Episode 1 Inside Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh airport. Six and a half miles west of the city centre.

It's the busiest airport in Scotland and the sixth busiest in the UK.

People don't really know what it is like to work in an airport.

They all think it is the glamour.

Up front, you are on a desk, you have a uniform on, but to know

what it is like behind the scenes, it is a whole different world round here.

Over the last 12 months a new management team has brought

big changes and a new ambition.

We would like the airport to be seen as the best airport in the world.

It doesn't necessarily mean you are the biggest.

Selling the airport as the place to be, around the globe.

We thought their presentation was very valuable,

they made a strong and compelling case for why it could make sense

for American to consider Edinburgh in the future.

And keeping two and a half thousand airport workers on their toes.

There has been a lot of change,

there is a lot of people who worked here who no longer work here.

That puts you on edge a little.

Pushing hard to increase customer numbers.

-Because in this business, passengers mean profit.

-And that is £53.98.

But there is turbulence ahead.

We knew it was going to be really busy,

and like what happens everyday at an airport, something will go wrong.

It is a special day at Edinburgh airport.

Joining the established carriers is a new face.

Air Canada Rouge.

The good news is that the inaugural flight is fully booked.

The bad, long snaking queues taking the check-in staff by surprise.

We are getting there, it will just be a couple of minutes.

-Is that it? OK?

-Yes.

-Thanks.

It's been chaotic for queueing up.

What has been the problem for you?

Just the wait, really.

We've got an invitation here for you,

it is to come and join us for some light refreshments before the flight boards.

Because it is our first flight, everyone is getting together.

TANNOY: Air Canada Rouge regret to announce a delay to the departure of flight number AC 1906 to Toronto.

This is due to operational reasons

and this fight will now depart in 30 minutes.

A little bit late today, we have a lot of attention happening,

so a lot of photo shoots. We don't mind. It's OK, we will make up time.

And we will ensure everyone has a great flight.

-What is with the uniforms?

-Our uniforms are casual but chic.

We're not a jazz band!

Air Canada Rouge.

APPLAUSE

Both the plane and the airport hope some complementary treats

and a slice or two of traditional Toronto cake

will appease delayed passengers.

And it seems to be working. Just.

I don't think they had enough attendants processing people

so it was about at least an hour to check in so it was a little long.

But other than that it was great.

The Air Canada baggage is injected into a system already

running at full capacity.

At peak times, around 71,000 bags a week ride these rails

and the baggage hall staff do their best to monitor the journey of every single one of them.

Our main goal in here is to keep the flow of bags going from the check-in

desk right through to where the handlers collect the bags.

On our main overview what we can see is

when the passenger walks into the main check-in hall,

we have the check-in desks ranging from 00 up to number 45.

The bag would be put onto the plate scale and once the ticket

has been put on by the airline staff the baggage will be put onto

the lines and the bag would be followed through lines by the scanners,

they go through the scanners and on to the sorter.

When the bags come down the chutes,

each bin is allocated a different flight.

The bags will go into the bins

and they will be allocated to the aircraft.

This is one of the bingo cards we use, so all of the bags'

tags are on here, they are for all the bags that are in this bin.

As soon as the bag drops down the chute, the guys will come over,

take the tag of the bag, place the tag on here and the bag goes in here.

When the flight closes this must correspond with everything that goes out to the aircraft.

So that stays there, it gets signed off by the leading hand on the baggage hall.

I can check them at times as well to make sure they are doing their jobs properly.

Usually I don't have to. They're some pretty good guys.

-Are you all right, Martin?

-All right, boss?

Smile!

Like one big happy family! Sometimes.

As you can see we have a bag jam just at 232 lower,

have to just get the bag out.

If you look along, my colleague has radioed another fault,

a D2-14.

At peak times,

jams can occur at any point on the hundreds of metres of track.

This is because the system is so busy, we are

working off the three lines so it keeps us busy.

To keep the system going, any repair methods are acceptable.

HAMMERING

That's that.

The consequences of failure are serious.

Not just inconvenience and disruption for the passengers,

but a huge loss of revenue for the airport.

The effect of us delaying baggage is the fights get delayed.

If we don't have the bags to the aircraft then the aircraft can take a delay.

On occasion, pilots can say we are going to go without the baggage, which is not great for customers.

This does not happen a great deal.

It's only if they are possibly tied down to tight schedules at Heathrow, etc.

But at least today's a short delay gives the Air Canada flight crew

a chance to prepare for take-off.

And to try out some recent additions to their new uniforms.

We were in the Royal Mile and saw these hats and...

-And I thought they were quite entertaining.

-Are you the captain?

Yes, one of the captains. We have two captains today.

-So you are just getting into the spirit of things?

-That's right.

Behind the fun and games is a hard-nosed business team.

Launching a new airline at any airport is a result of months

or even years of planning and an investment of millions of pounds.

But now, senior management can at last see the fruits of the hard endeavours.

An airport is a huge number of smaller things that add up,

but fundamentally we are here to make that happen,

it is about giving people choice to fly

and getting airlines off on new destinations.

That's the pinnacle.

-If these things are not moving off the tarmac the rest of it doesn't matter.

-That is the money shot.

70 years, Air Canada have had a relationship with Scotland

and to get them back into Scotland into Edinburgh is absolutely massive and fantastic.

