Airport (TV Series)

Airport (TV Series)

Airport is a British documentary television series based at London Heathrow Airport, the world's busiest international airport, broadcast by the BBC and syndicated to Dave, part of the UKTV network.

The show is a fly-on-the-wall series following a handful of passengers and staff based at the airport, who work for the airlines, BAA, (the airport operator), the animal reception centre, which handles all animals arriving and departing through the airport, the ambulance, fire and police services serving the airport, customs and immigration, resident press and others. The airlines and staff featured tend to change from series to series. However, certain staff feature in multiple series. The first series of Airport aired on BBC Two in 1996. Originally intended to be a low-key behind-the-scenes documentary, the emergence of several memorable recurring characters gave the show a docusoap feel. As a result the series was transferred to a primetime BBC One slot the following year. Special fame was gained by Jeremy Spake, an Aeroflot employee, whose flamboyance earned him a series of short 'bumpers' on UKTV People explaining how to best use airports. Other airlines featured throughout the series are Avianca, Aer Lingus, BMI, Canadian Airlines, Cyprus Airways, Czech Airlines, El Al, Emirates Airline, Gulf Air, Icelandair, Iran Air, Jat Airways, Kuwait Airways, Pakistan International, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

There have also been several special Airport programmes over the years featuring airports other than Heathrow, such as Frankfurt and Edinburgh.

The opening titles and music were given a make over for the start of the 7th series in 2002. From the 7th series onwards, incidental music (composed by Cherry Lodge) was added over the scenes shown on screen. The title music was once again revamped for the 10th series in 2005. In addition, Liza Tarbuck replaced John Nettles as the show's narrator for series 10.

Celebrities who have been seen on the show include Princess Diana, Stephen Fry, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Joan Collins, Michael Jackson, Pamela Anderson, Blue, Brian May, Tom Jones, Mohammed Burhanuddin, Yusuf Islam, Colin Powell, Kate Winslet, David Beckham, Kriss Akabusi, Al Pacino, Engelbert Humperdinck, Lennox Lewis, Bob Geldof and several heads of state including Queen Elizabeth II and Bill Clinton.