another line on straight out to the play most bags pass through without any problem but a significant number are sent down the suspicious bag slip way to tsa's baggage inspection room for stage two this is my bag right now using the X-ray from the scanner inspectors can zero in on the suspicious part of the bag any bag that has a laptop in it is going to pretty much come down and be alarmed and checked on the floor because that's easily something that you can hide or conceal an explosive device or make up a disposable device name I'm checking for any type of explosive or trans material that might be on the item itself analyzing a swab from the laptop is the surest way to check if it's okay or not any bag containing tools Electronics or liquid containers must pass George's inspection before it can go on its way oh now so with this bag here it's locked if a bag's locked and George doesn't have a master key he must adopt a more direct approach foreign explosives thankfully are incredibly rare but George does get a surprise now and again what are we to see like some some dead rats uh mice and it was just a whole bunch of them in little Ziploc bags what time we even seen a complete car the hood just bits and pieces of headlights that's in different bags it was literally like a whole car confirmed as safe bags move to stage three where the adventure really begins thank you 35 miles of conveyor system mostly hidden under the building so it's kind of like the underground Disney where you really don't know all the different things that are happening it's a mechanized Wonderland with 500 Junctions and it's here that the tag on your bag really earns its stripes at Atlanta they're special because they contain a microchip or RFID we have Optical readers around the system that that periodically check the location of the bag as well as RFID readers the RFID allows bags to be identified even if the barcode gets obscured this ensures that every bag gets routed to the right destination and the microchip offers an extra little peace of mind so it allows us a lot better information we're now able to relay that information to our passengers they can use an app to see the location of their bag at any time whether it's on board whether it's sitting at the claim unit for them Andy and his team constantly monitor the system there are different color codes that come up depending on the activity of the system green is good green is always good purple indicates there's a little bit of a problem and bags are starting to back up and then if there ends up being a jam it indicates a jam in yellow unfortunately Andy and his colleagues see yellow over 60 times a day we have a jam at mb143 mb143 a baggage system technician is dispatched to sort out the problem our goal is to clear them within a minute and a half there's a little competition between the day shift and the PM shift on how quickly they can clear Jam most jams are like this one four bags have ended up wedged together blocking the conveyor it's simple enough to clear and Andy's computer screens are green for go again the biggest cause of lost bags is when luggage is in transit to a connecting flight at Atlanta they have an ingenious solution to deal with bags which have a long layover bags like this one are sent to a facility called Cold Storage it's tracked by this [Music] the SAG is going to Sacramento is needed for a flight going out then the bag will Purge out go to its own time pier and then any other bags that were not needed at that particular time by the system will come back and be sorted back into a timeline the final stop on the system is one of several unloading stations on any given day you can lift a couple of hundred to several hundred bags just like the passengers bags have departure boards and the baggage handlers make sure each bag catches its flight this screen right here lets us know what flights are going on this pier and then we set these parts up for each destination now Jacksonville it's due out at 12 18. we like to haul the first card out 40 minutes prior to departure than if any other Jacksonville bags fall we like to have those to the gate within 25 minutes most we've handled in any particular day was 108 thousand that's pretty mind-boggling how many bags we're able to move through here in a day keep them sorted out keep them get them to the correct flights the airport systems do a remarkable job of getting passengers and Luggage to their onward flight but what do you do if you've got a tight connection and even the plane train isn't going to be fast enough ever wondered what those people with name boards on the air Bridge are doing are you Mr standard I am yeah how are you good morning sir Delta passenger Steven stender has less than 30 minutes to make his connection well I've got a nice treat waiting for you downstairs if you follow me having alerted the airline to his problem they've stepped in to help transfer service reserved for VIPs paying clients and people who really can't afford to miss their onward flight [Music] I was really sweating it you know I was a little concerned about weather and everything else it's a big day I'm actually asking my girlfriend to to be my wife I'm flying home to Milwaukee and immediately as I see her I'm gonna ask her to marry me and we are then celebrating we're off to Hawaii it might seem a bit absurd using a sports car capable of 160 miles an hour to Total across the tarmac at a modish 30. but with an automated massage included it's been chosen for Comfort rather than speed we could just take a little tour around the airport for an hour I could get used to this and again just uh just watch your step Mr Sanders we head up perfect great thank you [Music] one passenger's Journey that could have gone South is now heading north on time to Milwaukee [Music] there's only one thing more important to the airport than getting people away on time and that's ensuring their safety with terrorism an