Just think of the Scots diaspora that's in Canada,

and the amount of Scots that need to go back and forward.

It's connecting people. It's what it is all about.

Connecting the people requires many more flights and with more

flights there is a need for more aircraft parking stands.

Juggling the limited resources is a constant challenge.

The airport is busier, obviously we have new carriers in, we have Air Canada

which are new carriers operating from Edinburgh

on new routes as well.

That's something certainly that Edinburgh airport are looking

to expand in the future, attracting more carriers

and more routes to the airport.

So you have the aircraft, each lozenge,

which is what they are known as,

represents how long the aircraft is on the ground for.

So you will see that we have an aircraft coming in at 10:40

and departing at 11:20.

So we need to make sure there is enough time

before the aircraft arrives

and after it departs to make sure that we do not have an

aircraft overlapping that,

because the last thing we want to do is plan for an aircraft to vacate

the stand at the same time another one comes in because things...

very rarely run to schedule.

You'll end up with aircraft needing to diversify from the plan.

Laura's master plan is under constant review.

With the daily operation crew continually refining

and rejigging it on an hourly basis.

And each new carrier adding to the squeeze.

Stevie, you got a stand for this Jet2 coming over at 2:30?

Right, OK, let's do that.

They can come into stand two whenever they are ready.

Stand two, whenever you are ready. Yes, OK. Cheers.

Each airline has a unique

and commercially sensitive contract with the airport, covering landing fees, fuel,

overnight parking, stand time and even the use of an air bridge.

But this is only one way the airport makes money.

Passenger spend in the departure lounge is the other.

The airport receives a percentage of every transaction,

so they are keenly incentivised to make sure things run smoothly.

There you are, have a good fight.

At offices hidden away behind the terminal building future

planning guru Kevan Jamieson and his team have been tasked to find

solutions to all of the airport challenges.

Nothing is easy at the airport. The trouble we are

having at the moment is we are having to develop on so many fronts at once.

It's really complicated.

We've got issues with airspace,

the spaces in the sky is finite, so to speak,

we have issues parking on the ground, we can't park enough aircraft here.

We have issues in the car park, issues in check-in.

Essentially what we are trying to do is advance

everything on a front, hence the reason we call it a War Room, this

is the front line here where we will be trying to develop everything in this room.

Provisional plans have been drawn up by Kevan

and his team which address the capacity issues.

Stage one, an ambitious extension to the existing terminal, built in 1977.

Essentially where all those windows are in the terminal building

there will be a large two-storey box that's extended outwards

from the building, roundabout to the back of the Citylink bus.

And that is going to house our new security hall

with underlying retail and office space.

But while the expansion plans are kept under review,

the airport must function as best it can within the existing footprint.

With more international flights like Air Canada Rouge,

the immigration hall is also feeling the squeeze.

You can see that we are getting very busy now, the Copenhagen

and the Cancun have dropped, the New York has dropped, the Toronto has dropped.

This hall holds approximately between 400 and 450 passengers, maximum.

Currently I would say we are working on the basis of maybe about 1,100,

so we are well above capacity.

We're probably working at about 250 or 300% above capacity now,

so we are in a very pressurised point with

passengers actually backing out onto the tarmac now.

So I think it is quite clear to see that there are limitations with this current hall.

The terminal building was originally built to cater for one million passengers a year,

the current footfall is ten times that

and the chief operating officer and his team are pushing for even more.

-Morning, Karen.

-Morning, how are you?

-I am very well, yourself?

-I am well.

I am feeling well!

Karen is one of the terminal duty officers,

she manages the check-in hall fantastically well.

We've a lot of growth plans, of course, we want to see Edinburgh

grow to 13 million passengers over the next six, seven years.

Check-in is one of the necessary evils at airports, especially

if you have baggage to drop for the hold, so we are trying to

make it simpler, make it as quick as we possibly can and make sure

that the passenger experience is as good as we can possibly make it.

David Wilson is part of the crack new management team,

hired by the airport's new owners, private equity group GIP.

It's one year since they took control of Edinburgh Airport,

after former owners BAA were forced to sell,

reducing their dominant position in the market.

It is a massive milestone, there's been a huge amount of effort

and energy by all the teams,

the whole effort put in to manage all the changes,

some new people in, new ways of working, a new dynamic way of approaching how we do business.

A real focus on the customer. It's been a fantastic first year.

Still lots to do and sometimes we have not got it right but

we have tried things differently, we've empowered people and I think

that especially when I speak to passengers today on the first anniversary

they are absolutely delighted with the changes they have seen

and I have seen a lot of improvements.

Since the new owners moved in, substantial changes have been

made to the day-to-day running of the airport and the staffing levels,

with only two of the original nine senior managers still in place.

Airport duty manager Lorna Firth survived the takeover.

I think the expectation of us is a lot higher,

which I think is good because it allows you to own the operation

and challenge and question things on the operation with,

we have a daily meeting that we have every day. We have always had that but it is different now.

People are having to stand up and answer to things that go wrong, which is good.

Right, OK, good morning. We're looking at Thursday's report

and as you can see, there is a lot of red on it today.

It is really good but there has been a lot of change,

there are a lot of people who worked here that no longer work here.

