Britain's Busiest Airport: Heathrow (2015–2020): Season 5, Episode 11 - Episode #5.11 - full transcript

JULIE WALTERS:
Heathrow is the busiest

two-runway airport in the world.

'Hold Lima One.' I will have news
for you very shortly.

With over 1,300 planes taking off
and landing every day.

You don't want to miss it.
LAUGHTER

But keeping it open for business
is harder than ever.

So, that plane's not gonna take off

until we find out
where this animal is.

GUNFIRE

As Arnie would say...

AS ARNIE: I'll be back.



Managing crisis on the runway...

We have to treat this
as a crime scene

so no-one is coming off that plane.

..guarding Britain's
biggest border...

Sam, can you check the gentleman's
bag when he comes around, please?

That's frozen chicken.

RADIO CHATTER

..and dealing with drama
in departures.

Cardiac arrest.

For the 77,000 staff...

I would help you,
but I'm five foot three.

..every day is nonstop.

That's how we roll.
LAUGHTER

With a first class ticket



into Britain's busiest
and biggest airport...

I'm a king, innit! Right. Yeah!
HE LAUGHS

..welcome to Heathrow.

I'm really excited,

but I know it's going to be good.

Heathrow is currently king
of the long-haul flight.

With over 80 of its destinations

taking more than ten hours
to get to.

But in order to stay up
on its throne,

it's always looking
to open up more routes.

And over in Terminal Four,

is an airline on the push
for more prominence,

Air Astana.

Hello, everyone. The flight is full,
business class is completely booked.

Air Astana is the national airline
of Kazakhstan,

a former member
of the Soviet Republic

and this month, the airline is
promoting a new daily direct route

from Heathrow to Kazakhstan's
capital, Nur-Sultan.

Today, Isabella, the no-nonsense
passenger service agent,

is in charge of the new 1805
departure to the Kazakh capital.

And there's VIPs on board.

Take a picture.

24 of them to be precise,

because Kazakh's top
ice hockey team, Arlan,

are travelling home after winning
the ice hockey Continental Cup...

..in Belfast.

Last year, we were the champions of
the Kazakhstan championship. Yeah.

And in our town, in the Kokshetau...

I think we're famous.
Yeah, we are famous.

We are like Chelsea.

And it won't be just burly
ice hockey players

weighing down the plane.

So, this one is the heavy bag.

It's 28.5...

Er, do you know likely how many
bags you're gonna check in?

Is it one per person, plus the six?
Yes?

Cool. I'll ask and come back to you
to sort it out, OK?

So, basically, the first bag
that we tried to check-in

was overweight by seven kilogrammes,

so the passengers will have
to pay excess seven kgs.

And that's just one
of 24 identical bags,

so these returning heroes may well
end up selling their gold medals

just to pay
for their excess baggage.

MUSIC: 'Music To The Dramatic Poem
By H Ibsen Op 46/55' by Peer Gynt

It's gonna cost them
around thousands, maybe.

Two, three thousands, most likely.

Looks like Team Arlan
could be coming off worse

in the baggage face-off.

So, basically,
you all have 20kgs allowance.

Whatever it's over,
we will have to charge you.

No-one speaks Russian here. Sorry.

Kazakhstan became independent
from the USSR in 1991,

but Igor, the Russian coach, still
feels he should call the shots.

So, over here,
we have to follow the rules.

Having failed at getting the airline
to turn a blind eye,

Igor turns to friends
in high places.

PRODUCER: Why are they angry?

Kazakhstan's hockey heroes
aren't the only VIPs.

Over in T2, there's rumours of a
royal presence at a charity event.

News that's got all of Heathrow
excited.

Yeah, I think I'd be a bad-boy king.
Remember that's my middle name.

King. The third!

Carlo is king.
King of the buggies.

I'm a king, innit? Right. Yeah.
HE LAUGHS

He ferries passengers
between the 42 Terminal Three gates

and like every cab-driver,
he likes to talk.

I grew up in the royal family
generation.

My mother has all of the plates
and all that stuff, so, yeah,

I think the royal family
are a good thing.

And with the top three most visited
royal palaces in the world

within 15 miles of Heathrow,
the royals are always a hot topic.

Yeah. So, how do you feel
about the royal family, ma'am?

The royal family? Yeah.
Well, I am British, so... Yeah.

I'm in favour of the royal family.
Yeah.

So, you part of a royalty fan?

