The skies above Britain’s airports are the most congested in the world. Inside the tower air-traffic controllers face the monumental task of shepherding all flights on and off the runway. Skies Above Britain III: Beneath the Clouds
There are nearly 20,000 aircraft registered to fly in uncontrolled British airspace. ibid.
In the booming business of civil aviation speed and precision are everything. Nothing is more crucial to this than Britain’s Air Traffic Control Centre known as NATS. Skies Above Britain IV: When Speed Counts
The rate is the number of planes allowed into the airspace. ibid.
London: It pulls 3,500 planes a day into its five major airports, all bursting at the seams. Skies Above Britain V: Skies Above Britain
Manned by up to five controllers the biggest Heathrow has four stacks each filled with up to ten circling planes all carrying an average of 200 passengers. ibid.
The number of passengers flying through London has more than double in the last forty years. ibid.
On 24th November 1971 a male dressed in a suit and tie hijacked a commercial plane, he then parachuted into the night with $200,000, the equivalent of $1.2 million today. Never to be seen again. He’s a folk hero to some, an outlaw to others. And a mystery to all. D B Cooper: Case Closed? I, History 2016
‘He seems to know a little about an aeroplane.’ ibid. pilot reporting hijack
‘He knew more about the 727 than the pilots.’ ibid. expert
Port Stanley International Airport: less crowded than Gatwick, less awkward than Heathrow, and a little more convenient than Stanstead. Spitting Image s2e7, ITV 1985
The secrets of your holiday: we’re undercover in Britain’s airports. The truth about your airport shopping. We reveal the tricks of the airport trade. Dispatches: Inside Britain’s Airports, Channel 4 2017
Heathrow made £114 million from car parks in 2016. ibid.
Passenger Ambassadors … persuading them to shop … a dual role. ibid.
A lot cheaper on the high streets. ibid.
‘The reason for higher margins at our airport bureau is the significant cost associated with operating there.’ ibid. Moneycorp
The true scale of alcohol-related incidents. ibid.
First you have to get here. In a summer of travel chaos Dispatches goes undercover to reveal what’s behind the delays and cancellations. We hear concerns that in the chaos pilots feel under pressure to fly when fatigued. We hear claims some airlines are breaking the rules to avoid paying compensation. And behind the scenes we see first-hand the desperation of passengers. Dispatches: Airport Chaos Undercover, Channel 4 2022
After 9/11 British airways top 12 corporate clients all stopped flying Concorde costing it millions in revenue and contributing to its retirement. The 2000s: The Decade We Saw It All II, National Geographic 2015
This is the story of the largest string of hijackings the world has ever seen. In a matter of days five planes were seized. The key hijacker a glamorous 26-year-old Palestinian who would become a worldwide sensation. Hijacked s1e1: Nightmare in the Desert, Channel 5 2017
‘This was a huge problem for Ted Heath and his government.’ ibid. Snow
This is the story of an ordinary flight that turned into a journey to hell. A hijack that pulled in an international pop star. And confounded a super-power. But it was also a story of unlikely heroes and daring plans. Against a backdrop of international intrigue and secret government deals. Hijacked s1e2: Terror in the Sky
Lebanon was in the midst of a civil war. In 1982 Israel joined in the Lebanese conflict … 1985: Athens Airport Greece: TWA Flight 847 was loading for take-off on a short flight to Rome. ibid.
The two hijackers headed towards the front of the plane. ibid.
12 noon: two hours after taking off from Athens, TWA Flight 847 touched down in Beirut. ibid.
They wanted to trade the passengers for the release of over 700 Shi’ite Lebanese prisoners held by Israel. ibid.
Each year over 300 million passengers fly over 6 billion miles on long-haul 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? Secret Life of the Long Haul Flight, Channel 5 2017
The world’s largest passenger plane – the Airbus 838 … £280 million … a tip to tip wingspan of 80 metres. ibid.
‘When the first stewardesses were introduced they had to be qualified nurses.’ ibid.