That puts you on edge a little, but maybe in a good way

because it makes you, well, I have always worked hard but it makes you

work that extra bit harder because you do not know who is watching.

Any problems with that, gave us a shout. Hello, duty manager.

In my team there are two of the nine remaining members of staff that predate the takeover by GIP.

I do not think that is particularly untypical in a substantial

business change such as this and many of the people who have

left have gone on to create new opportunities already.

I am delighted for them.

It's particularly the senior levels when changing strategy, changing pace, changing culture,

I think it is quite typical that you get this level of change.

It sounds like a lot.

Is a lot, and clearly it is a very high percentage.

It doesn't equate to that in other parts of the organisation.

But I think it is natural that the leadership team,

the executive team, is where you see most substantial change.

Working around the clock at the other end of the airport is

the business development team.

They're charged with analysing the stats, facts and figures

and passenger flow data.

Under the new management, mining this data is the key to success.

We need to understand the market, the wider market

around Edinburgh airport, so we need to know about the city

and the surrounding area,

we need to know the businesses that are based in the city,

we need to know the tourist attractions that are in the city,

we need to know the events that are going in

and around the city. So the festival, the Open, all that.

We need to know about that so we can sell Edinburgh to airlines

that are thinking of coming here.

It's taken months to get to this point but now the sales team feel

ready to attend one of the biggest events in the aviation calendar.

We are off to Budapest for the annual Routes Europe

conference which is effectively a short conference where airports

and airlines getting together to decide

whether there is any future for the two of them together.

We have a very busy diary And lots of people to meet.

So it is making sure in that short space of time we do all

the work that the team have done justice

and actually get some good results out of it.

For the next two days, new airline routes worth eye-watering amounts of

money and investment will be brokered in the Hungarian capital.

'Ladies and gentlemen, meeting session one has now commenced.'

The future growth of Edinburgh airport is

entirely in the hands of their small sales team.

This is where airport meets airline

and they have just 20 minutes to state their case.

It's been referred to for quite a few years now as speed dating,

just because it is a fairly good analogy.

You've short 20 minute meetings and at the end of that meeting you

sort of decide whether you're going to exchange phone numbers and stay

in touch or whether you will part as friends

and maybe meet another year or whatever.

You've a short period of time to have a quick chat and decide

whether there is a future for the pair of you.

We've got a few of the usual, the bit about the city which we will

run through quickly if that is all right with you, and then we will get

onto the numbers, which is the stuff that talks, at the end of the day.

The time limit encourages a focused sales pitch, there is

no time for small talk and competition is fierce.

It is the destination of choice not just for the leisure passenger

but also for the corporate and business.

We're the biggest British Airways operation outside of London.

Just in terms of number of flights.

We're a key corporate sector for British Airways.

When Edinburgh airport was represented by BAA,

they were one of seven airports in the group.

This is the first time the team are standing on their own two feet,

a point not going unnoticed by the conference organisers.

When you are in that environment as an independent operator,

new owners, different drivers than you had before,

you are going to compete harder

and you are going to promote your airport in a stronger way

than perhaps you did when you were part of a collective entity.

So it can only be a good future for Edinburgh.

The Routes Conference attracts

around 2,000 delegates from over 300 airlines and airports.

For the Edinburgh team, the gruelling first day is rewarded

by a deal with Thomson First Choice Holidays for the summer of 2014.

It is great to have agreement on the deal.

We look forward to putting that to you in writing.

Tom's just a little bit upset about the deal I've done.

It is really good to come away with a win, but as I say, it is just

really good to embed relationships, develop relationships,

you are actually building the platform for the future

as well as getting your new stuff or existing stuff in the bag.

We're up early tomorrow, we have meetings at 8:30.

8:30 in the morning.

8:30 right through until the close of play tomorrow afternoon,

so it is back on the pitch tomorrow.

In its first year, the new management have already

brought in an additional 92 flight movements a week.

With Virgin's Little Red scheduling six return flights a day to London,

it is a big new initiative requiring careful management

within the terminal's already squeezed structure

and like all new ventures, it comes with one or two gremlins.

But the inaugural flight arrives exactly on time,

and in traditional Virgin style, it is full of surprises.

BAGPIPES

APPLAUSE

It was Richard Branson. What more can I say? He's his own man.

He knows how to get attention and coverage

and it really does not matter as long as we fill up the column inches,

people know we are flying to Heathrow with

Virgin Atlantic and know they can take that choice.

The hubbub created by the Virgin launch is an opportunity

for the airport's boss to hammer home the major PR coup.

It raises awareness around the world when airlines are looking at the

next airports they want to fly to, so us having Virgin will definitely

be dropped into conversations when talking to other airlines.

It makes a huge difference to the team, everyone loves days like this.

This is what you jump out of bed for in the morning.

Just weeks after the Virgin launch, Turkish Airlines

expand their operations from five to nine flights a week to Istanbul.

Their relationship with Edinburgh began at a Routes Conference

just like the one in Budapest.

Back in Hungary, it is day two of the Routes Conference.

The sales team from all the Scottish airports are given

a point of focus and a place to meet by the Scottish government.

Denise Hill from Visit Scotland works hard behind the scenes,

promoting Scotland at every opportunity

and acting as a matchmaker.

Introducing aviation sales teams to prospective clients.