Yes, we are.
Yes, we've never met them.

Yeah. Never been called up to be
knighted or anything like that.

Ah, OK, OK.
I can't believe that.

LAUGHTER

Should they be around? Shouldn't
they be around? In your young view?

I think they should be around.

It's part of the history
of our country

and it makes the UK the UK,
you know?

What you think about Meghan, then?
You like her?

I love her, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah? She's great.

Did you see the shoes she's got on?

She wears Louboutin and that,
you know?

Louboutins. Yeah, yeah.

I think if I was a girl, I'd
probably Louboutins too. Oh, is it?

Talking of the Queen,

you don't think you could do
the Queen's wave?

They just lift their hand,
don't they?

How do they do it? Like this?

I think they just lift their hand.
They just lift their hand, you say?

I think they just do this.

You actually know it, then!
LAUGHTER

Before Carlo goes off
to practice his regal wave,

he leaves his passenger
with one last majestic factoid.

In a game of chess, the queen looks
after the king.

Did you know that?
SHE LAUGHS

I think all women
look after their men.

Oh, well said, well said.

Over in Terminal Two,
confirmation of the royal visit

has reached passenger
experience manager, Sue,

who's on crowd control duties

and getting swept up
in all the excitement.

We're waiting for His Royal Highness
the Earl of Wessex.

He supports the Duke of Edinburgh
Award.

So, we're quite excited.
He's due any moment now.

Prince Edward is the youngest son
to the Queen.

No trumpet entrance, just an
escalator with the CEO of Heathrow.

Although he's 11th
in line to the throne,

Sue makes sure she catches his eye.

He's about.. Is he in
his early 50s now?

Yeah, I think he must be.

I think he looks quite good.

When royals come to Heathrow
to catch a plane,

surprisingly,
they don't need a passport,

so they never go
through immigration.

But if you don't wear a crown,

you will end up at one
of the 197 departure gates,

where you may meet
new Border Force dog, Henry...

Oh, good boy. Come here. Come here.

..and his handler
Border Force Dave.

Today, Henry is hoping to impress,

sniffing the passengers
at the gate,

he's looking for one thing
and one thing only.

So, Henry here is trained to find
large quantities of money,

so, that's what
we're hoping to find.

He's off already.

Criminal gangs often try and take
large quantities of cash

out of the country
to fund illegal activities.

It's Henry's job to identify them
before they get on the plane.

He's a customs dog, OK?
He's trained to find money.

Do you do you have any money in your
bag? And how much money is it?

3,000.
3,000.

Yes! Good boy. Good boy.

Can we have a look in the bag,
please?

Cash dogs are able to smell
the ink on banknotes.

Just let him check
your hand luggage.

Any large quantities found,

will be investigated
by Border Force officers.

I'm happy with what you're
carrying and where it's come from.

I've seen your online statements
as well, right?

Henry is off to a good start,

but he isn't the only new boy
trying to impress today.

Is it taken out of a bank, is it?
Yeah.

It is. And can I see the receipt,
please? Thank you.

Border Force Sam joined the team
just seven months ago

and is fresh out of school.

It's like playing a game of chess.

If they are trying to tell you
a story that's not legitimate,

you've got to figure out
what is right, what makes sense.

You've got to think
what you would do yourself.

If you wouldn't go to Dubai with
£80,000, why would someone else?

So, there's your passport.
Have a safe flight, OK? Thank you.

Cheers. Goodbye.
Bye. Thank you.

Today, they're sniffing out
passengers heading to Dubai.

He's gonna have a little sniff
around your luggage.

That's fine. Just carry on.

It's a known route for trafficking
money for criminal activity.

Historically, and especially
of late, over the last few months

there's been quite a lot
of cash finds,

detection and seizures
going out to Dubai,

so it's quite a hot destination
at the moment.

Hello, folks. Come in. Just come in.

Good boy.

OK, just come down.
Stop there, mate.

Stop there for a second.

Do you have any money
with you in your bag?

How much is in here?

1,500.
Yes.

OK. Do you have any other money
other than that?

OK. Yes! Good boy.

OK, do you want to pick your bag up
and just carry on round.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Sam, can you check
the gentleman's bag, please?

Yes. Where are you going?
Dubai.

OK. And the money,
is it your money, yeah?

It's your money, OK.

Have you got a bank receipt?
Can I just see the receipt?

Can you take it out?
So, how much is there?

1,500.

