The Secret Life of the Airport
Documenting the rise of mass air travel, starting with a look at the advent of commercial air travel through to the dropping of prices and the rise of mass air tourism. The series looks at how the system of airports developed, and how they have transformed people's attitudes towards travel and made long distance travel more widely available.
3 Episodes
E01 Preparing for Take Off
This part navigates from the heady, imperial glamour of Britain's first airport terminal at Croydon to the internationally-agreed hieroglyphics on today's taxiways and runways. Using rare archive and access to airports' hidden corners, it reveals the intense local rivalry, skulduggery and sheer passion for flight behind our airports. Contributors include architect Lord Foster, philosopher and author Alain de Botton, veterans of Britain's interwar airports and a 'wildlife control co-ordinator', talking about how, in 100 years, the muddy airfield became the 24-hour airport.
June 15, 2009