The reason for being here is a simple, it is

about Scotland on an international stage.

We want to do business with the world

and have international tourism inbound to our shores as well

and in this day and age, airline connectivity is absolutely

critical for both of these so an event like the Routes Conference

is just one of the tools in our arsenal for making sure

that we are working hard together to get more flights into Scotland.

One major client on everyone's list is American Airlines.

They're one of the largest carriers in the world and striking

a deal with them would result in many direct flights to the USA,

connecting to hundreds of other destinations worldwide.

We are route planners with American Airlines

and we are planning now our future capacity levels.

We look at a lot of data in our headquarters to try

and identify future potential new route opportunities.

The numbers only tell us so much, that is why we come to these events

a few times per year, to meet with the airports we are interested in.

The Edinburgh team have just 20 minutes to win them over.

Routes, profits and personal pride are all on the line.

We have some data for you. Everyone likes data these days.

We do like the data, it is basically what we're going on.

United States is a really important market for Scotland,

we have over 324,000 visits from the United States,

United States origin, to Scotland, every year.

It is our biggest visitor market.

What we tend to find is there is some constrained demand going

over the Heathrow hub, there is not enough capacity to get across particularly to North America.

We have gotten along very well, their presentation was very

valuable, they made a strong and compelling case for why it

could make sense for American to consider Edinburgh in the future.

Have you been to Edinburgh?

I haven't, it is on my list of places

I would very much like to see.

We've heard really good things about it and the pictures are beautiful.

I would love to see the castle, for example.

-Just one thing, can you just say the word Edinburgh for me?

-Edinboro?

-Edinburgh.

-Edinburgh.

-I believe it is Edinburgh.

I used to pronounce it Edinburg but I believe it is Edinburgh.

-Is that not correct?

-It is tricky for the Americans!

There are many tricky pronunciations in the aviation dictionary, but the

resident voice-over expert in Edinburgh

knows how to articulate them all.

Lufthansa regrets to announce a delay to the arrival of flight

number LH 417 from Frankfurt.

This fight is now estimated to arrive in Edinburgh at 1600 hours.

Well, somebody may say, "The flight to Gatwick is late."

Right.

I would then say they have to pronounce

all of their letters of the alphabet and say that,

"The flight arriving from Gatwick will now arrive at 1700 hours."

But to change the tone and slow down the speech,

most people speak quite quickly. ALARM SOUNDS

So...

ALARM STOPS

I try and get them to slow down their speech

and think of every word before they say it.

And it is good homework to practise on the family.

I have not been unknown to practise on mine on a Sunday.

Like how?

Like, my granddaughter may say, "Gran, go and do your tannoy voice."

So I will say, "Dinner will be served in 20 minutes.

"Please make your way to the dining room

"and take your seats in the appropriate places."

And they all laugh at that, they think that's great.

Due to the late arrival of the aircraft,

flight number LH 418 to Frankfurt

is now estimated to depart at 1730 hours.

24 years, just past.

Came in, into security as a temp.

And decided I liked the airport so I just stayed.

In with the bricks, now. I love my job. I love the people.

I suppose I am like the mother figure to a lot of them because

I bring them in, I give them a cup of tea, I make them feel welcome.

I have been here a year or two so it is just the way they look at me.

300 security cameras are positioned around the airport.

And duty manager Lorna Firth checks in regularly

to monitor the passenger experience.

Could you grab some food for me, please? I'm going to steal your seat now!

Earlier, Lorna received a complaint that some passengers were stuck

in a holding corridor on their way to catch their flight.

I just want to check what happened because apparently they were held for 25 minutes, which is not ideal.

-That's right, they were.

-They were, that's correct.

-Just want to make sure somebody wasn't

doing something they shouldn't have been. It can't be a very good experience for the customer.

-No sugar.

-Have you noticed it?

Did you see it?

-How long were they standing for?

-We at least thought 20 minutes.

-Really?

25 minutes is too long.

Lorna started as a temporary security officer.

That was ten years ago.

Lorraine, when I first got my job as a TGO,

Lorraine was one of the first people I met

when I came to the control centre, and at that time it was next door.

You work long hours with quite a few people

and you do get to know them very well, so you do become quite close.

And because you work with the people, I think you find out more about each other's personal life than

some of their closest friends because you are in a close environment.

-You spend a long time.

-You spend time together.

And you can confide in each other and things like that.

And you look after the younger...

Look after the younger ones, of course I do.

I look after them all in here.

I am glad you are looking at me when you are saying young!

Lorna has seen many changes in terminal operations,

but under the new management the biggest have yet to come.

For the first time in a UK airport, three new self check-in

and bag drop machines have been installed

with the aim of reducing check-in time to less than 30 seconds.

How we look at it is, the amount of time it

takes for the customer to come and check in,

and be checked in and have their baggage injected into the system is

a transaction time, so what we want to do is reduce the transaction time,

so we want our customers to spend as little time as possible in check-in.

We want them to go through security and into the departure lounge.

The self-service bag drops are the first in a series of sweeping changes

designed to improve efficiency and increase the passenger throughput.

Aviation is back in the 1970s in most places.

Most of the technology, practices, processes that happen,

happen because that's the way they've always been done.