Britain’s skies have never been busier. Every day 8,000 planes are flying over 3,000,000 passengers. And in the UK £52 billion airline business Easy Jet is the leader. Easy Jet: Inside the Cockpit s1e1, ITV 2017
Having to train 300 new recruits. ibid.
Emergency landings are surprisingly common. ibid.
Her [mother’s] £120,000 [training] investment. ibid.
Looking forward to your summer holiday abroad? Better hope you’re not stuck on a flight with this lot. On Panorama tonight we investigate the rise in drunk and disorderly passengers and the chaos they are bringing to UK flights. Panorama: Plane Drunk, BBC 2017
Whether subsidising cheap flights through alcohol sales is leaving passengers and crew with a nasty hangover. ibid.
Drunk passengers threatening to kill or open plane doors and even attempts to enter the cockpit. ibid.
£25 VIP lounge: you serve yourself and you can drink as much as you like in the three-hour window. ibid.
Two deadly plane crashes have left more than 300 people dead. Boeing’s fastest selling plane has a terrifying design flaw: a computer system that can force it to the ground. So did Boeing put profit before safety? And why were Boeing’s killer planes ever allowed to fly? Panorama: Boeing’s Killer Planes, Richard Bilton reporting, BBC 2019
The plane was a brand new Boeing 737Max. But just two minutes into the flight the crew had a problem … Just eleven minutes after take-off Lion Air flight 610 crashed into the Java sea at more than five-hundred miles an hour. No-one survived: 189 victims. ibid.
In March of this year another brand new Boeing 737Max came down. 157 people from 35 different countries were killed. ibid.
We are flying now more than every before. Our passion for plane travel is warming the planet. Tonight, we investigate how the industry is trying to clean up its act. And ask, How much can we trust their environmental promises? Panorama: Can Flying Go Green, BBC 2019
The families caught up in airport chaos. We investigate the performance of airports and airlines. Panorama: Airport Chaos: What’s Gone Wrong? BBC 2022
A lot of hassle for a lot of people. So what went wrong? ibid.
‘I have had enough! Do something!’ Flights from Hell: Caught on Camera, angry passenger, Channel 4 2017
Airports: a melting pot of anticipation and angst. With over 250 million passengers going through UK airports every year getting from A to B is a challenge. Incidents of unruly behaviour are on the rise, onboard brawls becoming all too common. In a year when airline-passenger relations have been big news. ibid.
‘For those of you travelling with your children – why?’ ibid. flight attendant
Perfectly normal people start to behave in uncharacteristic ways. ibid.
1996: 8 miles off Long Island: a mysterious explosion destroys TWA flight 800. Debate still rages over what brought down the plane. Best Evidence: TWA Flight 800, Discovery 2007
New York’s JFK Airport: 230 people including a high-school French club and a total of 35 TWA employees. ibid.
The lead theory shifted from terrorism to a mechanical cause. ibid.
‘A single spark within the empty centre fuel tank destroyed the 747 just after take off.’ ibid. official version
More than a hundred and fifty eyewitness reports challenge the official version. ibid.
Did Thatcher abandon several hundred British Airways passengers to a murderous dictator? Were the thousand of American soldiers killed at Pearl Harbor sacrificed by their own president? Did our secret services allow Northern Ireland’s deadliest single bomb attack to go ahead to protect their secret agent? And did the American government poison an entire French town to test a new LSD super-weapon? Conspiracy s1e10: Pearl Harbor Cover-Up
BA Flight 149 landed in the middle of a war. The Iraqis took the passengers and crew hostage. ibid.
A technological masterpiece Concorde turned heads throughout her magnificent career. She flew on the edge of space at twice the speed of sound outrunning even military jets. Inside her luxurious cabin passengers savoured haute cuisine and vintage champagne. It was an opportunity to step into another world. Concorde: A Supersonic Story, BBC 2017
Both sides of the operation [France & Britain] organised language classes for their workers. ibid.