ever-present threat how does the world's busiest airport Keep Us Safe never again do we want 9 11 to happen across the world there are estimated to be as many as 16 000 planes in the air at any one time controlling each and every flight is a mammoth task the point 326 tax would be the pink three-hole short run Winona Road meals the things at the world's busiest airport air traffic control is one of the most challenging jobs 150 domestic destinations 70 International destinations and 50 countries and so our job is to make that portion where you're starting in your flight AS seamless as possible 25-64 is coming up on 39 right it's a Non-Stop Carousel of planes in and out Southwest 105 at Romeo 3 cross Runway 90 right turn left on tax rate open every airport is different but here in Atlanta you have to have that energy to keep going and and keep moving forward when you are getting behind because you can get behind real fast here Paul and his colleagues handle five parallel runways in constant use and 2 700 flights a day we can handle anywhere between 130 arrivals an hour and 120 departures an hour so roughly over 250 operations an hour so how do you manage the flow of aircraft when there is a takeoff or Landing happening every 15 seconds Atlanta airport is divided in two [Music] each side serving one half of U.S airspace on each side one Runway is dedicated to takeoffs the others to Landings and each Runway has a designated controller we've got a 1471 you can make the left turn at Lima one you'll follow an Embraer approaching from your left 471 monitor Tower 123.85 breaking the system down like this makes the process of air traffic control much more manageable thank you Del 2326 I'll pass this information [Music] the airports taxiways operate as enormous one-way streets channeling aircraft to and from their Gates and this allows air traffic control to maximize throughput when things get busy the ground controller's main objective is to taxi the aircraft both arriving and departures to get them to their Runway Minnesota 6116 you'll be an extra departure monitor Tower one two three point eight five aircraft need a minimum separation between takeoffs [Music] but smaller gaps are permitted if their Roots diverge as soon as they're airborne when they tax down for departure you could get a North departure and you can get followed by another North departure and what the ground controllers would do is he would park that second North departure and wait for a West departure to come out by alternating aircraft so that one with a flight pass going left is followed by one with a flight pass going right you can speed up the rate at which they depart that's fine for getting aircraft out but how do you get inbound aircraft to the gates without Crossing busy runways Atlanta's built a way to keep the taxing traffic flowing call taxiway Victor it's effectively a bypass diverting taxiing aircraft around one end of the runway but the crucial factor is it sits in a man-made dip this means the taxiing aircraft is below the level of the runway so it won't interfere with aircraft taking off it uh actually reduces our Runway Crossings of about 600 Crossings a day and it also allows the aircraft to keep moving which means they don't have to idle down and power back up so they use a lot less fuel in air traffic it's always good to keep an aircraft moving moving aircraft is a happy aircraft as we say so even if you're taxing longer and you're not stopping I think the passengers enjoy that because at no point do you stop way Victor's been so successful a similar system is planned for the opposite side of the airport America the principle of simplification even applies to the technology the air traffic controllers use for all the radar and computers they have the most essential tool for managing individual aircraft is this a plastic strip those plaster strips those are the flights basically they have the aircraft car sign on there they have the destination the altitude they have a transponder code on there in which that code is linked up to that particular aircraft so that we can rate or identify them and follow them throughout the airspace there's times where you could have 50 of those strips and that's a way for us to keep them organized and it's a memory for us so we use those uh all the time passing the strip from One controller to the next keeps responsibilities clear and the traffic flowing airports rely on keeping the passengers moving as much as the planes and as any regular traveler knows that means clearing security [Music] having people go through security is probably the biggest thing you know with 911 and everything after that you know Quality Security that can be rough for some people sometimes standing in line is kind of like long and annoying but like it's definitely necessary you want to make sure you're safe when you're traveling the Transportation Security Administration or TSA are responsible for all U.S airport security [Music] they were formed in the wake of the 9 11 terrorist attack and Christy Newton Terry was one of their first employees the training was very fast I had my interview my tests everything all in the same day within a three-week span it was like this and I had a job that has lasted me this long it was amazing to me you know what it is that we do you know basically saving the public every day yeah move your jacket so you can step around I have an open station in the front we have a model not on our watch basically it means never again do we want 9 11 to happen everything that's in your pocket put it in here very first station the main weapon in tsa's Armory is the X-ray scanner but if it can see inside our luggage why do we have to take anything out anything that we have you take out of the bag is basically for the X-ray operator so that they can see clearer through the item to make sure nothing prohibited is inside laptops and other metal items can block the X-ray machines