National Geographic Channels series Ultimate Airport Dubai will premiere on September 5 at 8pm. The series will offer behind-the-scene access to Dubai International Airport. The various scenes will show what it takes to keep Dubai International safe, secure and on schedule. From the Control Tower and Customs interrogations to angry customers, cargo headaches and new […]
National Geographic Channels series Ultimate Airport Dubai will premiere on September 5 at 8pm. The series will offer behind-the-scene access to Dubai International Airport.
The various scenes will show what it takes to keep Dubai International safe, secure and on schedule. From the Control Tower and Customs interrogations to angry customers, cargo headaches and new construction, nothing is left unturned in the series. It covers the three massive terminals, including Terminal 3, the biggest airport terminal building by floor space, it was reported in Khaleej Times.
With unprecedented access to all facets of this mega facility, the series follows some of the 60,000 staff working hard to keep everything in place with more than 344,000 flights, 57 million passengers and two million tonnes of cargo flying in and out each year, Ultimate Airport Dubai provides viewers with an all-access ticket to the various divisions of this expanding airport, which is poised to become the world’s busiest airport for international travel one day. It takes an army of well-trained staff, the latest technological advancements, and an enormous amount of space to safely operate.
From Air Traffic Control handling emergency landings, customs intercepting suspected smugglers and engineers taking apart multi-million dollar jets to dealing with late flights and angry passengers, cargo headaches and even the construction of brand new $3.2-billion A380 facility, NGC provides a 360-degree view of this “ultimate airport”.
It offers a rare insight into the many and varied jobs that most travellers never even see, but that are vital to keep things running smoothly. The job of an air traffic controller is one of the most stressful occupations in the world, especially at Dubai International where a plane takes off or lands every 92.5 seconds. See how air traffic controllers, ready to respond in a moment’s notice, react to an in-flight medical emergency with injured passengers. And, work alongside the engineers that keep Dubai’s 90-kilometre baggage system running smoothly.
The series also enters Emirates Airlines’ massive engineering hangar to meet the elite aviation technicians tasked with keeping some of the largest planes in the world operational.
Viewers can see how they test 18,000 engine components and how long it takes to repaint an Airbus A330-200. After replacing a multi-million dollar engine, join pilots on a high-speed test flight, where they push the plane beyond the limits allowed during normal passenger travel.
Over at the Emirates flight attendant training school, experience an all-too-real crash landing simulation and find out what it is like to slide out of the biggest passenger aircraft in the world during a water-landing training exercise.
The airport is already operating to near capacity 24 hours a day, seven days a week but much like the rest of Dubai, it has the ambition to become number one.
The new NGC series also follows the construction of a new, state-of-the-art concourse that will accommodate another 15 million passengers each year. Upon completion, it will be the first dedicated facility for the world’s biggest fleet of A380s. With the grand opening rapidly approaching, and an inspection by a member of the royal family on the horizon, crew members furiously battle leaky pipes, missing materials, and delinquent contractors to finish the job on time.
