Ultimate Airport Dubai (2013) s02e08 Episode Script

1
NARRATOR: In this episode,
a fuel leak threatens
to cause schedule chaos.
MOHAMED: Now, where we have the leak beyond
the limit, we are going to ground the aircraft.
It will not fly today.
NARRATOR: Ammunition
is discovered in a passenger's baggage.
HASSAN: It is dangerous.
It's a real bullet.
JO: Medical emergency?
NARRATOR: And a medical emergency in
the air leads to a scramble on the ground.
JO (off-screen):
Get one hand each.
NARRATOR: Dubai
International Airport,
the busiest global hub on the
planet and aiming to stay there.
MAN: Clear for takeoff!
NARRATOR: But
perfection is never easy.
JUMAH: It's not finished!
It's supposed to be finished!
NARRATOR: More
planes to service.
CARL: Can we open
the number three engine?
NARRATOR: More
situations to deal with.
MEL: What do you
mean live snakes?
NARRATOR: More
smugglers to stop.
HASSAN: This is
the heroin here.
NARRATOR: And massive
engineering projects to complete on time.
It's non-stop, 24/7.
It's the job of 90,000 staff
from all over the world,
to make this the Ultimate Airport.
For 365 days a year, Dubai aims
to keep its planes on schedule
and its passengers moving in harmony.
But aiming for perfection means having
the right equipment and the right people
trained to deal with the kind of emergency
a busy airport can throw up at any time.
JO (off-screen):
Hello Emirates, it's Jo.
Medical emergency? Okay. What?
MAN: Medical emergency.
Let's go, let's go.
JO: What? Wow. Where's
it come from?
Cardiac arrest? Is there
confirmation on that or?
And it's on the ground
now or? It's landed.
All right, thanks.
Thank you. Bye.
Bravo 18, I've got a medical
emergency, possible cardiac arrest.
MAN: On the way.
JO: Hi, it's Jo here.
NARRATOR: Giovanna Di Biasi, known as
Jo, has been an Airport Services Manager
at Dubai for five months.
JO: Hello.
NARRATOR: Her job is to deal with all manner
of problems, but even for her this 4:00 AM
emergency call is uncharted territory.
JO: This is the worst part
of my job, getting phone
calls like this, medical emergencies.
We just have to make sure we've got
all medical teams around, ambulance.
There's not really much else I can do to
prepare myself for it because until the door
opens of that aircraft
I really don't know what to do until then.
MAN: Now and is
it Bravo 14 or 18?
JO: Bravo 18.18.
NARRATOR: With time at a
premium, Jo needs to find out
the best location to
meet the incoming plane.
JO: Yeah, are you
sure it's Bravo 18 gate?
MAN: No. It is 14. Bravo 14.
JO: It is gate Bravo 18.
Okay, bye, bye-bye. 14.14.
NARRATOR: Jo knows it's a
race against time to get there
and co-ordinate the emergency response.
JO (off-screen): Just a case of, yeah, getting
here as quick as I can and hoping for the best.
NARRATOR: Dubai prides itself on
having a world-class medical facility.
There are several fully
trained medical teams on constant standby.
They're able to respond to any
medical emergency in under five minutes.
At the gate, one of
them is already in position.
JO: Have you just been told,
what have you been told?
MAN: Chest pain.
To me chest pain. Chest pain.
JO: Chest pain?
MAN: Yeah.
NARRATOR: But the passenger
is on the incoming plane which
hasn't yet arrived at the gate.
It's still taxiing from the runway.
The medics won't know for
certain what they're dealing with
until they actually see the passenger.
JO: Just let me find out.
NARRATOR: Jo needs to get as
much information as she can to prepare
the medical team for the right response.
JO: Hi, can you just tell
me a bit more information?
Do we have an age and a
nationality of this person?
He's 40-years-old.
Okay. All right, thank you.
Pakistani. All right.
It looks like he has
suffered from a cardiac arrest.
All right.
All right, I'm just here
with the medical team.
I can't see an ambulance
or anything on the tarmac.
MAN: Guys, medical. Come on.
NARRATOR: The critical time for treating
a heart attack is the first 90 minutes.
After this, chances of
survival are reduced by as much as 50%.
JO: This is a
worrying time for me.
I've never faced anything
like this before so, yeah.
NARRATOR: And as Jo and the
medical team wait, time is running out.
