Heathrow Britain's Busiest Airport Series 7: Episode 1 Wednesday 10th March 2021

this is heathrow only one runway is operational and two of its four terminals are closed but the airport is still open you can hear it quiet though depleted their army of staff are ready to get passengers bums back on seats it's just emotional good to see passengers whether it's keeping the airport super sanitized or keeping the travelers suitably swabbed just head back a little bit against the odds and with unprecedented challenges around every corner i'm fearful that the us is going to stop canceling flights it's been a nightmare heathrow has to pull out all the stops i hope i don't hit the claims now to remain the jewel in the country's aviation crown ensuring every plane takes to the skies extremely emotional dealing with suspicious packages in cargo no matter what you try sending through this machine we are going to find it and suspect passengers in the terminal we've got them on the floor heathrow's finest i'm not straight let me get straight are doing their best whatever comes their way because this is still britain's busiest airport challenging but this is the best part of the job good morning it's 7am our headlines today the second national lockdown in england is to last for a month it comes in response to fears that the rising coronavirus cases could overwhelm hospitals as infections surge positive cases have now passed one million november 2020 the pandemic has hit the entire aviation industry hard demand for flights has fallen by over 60 percent worldwide which for heathrow means departures are down from an average of 650 a day to just 88. you can hear it quiet demi is heathrow's number one passenger service manager there's only two two and a half screen of flights usually i'll be like nine ten screens that's the whole schedule for the day but this is britain's busiest airport and they won't be going down without a fight to offer as many routes as possible and keep flights operating they've consolidated all airlines into terminals five and two but there's still room for further changes you think it's going to recover yeah it might take a couple of years but yeah passengers we're going to want to fly again 100 we just got to make sure that we give them the confidence to fly as an airport in order to do this a raft of new measures have been introduced to reassure passengers that the airport is safe so we've got a one-way system stops people from mixing us opposed bumping into each other you see at the ticket they say they've got perspective screens in between the self-service machines perspective screens they're digging deep into their reserves arming staff with wmds weapons of mass disinfection what does this do this is details and what do you spray people touching so everything that people touch along with hygiene technicians there's also covert marshals keeping an eye out for misplaced masks shredded please we've got them out on about just making sure everyone's wearing the face covering make sure they're social distancing thank you and sticking to the rules thank you for keeping your mouse on and to round it off some new high-end tech just put my hand over here and it'll sanitize the screen for you there are even new members of staff who don't wash their hands after visiting the toilet please leave the room close the door and start a infection like little robots on wheels they're going i think they fully sanitize the toilets they're not cheap but if that's what it takes you know to keep a bit more confidence in people coming and checking in and going on their flights obviously you can't do a lot now during lockdown but this is what it's about until it gets sorted [Music] for many people traveling to the airport means one thing holidays today as winter looms and the country endures its second lockdown sunshine sea and sandy beaches are forbidden pleasures that are far from [Music] reached was vs0186 is it possible they moved the flight to another terminal we've only got two terminals gentleman's got a flight with virgin to [Music] bahamas barbados and it's it's not on the screens who did you book it with could it be what are they saying this one is cancelled if they can transfer me another one they won't they'll have to get you via new york if they've got that's the next flight virgin resumed direct flights to barbados two months after the first lockdown ended but with the average trip costing airlines 55 000 pounds one way and still so few passengers they cancel flights at short notice i was supposed to fly to barbados to join the cruise ship with serenade of the seas i'm an engineer i came here flight is not existing so kobe is making troubles in the world yeah trouble that affects all parts of the aviation business including travel agents 88 of them are facing closure meaning delays in communication between airlines agents and passengers is very likely because it's been done with a travel agent they're the ones that might have had to tell your business say look there's no flight at the end of the date's work um it's not as if you're going to get married or anything like that so that's the good thing do you know what i mean all right sorry about that sir that's okay it's just wait for his work to sort it out not a bad place to go for work bit of barbados before no but i'd go for work fifa asked me to go there for a week just to go and see what their airports like i'd gladly go so i've put my hat in the ring weren't we all demi with its 3000 hours of sunshine and average winter temperatures of 29 degrees but like this gentleman traveling in lockdown needs to be either for work a family emergency or repatriation what's happened this lady over here has gone missing what now today no no no on the other side of terminal 2 demi's found one passenger returning home to italy in a bit of distress when was the last time you saw her 20 minutes ago he's lost his sister somewhere in the terminal i just stay outside here and go in but you saw her going yeah yeah did you see her come out yeah is she on any medication no no their euro wings connection to dusseldorf is soon to depart with passengers already heading to the gate does she have a passport no i don't have a passport but you have everything so she has no paperwork so she cannot get on the flight without you no it's not possible right on the floor okay without a passport the missing passenger won't be allowed through security into the departure lounge have you got a mobile phone number am i here the phone oh you have it yeah why don't you have her phone because i won't buy a an uber or a ball for don't buy a uber robot for go out from that okay so he he