There are systems here that are 20, 30 years old

and there's desire for the incumbents of those systems to

change, develop or move with the times.

It's a challenging environment but, starting at such a low base,

it's a great opportunity to improve.

-What's happened?

-Taking something out.

-Baggage was overweight.

We've had a few teething issues with the kiosks

but they're all getting ironed out and we are working really closely

with the airlines to make sure that it's working.

It seems to be working really well so far. We've introduced free scales and

we popped them over at the windows as well. The passengers love that

cos they get to weigh their bags as many times as they like.

-Is it helpful? Is speeding things up?

-Honestly, no.

-Eh?

-No.

The problem is, as I say, with the baggage,

if it's overweight and they don't want to take anything out

and they want to pay for it, we've then got to send them to

the kiosk anyway, the check-in kiosk. So some of them say,

"Well, you're better waiting there in the first place."

Is it quicker than going through that system, though?

-It's just the same.

-Just the same.

-Yeah.

-So what's the point?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Oh, well. It's worth a try.

-OK.

-I won't be doing it again.

When all these self-service machines were

introduced at the supermarkets, people just didn't want to

use them because, again, it had problems, they didn't know

what to do, so they just chose to go the regular way that they do.

And I think, over time, even myself, I thought,

"I'll just give that a miss and I'll go to the regular check out person,"

and then I realised that somebody who was behind me had went and used

the machine and was away before me and I thought,

"Oh, I'll give it a try,"

so I think people need to try these things and realise how easy they are.

They're pretty self-explanatory. It can't go wrong.

If your bag shouldn't be injected into the system, it won't be.

So you can't go wrong with it. That's the plan.

But even dedicated staff are having problems with some of the more

simple aspects of self check-in.

There we go.

You're overweight.

The new technology is not proving popular with everyone.

Like many couples who travel together, this Greek husband

and wife's combined luggage is underweight

even though one of their bags is too heavy. Unfortunately,

the lighter bag has already been sent into the system.

-Please, send back the other one.

-No, she can't. It's gone.

-Why did you send it then?

-Because you agreed to it.

-Why do you send it?

-You agreed to it.

-She told me to say continue.

It's her fault.

THEY SPEAK GREEK

Let's try it one more time. We'll get there eventually.

My luggage was 19.6. That's nothing. Push continue. So I push continue.

My wife is 20.2. Excess luggage. How?

Ah, yes, give me bag number one. I will take 200g from the other one.

It's not possible.

Now we can't have bag with the books because we have already this.

Fantastic.

You get used to it.

-The problem is the machines.

-It is.

-I told the lady. From the first time.

-She can't change it.

-No, but telling your boss.

-I'm sure they do.

-That's what we're doing.

To resolve this situation,

the couple are moved to a standard check-in desk.

-They're away happy now?

-They're away happy. It's the bags.

The machines here are on trial and if they're slightly over,

it rounds it and it won't put the bags

through for the passengers so they get a wee bit infuriated.

But they're quite happy now they're getting the bags through.

You're very welcome.

We don't get it right all the time but we'd like the airport to be seen

as the best airport in the world.

It doesn't necessarily mean that you are the biggest

and have got the most routes.

But I would like people to be able to travel through the airport

and not really queue at all, to get away on time

and to use whatever new technology is out there.

In the confines of the terminal building, booming passenger numbers

can often lead to queue or getting caught in a crush.

But, for some travellers,

the hustle and bustle is impossible to deal with and are forced to rely

on the human touch to help them on their journey through the airport.

So, we're just going to take the three guys up through fast-track

and make it as comfortable as we can

and then we're through security and we'll go to the baby change

at Gate 12 and get them settled into the baby change at Gate 12.

All right? They're through security.

I'm just going to phone central search

and make them aware we're on our way up.

Karen Donnelly is part of a specialised team of duty officers.

'We basically help anybody.'

Partially sighted people, they can't read signs

so we've got to help them through.

People in wheelchairs that maybe haven't booked assistance, they can't

get assistance on the day because it's far too busy so the terminal

team, like myself, we would help them through, take them to the gates.

'Fear of flying, people like that, they just want to be comfortable'

and made to feel comfortable going through the airport.

We're trying to explain all the noises that they'll hear,

all the hustle and bustle, the shops are busy, everything.

'It's a busy, busy environment for them and if they're not used

'to that, it does take a lot to make them feel comfortable.'

Whereas we think it's normal, they're not used to it

and it's just getting them used to it on the day.

OK. There we go.

17-year-old Liam Reid is autistic and has never flown before.

His mother, Cathy, is keen for him to experience the joys of travel

and has arranged a short flight to Bristol in the south of England.

It's a trial flight.

Because... It was ideal going to Bristol

because it's such a short flight. It's only an hour and 15 minutes.

If this works out well, then hopefully we'll be able to

take him further afield.

Liam has a fear of crowds and a hypersensitivity to noise

so Karen has arranged for the family to be fast-tracked through security.

Do you want me to take your case, Liam? I'll take it.

I'll carry it.

-Right, on we go.

-Thank you.

-That's fine. Right, guys.

Come on then. Thank you.

Look.

It's OK. OK, come on then.

I am apprehensive because obviously

I've never been on a flight with him before

and I suppose, well,

a number of things are bothering me.

When we get to go on the plane,

will he actually want to go up the steps?