penetrating eye which is why passengers have to remove them from their bags they can hide prohibited items from detection last year screening at Atlanta revealed 245 handguns carried in people's luggage of which 222 were loaded we find they're gone almost every day some of them forget they're in their bag some of them think that they can bring them because they have a carry concealed license and they think that they can still bring it through remember guys would go ahead and take it out of the bag the meticulous process of security can cause long cues but Atlanta does have one tool up its sleeve more efficient than metal detectors and body scanners it can keep cues to a minimum say hello [Music] 17 specially trained explosive sniffer dogs well the technology is very good but the dog's Keen sense of smell is much better than the machinery and it's a lot quicker so we can spring passengers much faster we use the spring cargo and they would call us because if they had 20 pallets to scream the dog could do it in 10 minutes where it would probably take them two hours by eliminating the possibility of passengers carrying explosives before they even reach the X-ray machines the remaining Security checks can be simplified they don't take the shoes off they don't have to take their liquids out it's more efficient and a faster way for them to pass through the secondary part of the screening security is one of the most important aspects of Airport's life and it can affect its operation in some very unexpected ways [Music] take food for instance with 275 000 people passing through every day restaurants are a vital part of the airport we'll get a bite to eat before we get on an airplane just because of the fact you never know what they're going to serve you you know if you're waking up early to go to an airport you're all stressed you only have time to eat so getting there and having a place to eat is always nice Jekyll Island Seafood is one of the 114 food Outlets dotted throughout the airport most of the seafood the shrimp and fried fish and crawfish and calamari most of that stuff's 10 minutes tops with chicken it takes a little longer to cook so we're looking at about 15 minutes definitely no longer than the 20 minutes whether you're turning out grilled Atlantic salmon or just a burger the question is the same how do you get all the ingredients and stuff to cook them into the airport without the headache of passing through security the answer is can't security is non-negotiable all the food is subject to being inspected and checked before it makes its way into the airport so it's a very demanding precise logistically a complicated process that we have to go through in order to make all of this work I have a chicken Caesar and the kids the biggest obstacle that I tackle here with my staff is getting everyone here on time everyone has to go through security every day all of your belongings so the staff have to make sure that they're prepared at least an hour an hour and a half to just walk in the doors to be here at work getting people and produce to the restaurant is only part of the challenge if all sharp objects are confiscated by security how do chefs prepare the food all of the knives have to be tethered or attached to a string or they have to be locked away in the state we have to keep a record of it daily for the morning as well as the PM that we're checking to make sure that all pointy sharp objects including knives and scissors they're accounted for twice a day although no airport can guarantee to eliminate every single risk to our safety air travel Remains the safest mode of Transport on the planet [Music] there are however some threats you can't control like bird strikes so how does Atlanta keep Wildlife at Bay leave the area it's unsafe this is not for you any regular traveler knows Mother Nature can have a dramatic effect on air travel storms snow and lightning can all cause airport delays [Music] but the natural world's interventions aren't just limited to the elements Wildlife also poses a significant risk we see the most activity on the south complex Canada geese Kildeer morning doves European starlings all kinds of different black birds your normal everyday Birds we experience them here out on the Airfield jet engines are designed to suck in air not Birds and the results of a bird strike can be catastrophic 2009 you may have heard of the aircraft that took off from JFK ingested Canada geese into both engines lost thrust and essentially became a glider he was able to land on the Hudson River so 155 people evacuated safely from that aircraft it was a miracle Atlanta has a special team dedicated to minimizing the risk Birds pose to aircraft the problem is airfields are surprisingly attractive to Wildlife they don't have much disturbance from human beings outside of the aircraft so once they condition to the aircraft noise it's really a nice place to be if you're wildlife Steven's job is to make sure they don't stay pyrotechnics Steven uses a range of pyrotechnics to flush out different birds but not everything in his kit is about scaring wildlife gloves with alcohol weight these are used when Stephen collects this the remains of a bird strike dry tissue we call that the snarge will be collected and bagged up for DNA analysis at a laboratory idea into species helps us determine what's bringing that Wildlife to our airport and on an Airfield that covers nearly 5 000 Acres getting rid of troublesome Wildlife requires more than just a suitcase of equipment this is one of our wildlife deterrent units it can it consists of a propane Cannon then also a bioacoustic generator so this is a sound system that's playing multiple different species distress car I say leave the area it's unsafe this is not for you so please remove yourself from the environment go ahead and activate the cannon after he passes despite all these efforts birds still take up Residence at the Airfield right now in July