Are you sure
there's not more there?

He says 1,500. Can you just
show her the money?

$1,500, he says.

That's more than 1,500.
That's what I said.

This is more than 1,500.

Look at the receipt. That's what
I'm saying. These are all hundreds.

This... sir, is not 1,500.

How much is this? Tell us the truth.

How much is this?
You're not in any trouble.

With the flight
due to depart in 15 minutes,

this man won't be travelling
anywhere until officers

Rani and Sam
are satisfied the money is his.

Is it your money?
Is that this your money? Yes, yes.

Why do you not know how much
is in there? Er...

If that was my money,
I'd know how much is in there.

You've got no idea how much
money is in there, do you?

At Air Astana's check-in,

the battle of the bags
is close to the final whistle.

Er, this is gonna be the last one.
This is the last one. OK.

Having failed with an appeal
to the vice president of Kazakhstan,

the victorious ice hockey champions

could have their celebrations
cut short.

I'll just come with you.
Just follow me.

Not very jolly hockey sticks.

72 kilos excess

is gonna cost a whopping
348,989 Kazakhstani tenge.

Or 720 quid sterling.

Different country, different rules,
you know? Different rules, yeah.

Everyone's equal here, comrade.

Once you're done,
let Isabella know,

so she can send all the bags, OK?

We've just paid. We are free now.

Probably, we are going to go
duty-free.

Looks like the victory parade
is back on.

But while the shots on goal

are being swapped with shots
in the bar...

..out on the airfield,

waiting for Air Astana's
plane to arrive,

and ready to spring into action
to get it back to Kazakhstan,

is someone who needs
to keep a clear head.

The dispatcher, ex-pilot, Adriane.

I love to do the job.

I'm from Romania and I flew Puma.

Puma is our military helicopters.

For me, it's passion and when
you're doing the job with passion,

you cannot feel one day hard work.

Adriane checks the stand for FOD,

that's foreign object debris.

So, no plastic, no everything.

We have to be clear, because
it's very dangerous for engines,

when there are aircraft
coming on stand.

Heathrow's airfield
is one of the busiest

and most expensive parking spots
in the world,

so the pressure is now on
Air Astana's KC-942 to get in,

get ready and get out.

Known in the biz
as "the turnaround".

I can check the lights,
as it comes round the corner.

Nick is a member of the underwing
engineering team.

His job is to make today's
outgoing flight safe.

Beacons are both working.
Position lights on each wing.

As soon as the beacon's off,
everyone approaches. We're safe.

Now we've only got one hour fifteen,
so pushing now.

Airlines only make money
when they're in the air.

Today's landing fees alone cost
Air Astana around £10,000,

so if the plane departs late,
it'll end up in the airport sin bin.

Hello. Hello there.
Hello. How you. Good?

It's a lovely looking aircraft,
actually, 757.

Adding to the pressure
of the turnaround,

today's flight is being spot checked

by the manager of Air Astana's
award-winning in-flight catering...

..Graham.

All of the management team always
come back with their comments,

good or bad
and we have to react accordingly,

so everybody's checking
all the time.

Graham isn't Kazakh,

but he does live in Kazakhstan,

so he likes to take a selection

of Britain's finest cuisine
along with him.

My survival kit. Yes, my Frosties,
my breakfast cereal.

And my Jordans Country Crisp.

I can't get those in Kazakhstan,
you see.

To hit the deadline,
there's three people at the gate...

We need another five tonnes.

..ten people under the wing...

Yeah, I need it on time, yeah?

..and eight inside.
It's a veritable army.

Well, at least a hockey team.

PRODUCER:
How long to turn it around?

It's, like, one hour.

One hour to do all preparations.

To make this all clean and stuff,

load the food to be kept on
each flight,

so... It's, like, crazy a bit.

Nick is halfway through his checks

and found a problem that could
slow down the turnaround.

When they're coming in
from countries like Kazakhstan,

you get a lot of this.

It's grit and de-icing fluid.

It's streaked across this area here,

so this is a sensing device
for the flight controls.

It goes to a field computer,

decides how much pressure the
captain has to exert on the pedals

by the control,
so this area should be really clean.

It's just awareness, I think,
a lot of it.

With 15 minutes until boarding...
Hello.

..Graham has to carry out his
inspection of the in-flight meals.

He starts in first class.

The crew have to check
each and every item.

These are the flasks
that the soup has come in.

Yes, the champagne glass.
All right.