was stopping her from uh yeah so she could go right so she doesn't want to go to italy at the moment yes at that moment no in this morning it's easiest when the flight so why you take her phone how old is your sister 25 so she's a grown-up okay what we're gonna do we're gonna look around the terminal and if we can't find her we call the police yeah and do a missing report in the uk a hundred thousand adults go missing every year but for this passenger he's hoping his sister is still somewhere in the terminal he's looking for his sister obviously if a lady you see her looking for her brother give us a call on the uh i'll show you the photo three zero zero three if not me one of the echoes all right that's fine there's one no problem sir people eye opening thank you cheers fella is this normal for her what to not listen to you his first time yeah okay with the missing passenger disappearing without her three suitcases demi's becoming suspicious she said i'm going to the toilet and it doesn't return for whatever reason and he's got her mobile phone that's not right in my opinion we'll try and look for her it might be just genuine and then we'll let's get to the police if it's her brother he'll have to report her as a missing person but again we don't know if he's a problem she doesn't have passport so these are the where the ubers stop whilst at the airport heathrow staff have the responsibility to look after all passengers they're trained to spot any warning signs that suggest that a traveler's welfare is at risk it could be why even here the euro wings flight to dusseldorf is now boarding the airline did have two departures a day but due to schedule reductions this is now the only available flight with no sign of her at the pickup point demi doubles back to check in to see if she's attempted to get on the flight lisa just hustled off yeah oh there you go she checked in she definitely hasn't tried to check in but something on the passenger manifest has caught demi's eye this is mrs would you know if it's his wife no you wouldn't know because this is mrs yeah right okay cheers it might be his wife and he's saying it's his sister which is fine so late but she's a mrs just clutching a straw sir she's got no official documentation telephone or luggage with her there's a question mark over her identification and her flight to dusseldorf is about to leave yeah i mean i'm just playing inspector morse now heathrow is eight months into the pandemic passenger numbers are currently 80 down and airlines are struggling to stay in business some have managed to acquire bailouts from private investors or governments the largest of which is lufthansa receiving an eye-watering 9 billion euros from mrs merkel the german chancellor euro wings is one of lufthansa's subsidiaries in spite of financial support its schedule has been dramatically reduced prioritizing repatriation flights and enabling european citizens to return safely to their home countries this euro wings airbus is departing for dusseldorf but two of its european passengers aren't on it and one has gone missing i checked the reservation yeah and they've got the same surname but she's a misses inside the terminal demi's got his investigators cap on he's saying he's her brother but why would her be brother with the same surname and she's a misses no no in italy if we don't change her name oh don't they so she could have her brother's name yeah in italian we don't change your name when we get married it could be legit right right okay also to note that the translation of senora into english is mrs whether you're married or not i spoke to the cleaner cleaner said about 15 minutes ago now was she left oh they saw her that that's she thinks that she saw the lady leaving i can't show the camera direction she went yeah she was in those toilets he said okay i'll go down and have a look 10 minutes ago 20 minutes no i would say about 40 minutes ago with over 6 000 cctv cameras at heathrow if the missing passenger's here maria will find her i was thinking the worst why would someone not want to be at the airport if they're here at the airport why is he got a mobile phone anything nothing the passenger is now really worried about his sister and has asked for the police while they wait for them to arrive demi wants to get to the bottom of the story how long you've been in the uk me yeah today three days three days yeah what are you doing here i just come to bring my sister and um so you've come to pick up your sister yeah why why my mom sent me go to to england because your she said not stay good because uh come here for from the work lost work yeah yeah how long she been in london maybe two years and alf just before the pandemic hit there were nearly two and a half million european workers in the uk many with jobs in the service industries that number has now shrunk by half a million as businesses collapse and the effects of brexit force more eu nationals to uproot and return home she just doesn't want to go home she's lost her job mum says right i want my daughter back i'd want my daughter back do you know what i mean if she was abroad in a country on her own apart from recently losing a job have you got any other medical concerns about your sister at all she's not on any medication yeah but she was just not herself has she got any money he's probably have something so that's the main concern obviously so she got money and whatever so i'll get some details off you and then obviously we'll have to do a a missing person reporting all that and then obviously we go from there yeah but what you're telling me yeah i'm here with the police now and the gentleman i've just walked away maria in cctv has news have you got him on the link she's found the passenger heading into the terminal but still can't see his sister also so while back before then what have you started rewinding let me just have a look go back for a second because we messed up did you see her going into the terminal yeah and you saw her you saw her coming yeah he said he said that she lost it but he lost her [Music] that she is so that's it the last escalator going straight down to the lt yeah on the tubes on the right hand side at the bottom of the escalators lies the underground with the piccadilly line heading into central london we reckon she's gone downstairs to the underground and she's gone back into london most probably it might be an idea to stay around for at least 24 hours 48 hours in a hotel yeah see if your sister contacts your mum and then we'll go from there take care of yourself all right okay then hello my friend i'll speak to you later yeah okay bye she's probably made her own way to a friend