The Airport: Back in the Skies

It's late November, and rising passenger numbers mean that everyone at Heathrow needs to adapt to busier skies. Jeremy joins returning Aer Lingus captain Louise in the simulator as she manages a sudden engine malfunction and is forced to make an emergency landing. Training successfully completed, Jeremy joins Louise in the cockpit of one of Aer Lingus's newest and most sustainable aircraft, the A321 Neo, as they fly on the busy Dublin-Heathrow route.

In the NATS control tower, Jeremy finds out how air traffic controller Steph is acclimatising to increased plane traffic and tries his hand at ordering planes for take-off in the NATS simulator.

With restrictions easing, baggage service managers Nigel and Waj are responsible for ever greater numbers of bags on Heathrow's 10 miles of conveyor belts. Jeremy joins them on a busy shift as they help a passenger arriving from Afghanistan locate her bags.

It's late November, and Heathrow's confidence in the Christmas rush has been hit by news of Omicron. Passenger numbers are down by 60 per cent, with flights being cancelled at short notice. To help contain the spread of the new variant, services manager Dwayne is moving check-in passengers to a part of the airport normally reserved for arrivals. Meanwhile, passenger services leader Sharon is ensuring that there are enough Covid-compliant trolleys for the 32,000 passengers passing through the airport that day. Jeremy learns that Sharon has been deeply affected by the pandemic and coming to work each day has been a lifeline for her.

Whilst the pandemic has been devastating for some, for others it has provided opportunity. Jeremy meets Maja, European GM of Jet Blue, who got into Heathrow as a result of the pandemic and has ambitions to stay.

Customer service is key to the airline's survival, but with a myriad of testing arrangements, not all journeys are guaranteed. Faisal, UK GM of Jet Blue, is tasked with delivering some tricky news to passengers.

With Christmas approaching, Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye goes back to the floor to help direct passengers on the airport's busiest day since the pandemic began. Jeremy spends time with Keira, an Irish nurse who has been working on Covid wards and is desperate to travel back to Dublin to see her family.

It's a new year. While Omicron has been raging across Europe, the UK has resisted lockdown and relaxed rules for arrivals. As the airport looks ahead to the future, a few airlines have emerged from the pandemic challenges as success stories. Jeremy meets an Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane from Addis Ababa - carrying surprising cargo - and learns from their CEO how they pivoted their operations swiftly to survive.

When most Heathrow airlines suspended flights, transatlantic carrier JetBlue pounced on the opportunity to grab temporary vacant take-off and landing slots. Their challenge is to prove they are distinctive enough to keep hold of the slots, so Jeremy checks out a flight to New York to see if they stand out across classes. Business custom is the holy grail for airlines, and senior manager Audrey from Virgin Atlantic tests a new premium menu, both on the ground and on a flight, and gets feedback from passengers to inform future plotting.

Jeremy visits NATS, responsible for UK air traffic, to see how they are modernising airspace and trying to reduce aircraft emissions. As February half-term hits and Jeremy's time at Heathrow comes to an end, he catches up with Heathrow's CEO, John Holland-Kaye, to see what lessons have been learned and what the future might hold. And it's not long before another hurdle emerges.