Cos he's got a phobia about steps that you can see through, so that'll

be an achievement just getting him to go up that in the first place.

And also, what's going to happen

if he totally refuses to board the flight?

Which, you know, it's quite possible that might happen.

So there's all these things kind of going through my head

so I'd be lying to say I wasn't nervous about it. Because I am.

Look. Karen's got your case.

We're just going to go up the stairs really quick.

-HE CRIES OUT

-Come on. Let's go.

Mum's got sweets for you. Right, hold that. Hold that.

I'll show you but you need to come upstairs first. All right?

You need to come upstairs first.

-I'll show you what I've got.

-You look at your bag, Liam.

-There we go. Up we come.

-See? Look what I've got.

-You need to come upstairs though. OK?

-There we go.

You need to come upstairs.

'When we went in, the crew were amazing.

'They were really, really good. The crew members spoke to Liam.

'Cathy went into the first seat

'and then Liam was going into the second seat.'

-LIAM CRIES OUT

-Right.

But then I don't know what happened but he just...

I don't know if he just got really uncomfortable and stressed

and he basically just jumped.

He climbed right over Emma and that's when I got him

at the top of the stairs and there was just no going back for him.

HE CRIES OUT

-Come up a minute.

-Liam.

-Come up a minute, please.

Liam, listen. We're going to go back in.

ENGINES DROWN OUT SPEECH

Right, stop there. Listen to me.

You can only have these if you go and sit down.

We'll only be on the plane for just one hour.

One hour then we're getting off again to go to the hotel.

No!

Listen to me. Go on and sit down, have a sweet.

The flight attendants have done all they can

but the aircraft has to vacate its stand to make

way for the incoming flight.

We'll try again. We'll go up the steps, sit down.

-Oh, well. We tried.

-We tried. Yeah, we tried.

Come on, then.

-'Disappointed, I have to say.

-He was just about there.

-I know.'

You can always try again. Try a different way.

We could do the thing we've told you about, the ambulift,

things like that. We could try it again.

I know it's an expense, all the time for yourself,

but we want to make it as comfortable for Liam...

-Well, I wouldn't push him into doing anything he couldn't do...

-No, no.

We'll keep in touch with Cathy

and we'll just do our best any time she phones for us.

Cameraman. Smile.

Liam and Cathy will not be counted in the passenger numbers this time.

But all the others, each carrying their own private phobias, emotions

and thoughts, have set a new record and a cause for celebration.

-Good morning. Hello. My name is Gordon Dewar.

-Hi, I'm Russell.

Hi, Russell. Pleased to meet you. How are you? Hello. What's your name?

-I'm Adam.

-Hi, Adam. Hello. What's your name?

-Pamela.

-Pleased to meet you.

-How are you?

-Angela.

-Angela. Well, congratulations.

-Has Gordon explained a little bit about this?

-Yeah.

So, basically we're here because we just marked the first ever

month we've had with a million passengers at Edinburgh Airport

and you guys are representatives of these million passengers

so, if you don't mind, we'd very much like to give you a free holiday.

Oh, brilliant, yes.

That's it. Just one hand as high as you can.

It's important for us to mark this.

It's a fantastic mark of our achievements so far.

It shows that what we're doing is working.

It's a marker in that people can't argue with it.

We can tell everybody that we are great but this

shows our development in a way

that's very understandable to people.

This particular story here, we think our reach was

round about ten million opportunities to see,

on the media side.

I think for this family and the small photo call, I think

it's gone pretty well.

I think it's significant wherever it happens.

Yeah, so we've just passed the anniversary of the takeover

and this is the first timetable, if you like,

the first schedule of airlines that we've had a direct say over because

it takes 6-9 months to get any change around the way the airlines plan.

So this summer is really the reaping the rewards of the new deals we've

done with easyJet, Ryanair

and the new airlines, like Turkish and Air Canada, that have come.

And it all adds up now to this growth.

So we're seeing, for the last four months,

really substantial growth year-on-year.

Whereas, over the winter when we've inherited a schedule from

the previous owners, we've been in modest decline or sort of flat line.

So, yeah, this is great. Passenger growth is what it's all about.

It's 6am and a packed cruise liner docks at Edinburgh's Port of Leith.

BAGPIPES PLAY

Hola. Buenos dias.

-Hello.

-How are you doing today?

-Good afternoon.

Despatching excursions from Ibero Cruceros.

Spanish passengers.

1,200 Spanish tourists are on the last leg of their journey

home after a four-week cruise around Norway and the North of Scotland.

Arrangements have been made to coach the passengers from Ocean Terminal

to the airport, using a staggered timetable.

Before leaving the port, all the 1,200 passengers must

reclaim their bags and take them to the airport for check-in -

not what the tourists were expecting.

Most ship to plane transfer bags are handled and booked in

by the tour agents, leaving the tourists with hand luggage only.

I think, now, this is just me saying what my understanding of it is, ours

is a different rules and regulations so I'm not sure

if that's outwith the EU

so it's maybe different rules to do with transit bags

and things like that but I know, certainly, that we asked

if it was possible and we were told, just cos of customs

and things, that the passengers have to be with their bags

cos how do we know that there's nothing in the bag

that's not meant to be there?