we don't know she could have gone to a hotel we don't know her story without her side so it's tough times for a hell of a lot of people tough times indeed thankfully the next day the siblings were reunited and returned safely back home to italy case closed for the police [Music] testing has long been hailed as a major line of defense in the fight against kovid it could also be key to opening up international travel but it's not one size fits all as countries have yet to agree on which test is best so heathrow has enlisted travel medics collinson to offer departing passengers a selection of tests from their two new terminal clinics i'm flying to boston uh because i work there i returned to the uk to visit my wife we've been separated because of the pandemic and for visa reasons and to continue my job i need to go back to boston if you just want to follow me through into one of the cubicles so instead of simon simply grabbing a coffee and a decadent almond croissant pre-flight he can now get a thorough swapping from chief nurse david head back a little bit to be accepted into the u.s simon needs an antigen test costing 50 pounds well done you can put your mouse back up now so what we do is we mix your sample with a reagent and then we run it through on the natural flow test okay yep the test works by mixing the sample in a solution to detect whether covid's unique protein is present in the body we'll upload the results shortly so thank you very much for your time and i will show you around cool got everything the results can take between 15 and 60 minutes you get the cases through that lovely have a safe journey with each nurse processing up to 30 passengers an hour what was your experience of the testing pretty straightforward a little bit tickly um but not all that bad really um and if it allows me to fly safely happy with that it's looking promising at the moment doesn't look like there's any signs that's going to come back as a positive the line next to c um is the control so that's telling us that the test is working um and then t stands for test if we were to get a line next to t it would mean a positive as we've got no line there it's a negative we will um upload the results so he can get a certificate to travel and then we just discard that we're done simon is now footloose and covered free there you are negative yeah that's good good news um means that i can should be able to get on that plane without any trouble rapid testing such as the antigen test is likely to be key in getting heathrow back up to full throttle in the meantime there are other tests available some not quite as fast but more reliable so which test was it that you would be having today it's the lamp test the lamp test or loop mediated isothermal amplification test to give it its full title is currently the favorite option if you're traveling to aruba italy or hong kong how are you doing today okay yes i'm good thank you tip your head back for me the initial process is the same as an antigen test involving a quick swab of each nostril the swab ends there that we've just taken the sample with i'm just breaking that off into the collection tube and then we'll send this to our colleagues in the assessment area and we should get a result back in about an hour to an hour and a half okay the sample is then passed on to the viral boffins in the on-site lab to go through a cutting-edge procedure any virus that comes on a swab is still obviously live virus the first thing that the lab will do here is kill the virus then it does that by superheating it at 95 degrees head of heathrow's testing clinics is scott sondermann then we go through the process of amplifying the virus so we take the viruses rna which is the viruses genetic makeup and then heating it and then over half an hour we're turning a single strand of rna potentially into hundreds of thousands if not millions of copies of the virus and that then enables the test to see the virus and tell us that somebody might have had or does have virus in their body thank you very much so this is the certificate that enables me to fly and yes i got the results in 90 minutes which is wonderful the science of these tests is groundbreaking and with the new clinics able to process 540 passengers an hour this could be the key to getting brits back into the sky when restrictions are lifted oh wow [Music] yes strictly eat your heart out that should do that not in uh blackpool it's about heathrow terminal 2. oh god yeah i love it do bitballroom a bit of jazz show us your boots no way 10 out of 10. oh you went for your test is that why you're dancing oh you're going back for your wedding yes oh wow congratulations so where are you flying to hong kong oh wow if we don't get a negative result then we won't get there the wedding's off when did you find out how long you got they said about an hour and a half yeah it should be any any moment as well as fiance's derrick and angela having to present a clear bill of health the chinese authorities have further measures awaiting them on arrival oh we have to go through 14-day quarantine upon arrival confinement in a hotel and then we regain a wristband so you have to stay in the hotel the wristband i think it has some sort of tracker on it not sure how it works really but if you're away from the wristband for too long someone will call you up come and find you in the hotel room and i don't know well i guess we'll play my ears with the prospect of hong kong strictly come quarantine they need to keep dancing for as long as possible uh we're practicing for a little performance first dance and they couldn't have picked a better spot nice lighting yeah very cinematic it's almost like music video also it's empty outdoor culvert secure [Music] then also i've been nervous about the flight so the dance actually helps yeah they're enjoying themselves good on them [Music] oh god good now these love lovebirds can enjoy the flight knowing they'll be able to dance for their families in person rather than on zoom by the looks of it this guy's uh in a bit of trouble this is the only routine ladies and gents can we just make sure we keep a little gap between each passenger please is that okay i think i mean it's carnage like a normal luxury toy [Music] if you haven't watched it yet you can find oprah's intimate conversation with prince harry and megan the duke and duchess of sussex on itv hub next tonight we return to coronation street you

Channel: News And Factual

Views: 199,065

Rating: 4.9120212 out of 5

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Id: b0joIKA5UdY

Length: 22min 58sec (1378 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 11 2021