Harissa chicken
and stuffed peppadews.

Looks delicious.
Yes.

Let's go down the back and check
the economy.

Are those the hot meals?

There's one last check
on an English classic

being served up
for the Kazakh passengers.

The chicken tikka. Let's try it.

May we start?
You may start, yes. All right.

I really like it.
Yeah, it's good.

The dance of the turnaround
is almost complete.

I have given them five minutes,
after five minutes, all off. Yeah?

I double-checked the crew bags

and now they're gonna load
the last 72 bags

and we are ready for boarding.

But as staff complete boarding,
there appears to be a problem.

Good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen.

This is the final call
for passengers

Borovikov Stanislav
and Kolesnikov Vladislav.

Please can you proceed
to gate number 14,

where your flight is now closing
and you are delaying the service.

Thank you.

It turns out
some of the ice hockey champs

are doing another lap in the bar.

I'm surprised
that they are not here.

If Air Astana don't get away
on time,

they'll have to pay a hefty fine.

Oh, man.

It's ten past.
Ten past, yeah?

You still have two minutes
to close the door.

Just before the klaxon goes,

Arlan's ice hockey captain and
teammate come gliding to the gate.

Can I have your passport?

Thank you. Have a pleasant flight.
See you next time. See ya!

Yes, please. Thank you. OK, ladies.
Thank you for today. Good job.

Good check-in. And good boarding.
We did it on time again. Thank you.

Air Astana departs
Terminal Four on time.

But over in Terminal Three,

a passenger is being delayed
by Border Force,

because he is carrying
5,500 unexplained dollars.

He's got some in his bag
in the jean's pocket.

Border Force Sam and Rani
are quizzing him about his finances

with the other help of another
passenger who speaks English.

He's got some money in the wallet...

So, $1,500 has become $5,500?

The passenger earns just £200 a week

and they are concerned the money
may be the proceeds of crime.

I just don't understand how
he can save £750 a month,

when he is wearing
nice new Timberlands.

He's got a good bag, good clothes.

He's taking 3,500 the last time
he went out

and he's also paying
for his own ticket.

I can't see how it's adds up.

He's speaking to Intel about it.
So, we will set the ball rolling.

He's adamant it's his money.

It might be.

Anyway, just tell him that
we are just doing some checks

and if everything comes up OK,
he can go with his money.

But if we get anything,
then we may seize the money.

Do you want to tell him
he can take a seat down there?

The Border Force officers now
have to run backgrounds checks

in order to establish
if the passenger is on record

for any criminal activity.

So, has this guy got bags?
Cos I'm gonna get a delay otherwise.

The flight goes in five minutes.

This one should be OK to go. James?

We've got five minutes.

We can either give you the details
now or we can email them to you.

It's legal for anyone to take up
to £10,000 out of the country

without declaring it,

but if Border Force suspect
the money is earned illegally,

they can seize anything
over a grand.

So, we're running out of time now...

so if we are going to
processes this,

we need to work now. Right, OK.

Let me have a word with James
and get back to you.

I need to know, otherwise
I've got to get his bags off.

Yeah, we're waiting
for the decision.

I need to be told, otherwise
I'm gonna have a delay on my flight.

As soon as we know.
We go in five minutes.

We told than that.

With the clock ticking,

this passenger's fate
is hanging in the balance.

Yeah, I need to know who he is.
MAN CRIES

OK, OK, calm down. Calm down.

Calm down. Calm down.
It's OK, it's fine.

At the 11th hour,
information comes through

that the passenger
has no criminal record.

Now all they have to decide

is whether the money
will be used unlawfully.

If we take his money off him, that
might land him fairly badly in it.

That's his wife.
Yeah.

My personal view
is that I don't think a referral

is the right thing to do here.

And from his face you can see
he's really scared. Yeah.

OK. Hold on. No. He's going.
OK, change...

Go, go, go, go, go, go.

With the law allowing you
to carry up to ten grand abroad

and no hard evidence to show
any criminal activity...

Make sure your money...
Just follow me.

..the passenger is allowed
to keep his money.

We're here to help.

I know a lot of people say
we just take people's stuff with...

We're just annoying.
There is that aspect of things.

When it comes to someone like him,

it didn't seem like
the right thing to do.

Have you had too much dinner, mate?

He's absolutely going ballistic
on it.

Let's get ready for the tiki-tiki!

Whose is this bag? Yours? Let's see.

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