So I know that definitely we asked the question

if there was a workaround but we were told that there wasn't.

And you can understand why cos it's the rules.

This Saturday is expected to be one of the busiest days ever.

WOMAN SPEAKS SPANISH

In addition to the cruise ship passengers,

the airport is running its normal scheduled service

and several additional chartered flights.

So, in an effort to relieve congestion, senior management

including chief executive Gordon Dewar

and chief operations officer David Wilson

have volunteered to help out.

Gordon Dewar and I decided to come in

and give the duty teams a bit of a hand.

It's good to do a bit of, shall we say, Undercover Boss-type thing?

Although everybody knows who we are. Excuse me.

We knew it was going to be really busy

and, like what happens every day at an airport, something will go wrong.

Representatives of the cruise company are on hand to assist the

Spanish tourists and to keep an eye on the efficiency of the operation.

Well, today we have disembarking guests from the ship,

around 1,200, and another 1,100 embarking.

It's about 2,400 guests going in and out of the airport

almost at the same time. We distributed along the day

but, in the end, they have this crossing during the embarkation

and disembarkation and we are here to

help to make sure that they can do it as smoothly as possible.

The staggered bus timetable hasn't worked.

Many of the buses have arrived too early,

full of passengers eager to check in.

And, as the first of several passengers surges

reaches its peak, the baggage hall reports a major breakdown.

ALARM SOUNDS

As you can see on the camera at the top,

all the trays have actually stopped at the moment.

What's happened is the whole of sorter A has got a fault on it,

so that shuts down completely.

Basically, the whole of that side of the building and all these

chutes here have been taken out and we are working on these chutes here.

So everybody that worked here has now moved across to here

and all the lines are working through these ones so all

the ones we're working for is here.

During the last week,

the baggage hall has experienced several similar malfunctions,

bringing parts of the complex machinery to a grinding halt.

A visual inspection is under way in an attempt to find

the source of the problem.

Back in the terminal building, Lorna the duty manager has been

alerted to an additional check-in fault.

The baggage desks, the check-in desks at 26-31 have lost

power on the baggage system which the bags are injected into the system.

So, just now, the girls are checking the flights in

and the bags are coming down here.

This is outsize baggage, where the bags can also be screened

as a contingency and they go straight into the baggage hall that way.

It's a lot more lifting for us as we're having to physically put

the bags on and take the bags off the belt.

So we are getting busy just now so it's kind of touch and go.

I think all together on that day we'd lost about 13 check-in desks

and, when you've only got 46 of them and it's from one

side of the hall that you're busy, it's a lot to lose at the one time.

'That means a lot of lifting and a lot of manual handling

'when we go into contingency.'

So, days like that are a bit of a nightmare.

Never a dull moment in the airport. Cheers now.

Sticking on the jeans and T-shirt and lugging bags around the place

just gives you a more broader review of what goes on on a daily basis.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

The engineers think they might be one step closer

to finding the fault.

One of the 150 electrical pick-ups might be damaged.

That's the part there. You can see an orange arm going past us now.

It's there.

That's taking the electricity from there into the carriages and round.

-So what's wrong with the thing?

-I'll show you round here.

That could be the problem. This is actually really good.

That was worn through. That was going to earth.

That's what could be happening in there just now

but you've got to find that and you've got 150 carriages on that.

So it could be any one out of 150.

That's what could be causing the fault. See the copper showing?

Like I says to you, if that's rubbing against the track, you get a short.

That's it. So that's what probably happening today.

Front of house, David Wilson

and his colleagues are keeping the system going...

just.

It did take me couple of days to recover in terms of my back.

I think we shifted about 3,000 bags that morning. But, yeah.

It just shows you my new job means I don't do as much physical

hard work as I perhaps done in the past.

To buy some time,

the engineers run a complex diagnostic test to trace the fault.

If successful, the defective component can be isolated

and repaired at the end of the day.

That's a faulty carriage there. It's not tipped.

That'll get taken out tonight for service.

We'll take that out and replace it.

It seems to be OK. It seems to have settled.

I think we've disturbed at and it's settled. It's OK just now.

But the night shift,

they'll get in once the system's shut down and give it a check over.

That's everything sort of going through fine. OK?

-I'll keep you informed any further happenings, OK?

-Okey-doke.

-Thank you. Bye.

-Up and running?

-Yes, that's us back up and running.

OK, I'll go round and do the cruise ships.

I think we might still use this for flight closures.

So, the flights that are just due to close just now,

to get the bags through, cos if the bag is caught in the system,

it might not make it down to the dolly to get onto

the aircraft in time and then passengers don't get their bags.

So I'm just going to phone them and tell them we'll still use this

and then we know there's less chance of the bags missing the aircraft.

So...

-Never dull, eh?

-All fun.

Days like this, we like, cos it passes really quickly.

You get sore feet, though, but it passes quickly.

As the baggage system slowly returns to normal working speed,

the passengers keep coming,

leaving the cruise ship tour operators exasperated.

Well, it's going kind of busy

because we're supposed to have more queues, more open boxes for

the check-in, and actually we can't because of the other airlines and...

But they definitely need more space.

For example, if we have two cruise lines here,

they're definitely not prepared.

The solution will be open more boxes for the check-in

so they can be checked in faster and easier

and also make sure that the space of the airport should be a little

bit further down so they have more space actually to be on the lines.