we're seeing our Peak bird strike numbers and that can range from one a day to one every other day we haven't taken into account how many movements we have here at the busiest airport it's not bad we don't have a wildlife problem necessarily we have a aircraft problem thank you catastrophic bird strikes are incredibly rare but what happens when a plane is damaged this building over a mile long houses Delta Airlines technical operations department or Tech Ops for short if a plane arrives at Atlanta after a damaging bird strike this is where it ends up the thing that's solid that goes through an engine typically does significant damage the worst damage I've seen was a bird strike which caused all the blades in the HPC to disintegrate and so the HPC that we see behind us here has nice uniform blades and the worst one kind of resembled a corn cob you know after the porn had been eaten and we actually refer to it as being corn copped and all the blades break off and it is a mess Blaine's team don't just deal with repairs this is where the majority of the 1700 engines that power Delta's Fleet get serviced we overhaul engines for Delta so we've got about eight different engine lines and we can bring the engines in disassemble them to the piece part level and reassemble the engine and then get it ready for tests these engines are incredible pieces of engineering the temperatures and pressures that they work at are extreme and they often stay on wing for thousands and thousands of hours and thousands and thousands of Cycles an individual engine can cost as much as six million pounds brand new servicing them requires an extraordinary range of techniques and materials which is why a complete overhaul can cost as much as 2.3 million pounds aircraft like engines will run for years and years with a regular service so specialist teams work every night to get planes back in action in the morning This Plane tonight we have a run it's a remain overnight visit where we do standard routine maintenance on them on this one tonight our main focus is on the vertical stabilizer most of the other checks we have on it are like service and tires changing brakes the fluids we'll be doing uh engine work where we're changing the igniter plugs we have a really good crew and we work through the issues we figure out what the problem is and what it's going to take to fix it and we try our best to get it fixed and be able to turn the aircraft have you already got it opened up yet as the lead technician it's Donna's responsibility to oversee every aspect of the service and to make sure the aircraft is ready before the dawn deadline I just love working with the uh all the hydraulic portions of the aircraft and I want to be in there turning the wrenches Delta service 21 different kinds of aircraft in this Hangar each comprised of millions of parts if just one of these spare parts is out of stock and a plane can't fly the cost of the delay and the knock-on effects can quickly Skyrocket into the Millions [Music] to keep their Fleet in the air Delta have built one of the world's biggest spare parts stores it's beyond me how many parts would actually be on here there's 2.4 million different part types but actual parts probably trillions who knows finding Parts in such an enormous store is so complicated the entire system has to be run by state-of-the-art computers when the mechanic orders apart it goes through the system so it actually cues up everything for us the system will determine what parts and what priority they need to be picked in it brings it to us once we confirm that order it sends it back and then the retriever will bring another part sometimes it's a struggle to keep up with the orders especially in the summertime that's our peak season the mechanics are busy keeping the planes cycling and we've got to get those parts to them so sometimes it is a challenge to keep up maintenance is so important to Delta's operation that the team here retrieve and send out a staggering 46 682 parts and components every day and the need to keep aircraft in operation can have unexpected consequences in the normally Cutthroat business of U.S airlines unfortunately every once in a while we will find ourselves out of stock on our part so sometimes Airlines work together in AC air parts or borrow apart from each other or buy parts from each other very very very rare that we ground a plane meticulous maintenance is what makes Global air travel possible but how do you maintain the airport and its systems when they're in constant use every day [Music] welcome to the secret nighttime Army responsible for keeping the world's busiest airports up to scratch is one of the most crucial systems that is on any Airport it's 11 p.m and passenger flights have all but ceased the cargo terminal will run throughout the night but activity at the passenger Gates has come to a halt now another secret army of people leaps into action these precious few hours when passenger flights are suspended are the only time most airports can carry out essential maintenance and with five runways 192 Gates and over 5 000 acres to look after that means a lot of work 20 Oscar 20 Tango 34 crew you know five unit tensile concerns right is closed each Runway is closed once a week for the airside operations team to conduct inspections and running repairs [Music] thank you so right now I'm beginning the nightly Airfield inspection we're going to start with air fill lighting Runway lighting ensures Pilots can clearly see the runway whatever the weather and night time is the only time these legally required checks can be made we're looking for lights that are out of service lights that are angled the wrong way lights that are overly bright lights that are very dim anything that could be detrimental to the operation of the Airfield we cannot have more than two consecutive out and we cannot have more than 10 percent of the entire lighting system at a service it's a big jump 18 