In the baggage hall at
Terminal 3, it's the busiest
time of night for incoming passengers.
Customs Officer Hassan Ibrahim
enforces some of the strictest
policies in the world on contraband.
In addition to 14 years' experience, he
has some vital technology on his side,
powerful x-ray scanners.
All x-ray systems show
organic material as orange,
which could mean drugs or explosives.
But this state-of-the-art scanner has
another trick, it can reveal fine detail in
high resolution, crucial
in detecting contraband.
Amongst the steady flow
of incoming passengers,
Hassan is alerted to one of the scanners.
A routine search is
showing suspicious items.
What could look like batteries to the
untrained eye are a red flag to Hassan.
HASSAN: There is five areas that have high
density so we have to open the bag and see it.
NARRATOR: The passenger is
taken to the checking area.
It doesn't take long for the bag
to give up its suspicious items.
HASSAN: A lot of that.
HASSAN: Poker chips
for poker. Forbidden.
HASSAN: As you can see, it's
poker chips. That's not allowed.
Gambling is against
the law, the Muslim law.
He can't enter the
country with these chips.
NARRATOR: Anyone caught actually gambling
in Dubai can end up with a jail sentence or
a hefty fine, over $5,000.
But this time the passenger is lucky.
HASSAN: There is no fines
here, just simply that will
be confiscated from him and destroyed.
NARRATOR: With 170,000 bags passing through
the airport every day, it's not long
before the scanner triggers another alert.
HASSAN: There is the
one passenger now we suspect in his bags.
He just went there behind the glass now.
NARRATOR: Smugglers are
constantly looking for new hiding places.
HASSAN: We have one device.
Some pieces it seems likes organic.
What is device?
MAN: This is old
stamp maker machine.
HASSAN: Stamp maker machine.
MAN: I want to repair it.
HASSAN: It belongs to you?
MAN: No, somebody else.
HASSAN: Somebody else he have
given you this device to repair it?
MAN (off-screen): Repair it. HASSAN
(off-screen): You'll repair it here in Dubai?
MAN: No, no, in India.
HASSAN: You take it where?
MAN: Madagascar.
HASSAN: We want to open it.
MAN (off-screen): Okay.
HASSAN: It's okay with you?
MAN (off-screen): Yeah, yeah.
NARRATOR: There's no obvious reason for
organic material to be inside this machine.
HASSAN (off-screen): Mostly
is coming like illegal drugs.
They like they hide it
in this kind of devices.
And it's dangerous when somebody
tell you, "Somebody give it to me."
It make you suspect in it more and more.
NARRATOR: There is zero tolerance
for drugs-related offenses in Dubai.
Those found in possession risk
the death sentence if caught.
And inside the stamp maker they
find the objects that triggered the alarm.
HASSAN (off-screen): We were
suspecting these 12 pieces.
MAN: These are the batteries.
HASSAN: Batteries, huh? MAN: Mmm
hmm. HASSAN: So, sorry about that.
MAN: No, no sir!
This is your business.
NARRATOR: The 12 suspicious items
turn out to be harmless old batteries.
They contain organic material that
have triggered the x-ray machine.
Hassan's suspicions turn
out to be baseless, but he'd
rather make sure than
let a smuggler through.
HASSAN: It's a false alarm.
This happens sometimes.
But at the end we have to make
sure that everything is okay,
there's nothing to be worried about it.
Have a nice time.
MAN: Thank you.
HASSAN: Welcome.
NARRATOR: It's a
false alarm this time.
But Hassan is alerted to a passenger
transferring from Jordan to Korea
who may not be so innocent.
The ultra-sensitive scanner has
picked up something extraordinary
and possibly life-threatening.
HASSAN: I believe it is
a nine-millimeter bullet.
NARRATOR: Hassan needs
to find out why a passenger is
carrying a nine-millimeter
bullet in his luggage.
HASSAN: You speak English?
MAN: No English.
HASSAN: No English. You are from
Korea. You have somebody with you?
You can translate?
MAN: Hi. Hi.
HASSAN: How are you? This bullet.
MAN: Yeah.
HASSAN: It belongs to him?
MAN: He buy the civilian
material in Amman market
HASSAN: Civilian material. Yeah.
MAN: and he buy the coin
and then some stones
and then buy this one together.
HASSAN: He buy the bullet?
MAN: Yeah, in the
civilian market
because he want make a pendant.