The chaos has resulted in a huge backlog but help is at hand.

Gordon Dewar, the chief executive, has opted for a slightly less manual

task, assisting passengers with the new automated self check-in system.

But he needs a bit of help himself just to get started.

Mines was doing the same as well.

Take it back off and just let it reset.

I don't know what's wrong with it.

'I could tell that he was starting to get a little bit uncomfortable

cos he kept trying to get my attention saying,'

"Lorna, Lorna,"

but I was wary that I was also helping a passenger so if I had

'to stop doing what I was doing to help Gordon and his passenger,'

I wouldn't have then been helping the passenger that I was assisting.

So I was trying to keep doing what I was doing

and also figure out what was going on with his kiosk

and that day the kiosks were being temperamental.

I mean, I had it a couple of times

when they would just stop working and I just tried to make light heart

of it and make a joke with the passenger.

I was delighted to be there helping but it's uncomfortable

when you've got 10, 20, 30 pretty disgruntled people,

rightfully disgruntled, telling you, "You're not very good."

I don't think anybody would enjoy that experience.

And, coupled with the fact I was having trouble peeling

the sticky labels cos I'm not very good at this sort of stuff, it was

kind of an uncomfortable experience.

But, in a sense, it was probably one of the best lessons I've had this

year just about how close we were to the limits on our check-in process.

Cool. Thank you. Bye.

The check-in is on the brink of meltdown,

with staff pushing the technology and machinery beyond design limits.

And, in 30 degree summer heat,

the boss is doing his best to keep his cool.

For two and a half hours,

the airport struggles to cope with surge after surge of passengers.

Everyone is working flat out until the last large

batch of travellers are directed through to the security hall.

OK, folks, just come on down. Plenty more gates.

Today, there's been issues with the baggage,

I believe, downstairs so we've been getting them nice and steady

and then suddenly you get a big surge like this

so normally they're not very well prepped for security,

English is not the best and they don't understand the e-readers.

You get people scanning passports, baggage labels,

labels off their clothes.

Where it says "face down", we've even had people

putting their faces against the reader. So it's always...

It's great fun.

It's been the busiest day in the airport's 50 year history,

processing almost 40,000 passengers, but not a single bag was

reported missing and no passengers missed their flight.

OK, thank you.

It's a shame about the airport. The report is rubbish. It can't cope.

-What's happened here today?

-Just a disaster.

Standing in a queue for two and three-quarter hours.

One person on check-in to start with. Just...

It needs to be bigger or improved. Thank you. See you anyway. Cheers.

Five days later and it's another big day at Edinburgh Airport.

Thoughts of the terminal crush have been put to one side to

welcome the first ever Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

This is BA's inaugural flight with their brand-new acquisition.

It's lovely to see the aeroplane coming into Edinburgh

and we have brought some friends, family, guests,

press up to the air traffic control tower to watch the aeroplane.

I think it is the future and that type of aeroplane is going to

be great for Edinburgh Airport because it means that Edinburgh

can reach further destinations with that type of aeroplane, yeah.

This test run from Heathrow to Edinburgh to pick up selected

airport staff will take them on a jaunt over the Highlands.

OK.

The Dreamliner provides a glimpse of the future for aviation

and for Edinburgh Airport.

But before any new big ideas, thoughts turn to more recent events.

Well, as you know, Saturday was the busiest day of the year and it

certainly felt like it. That was so close to the edge in terms of...

Well, probably beyond the edge, really.

It worked because everybody flew but it didn't work

because there was a lot of people that waited too long

and utterly understandably were not happy.

I wouldn't have been happy in that queue.

So, both personally and professionally,

it's frankly a little embarrassing.

Now, you know, hopefully they'll not be put off about coming

back again but I don't want to take that chance.

We, as a team, everybody in Edinburgh Airport,

from the carriers to the handlers and certainly Edinburgh Airport Ltd,

that's not what we want to be known for.

We've got the plans as to how we're going to develop the airport.

It's getting the timing right.

So what it's saying now is we have to accelerate.

We had projects we thought we maybe had two years for

we're going to have to do within a year.

So it's about getting the plans off, getting the teams right,

starting the investment earlier and just getting on with it.

So I think it's going be a busy winter of building and investing

and making sure we're ready for next summer for sure.

The advance plans are now taking shape,

keeping the planning team busy for the next few years.

It's been a testing time for the new management team

since their independence from BAA but now they have the freedom

to use the events of the past to propel them into the future.

I must admit, there were a couple of days when I thought,

"My God, this place is absolutely bursting at the seams," which is

great and it gives us a challenge but it's been hugely successful.

And we're delighted about it. So busier again next year.

Bring it on, as the operations guys keep on telling me.

Next time, the departure lounge gets a new look...

As an airport, we are absolutely delighted with it.

It looks fantastic.

..the low-cost holiday airline Jet2 reveal

the secrets of their daily transformation,

as the operation staff work round the clock clearing the skies...

GUNSHOT

Well, there's not much left of the birds

once they've hit the engine. Just a few feathers.

..and the airport goes on full alert.

SIRENS BLARE

Just sorting everybody off now.

Nature of trouble - multiple bird strike.

And ETA - 1-9-4-0. Read back.