295 lights are needed to illuminate the Airfield properly [Music] the lights aren't just there to indicate runways and taxiways special patterns and colors help telepilot exactly where they are on the airstrip this is a 9 000 foot Runway so you want the first 3000 feet for a the touchdown of an aircraft what we're seeing on the left and right sides of the center line and they are three lights spaced 150 feet apart from each other what we call Runway touchdown Zone lines so 1470 right turn at the end and then it there aren't just patterns at the start of the runway other lights tell you when you're close to its end from this point we have 3 000 feet remaining to the end of the runway and at this point your Runway Center Line lights will change from white in color to alternating red and white in color November 4 roll to the end please November 2 is unavailable in the runway snorlon lights will change as we approach up here the 1000 foot remaining mark from alternating red and white to solid red the lighting code isn't limited to the runways green lights indicate the center of taxiways blue the edges and flashing yellow means you're about to cross an active Runway [Music] Matt's lighting check isn't the only work being carried out at night [Music] only time they get to mow the majority of the Airfield [Music] managing grass height is crucial keeping it too short leaves easy feeding grounds for Birds too long attracts small mammals and then birds of prey letting the grass grow to an average height of 15 centimeters is ideal for minimizing wildlife inside the airport's buildings an army of Engineers technicians and cleaners has descended to ensure the buildings are returned to full working order before the first flights depart at 6am [Music] special machines are deployed to dust every nook and cranny wash the 1378 public toilets [Music] and clean three and a half miles of moving walkways and escalators nothing escapes the attention of these Nighthawks check the g-shoe and it's cable our sort of sea phase cable and the a-phase cable good even the points on the plane train track get a clean [Music] night time is also the only opportunity for any airport to do construction work s are all expanding right now as aircraft keep changing they're going to have to expand the gates to get the bigger aircraft in or they're going to want to have more aircraft in so they're going to add more bridges they're going to add more hold rooms they'll be construction constantly you'll constantly change it's 4 30 A.M passengers will be arriving to check in for the first flights of the day but there's still one routine check that needs to be carried out all right so now we're heading into the runway safety area which is giving us an alert so we know we're getting that area which we're not allowed to be in unless we have authorization which we do because we have a Runway closure technicians from the Federal Aviation Administration are here to test one of the airport's most vital pieces of equipment here they are ever wondered what the mysterious antennae at the end of the runway are for this is part of the instrument Landing system or ILS for short the airport simply can't operate without it we only have a two clearances one on this side and one on the 150. in one of the most crucial systems that is on any airport because they are used to ensure that in the worst weather condition possible an aircraft can land at an airport safely without seeing the runway so I'll read and you write 13 degree point two nine nine in the 90. got it with a ground check what we basically do is check the Integrity of the signal that's radiating out to align the aircraft on Center Line in principle the ILS sends out two signals for approaching aircraft to lock onto one tells the pilot when they're lined up with the center of the runway the other when they are descending at the correct angle to land and in an age of computers and digital technology this system is remarkably old school it relies on radio waves it's very simple in the concept if I had two radio stations one check tune into this Channel and want to tune into the other channel and I put them on different sides of the runway and I tell the pilot I want you to find a spot where you can't hear either Channel when is that when you're dead center so if you start to hear this FM versus that FM you're not in the center find the center [Music] making sure the system is working is critical at any airport but at Atlanta it has added significance [Music] here we have five parallel runways and sometimes we have triple Landings and they're always locked onto those ils's because there's so many planes coming in at the same time they want to stay on that Runway Center with all the checks complete the world's busiest airport is fully open for business again early morning is one of the peak times for international arrivals so how do Customs and Border Protection turn the airport into a frontier on a good day we'll find Heaven compartment our biggest thing here is marijuana but we'll sometimes fine cocaine or heroin [Music] well easy [Music] around 20 000 people arrive at the world's busiest airport from overseas every day they fly in from Europe Africa Asia and Latin America and every one of them needs to pass through customs before they can enter the USA but what the thousands of people queuing to pass through immigration don't realize is that the work of the Customs officers has already begun let's keep on walking for me please keep on coming officers from colder protection will sweep an international arrival as soon as the passengers have disembarked they're looking for any kind of contraband we're looking for items or compartments where they may have hid stuff that they're bringing back into the United States including narcotics we use our dog as another tool and we still have to go double check everything by hand there are too many international arrivals to check everyone so flights