Airport (TV series)

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Airport
Genre	Documentary
Narrated by	John Nettles (1996-2005) Liza Tarbuck (2005)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Running time	30 mins
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC
Original run	1996 –

Airport is a British reality television series based at London Heathrow Airport, Britain’s busiest airport, broadcast by the BBC and syndicated to UKTV People, 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 (the term "reality television" was not yet in widespread use) as a result of which 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 Aer Lingus, BMI, Canadian Airlines, Cyprus Airways, Czech Airlines, El Al, Gulf Air, Icelandair, PIA, 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 new series in 2005. In addition, Liza Tarbuck replaced John Nettles as the show's narrator.

Celebrities who have been seen on the show include Stephen Fry, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Michael Jackson, British boy band Blue, Marillion, Brian May, Tom Jones, Kate Winslet, Engelbert Humperdinck, David Beckham and several heads of state including the Queen Elizabeth II and President Bill Clinton.

[edit] Production status

Repeats of Airport are shown almost daily on UKTV People and UKTV G2 and they will often run an Airport day or weekend, showing back-to-back episodes for the duration of the day or weekend. Repeats can also be seen on BBC1, although less frequently. There was a new series broadcast in the first half of 2005, which finished in July 2005. Several episodes were broadcast, before a gap of about a month, then the rest of the series was shown. It is not yet known if another series will be produced. Airport is also shown once a week on the Australian Lifestyle channel, a feature channel on Australia's Foxtel Digital network and also screens on the AUSTAR cable/satellite network. It is also aired on free-to-air network Nine Network.