are picked at random we just like to hit different flights all the time to keep everybody on their toes am I in their p's and q's The Sweep is thorough inside and out right here I'm looking at the inside of one of the cargo holes on this aircraft you don't just have passengers involved in the drug trade you also have people that work for the Airlines and people have access to aircraft that are involved in hiding in Hidden compartments at times that the general public doesn't even think about or doesn't even see inevitably most of the things the officers discover have been forgotten rather than hidden most days we find things that people leave over just like the toothbrush right here we find tablets and cell phones but on a good day we'll find hidden compartment filled with different drugs our biggest thing here is marijuana but we'll sometimes find cocaine or heroin this plane is clear but across the U.S Customs and Border Protection officers find over two and a half tons of Narcotics every day the staff in the immigration Hall processed the passengers as fast as possible long queues here can have a major impact on the rest of the airport hey guys hello good morning are you having passports thank you their aim is to confirm the identity of every traveler but how do they deal with the 20 000 International passengers that arrive every day all right so what is the purpose of your traveling Atlanta has installed the latest in biometric recognition systems automated booths check paperwork unique facial features and fingerprints it allows the passenger to present themselves to a kiosk swipe in their documentation answer all the Customs questions with the new technology that is being tested here in Atlanta now facial recognition you could processor U.S citizen in a matter of seconds [Music] and the screening process doesn't stop in immigration while passengers wait for their luggage another CBP officer is on patrol a four-legged one breaking dog hold on unlike other dogs at the airport Murray's not looking for explosives or drugs his Target might seem mundane but it's potentially just as dangerous oh Marie what do we have here he looks for like plants vegetables meats and other prohibited items passengers often bring food in as an innocent treat for relatives or a Sentimental Taste of Home a good dog and every bag that Murray and his colleagues sniff out must be examined by cbp's agricultural Department inspectors so I see our canine has hit on you [Music] oh okay the fresh leaves that you have that you're carrying these are prohibited items so unfortunately all your fresh fruits and vegetables will not be permitted to the US today why is something you can buy in any Supermarket such an issue letting a non-native item into the country could have catastrophic consequences any foreign pest or disease that could come into the U.S can cause billions of dollars to our economy as far as the agricultural side it's not just the odd bit of fruit and veg that gets confiscated a typical mornings Hall would put a top Chef's Kitchen to shame we have some fresh okra we have eggplants avocado we also have some bananas and then of course we have a big beautiful bag of some dried meat with some items like these cherimoya or custard apples the pests are visible to the naked eye yes for an example that we find on the cherimoya are going to be typically your mealy bugs which is that white dot even spices conceal potential biohazards inside of the cumin there is a federal noxious weed that is found once we go through the process of sifting it first eye contact here are two and so therefore unground cumin cannot come in for that reason so what happens to this culinary contraband the only way to dispose of it safely is by feeding it into a blender then incinerating the pulp over the course of my career I must have ground thousands upon thousands of pounds of food in 2016 detector dogs like Murray quarantined 1.7 million items intercepting more than 60 000 harmful pests no mean achievement good boy given all of these dogs have either been rescued or donated to CBP Murray is a rescue when they found him he was badly abused if you look at him half of his ear is cut up I don't know if somebody tried to cut his ear from a dogfight we don't know because he was in really bad shape he was really skinny he was scared of people that a boy that's a good dog [Music] we have it on time to schedule departure this afternoon at 4 48 with an arrival into Detroit of 6 39 PM local time as airports become increasingly familiar in our daily lives it would be easy to take these complex places for granted Minnesota 6116 you'll be an extra departure monitor Tower 123.85 yet behind the scenes is a secret army of people dedicated to ensuring our flights arrive and leave on time my job's invisible to the public because some people don't even know that I exist and I don't mind that I get enough credit and satisfaction out of knowing that I'm making this place safer for the traveling public get a lot of people that come in and say thank you for what you do I know you have a difficult job and we appreciate it and we in turn appreciate those people that say that they operate Around the Clock a typical night for me starts at 10 30 p.m and ends about 7 30 a.m this industry it's a 24 7 365 industry and the midnight shift is a necessary part of that and they work with all manner of Machinery I enjoy being able to take an engine completely apart and then later seeing it on Wing flying safe to make our Journeys run as safely and as seamlessly as possible they are living The Secret Life of the world's busiest airport foreign

Channel: Spark

Views: 275,926

Keywords: Spark, Science, Technology, Engineering, Learning, How To, education, documentary, factual, mind blown, construction, building, full documentary, space documentary, bbc documentary, Science documentary

Id: 5DyDWPi5e78

Length: 134min 5sec (8045 seconds)

Published: Sat May 06 2023