HASSAN: A pendant. But you
know it's a real bullet?
(speaking native language)
NARRATOR: The passenger appears to be unaware
that the bullet he intends to make into
a necklace is actually live ammunition.
HASSAN: I know it's a
real bullet from the back.
It seems not been touched.
100% is real.
Does he have another bullet
or only this one piece?
(speaking native language)
MAN: Just one.
HASSAN: Just one? MAN: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Guns and ammunition
are obviously strictly
prohibited in carry-on baggage.
A bullet exploding in an aircraft at
altitude could cause a catastrophic crash.
Despite the show of innocence,
this is an extremely serious matter.
HASSAN: If you didn't look after
the bullet properly it may be explosive.
Aisha, she have done a good job, because,
as you can see, you have a lot of things
inside his bags, like little
things, like electronic things,
and she found it between them.
And it's hard for the inspector who is
working the x-ray machine to notice that.
NARRATOR: Hassan needs to investigate
further so moves them to his office.
The passenger tries to
make light of the situation.
HASSAN: He say he will
make it as a necklace? MAN: Yeah.
HASSAN: It is dangerous. It
is a real bullet, live bullet.
NARRATOR: But Hassan gets even
more suspicious when he probes
the passenger's professional background.
HASSAN: Does he work
with the military?
(speaking foreign language)
MAN: Yeah.
(speaking in native language)
MAN: He used to.
HASSAN: He was military? MAN: Yeah, yeah.
HASSAN: So he should know better that he
can't carry this security item with him.
MAN: Ah, sorry.
HASSAN: Sulking about,
just please come with us.
NARRATOR: Hassan isn't impressed
by the passenger's show of innocence.
HASSAN: He was in the military, so
he should know better than us that is not
allowed to carry any kind of
weapons or bullets with him,
especially in the aircraft.
He said he will make it as a necklace.
I think it's dangerous
to wear a live bullet.
NARRATOR: Carrying ammunition
on civilian passenger planes
is a potentially serious offense.
HASSAN: Now I will make my report and after
that I will transfer him to the police.
NARRATOR: The passenger is in serious trouble,
but remains adamant that he committed no
more than a simple error of judgement.
MAN: I didn't even know it
was in the bag. My goodness!
MAN: Truly.
MAN: I didn't
even mean to bring it.
I thought it was interesting
and I just put it in my pocket
but somehow it has come along in the bag.
MAN: He never know this become
problem about that bullet.
That is why he become sad.
HASSAN: We're not sure what he will do with
this bullet, on the plane or inside the
country what he will do with it, so he'll
be transferred to the police to complete the
investigation with him and see why the real
reason that he's carrying this bullet with him.
My team have done a good job
and that make me very happy.
NARRATOR: At gate Bravo 14, Jo and the
medical team are waiting for incoming flight
EK776 to dock.
JO: Yeah, just doing it.
MAN: Oh, you will?
NARRATOR: On-board is a passenger
who has suffered a suspected heart attack.
JO: Hi, how are you?
WOMAN: He has a very gripping
pain on the left hand side
and said that he was
feeling the same yesterday.
He was very anxious and sweating.
It was only 20 minutes to
descent when it actually happened.
He said, 'I don't
know if I can make it.'
I was worried that it
might go into cardiac arrest.
JO: Well the medical team,
they'll make an assessment
and we'll get him doctor's attention.
NARRATOR: It's been over 30 minutes since
he alerted the cabin crew and if he's in a
dire situation time could be running out.
Jo can do nothing but wait for the
medical team to administer assistance.
JO: Hi. So, just to let you know, the
medical team are on-board with the passenger.
No CPR, he's on oxygen.
I'll keep you updated.
He's still on-board.
All passengers are
disembarking though, all other passengers.
MAN: We just.
WOMAN (off-screen): On-board wheelchair.
MAN: Yeah.
JO: Wheelchair. Wheelchair.
WOMAN: Yeah, yeah. MAN
(off-screen): Wheelchair? I'll get it.
JO: Just to go from here.
NARRATOR: But as Jo calls for the
wheelchair to evacuate the passenger.
WOMAN: We've just had a call from a
colleague on another medical case at R3.
MAN: R3.
JO: Another medical case? MAN: Yeah.
JO: Do we know anymore information?
What? Nothing else? Fainted?
MAN: She's pale, no she
didn't faint, she's pale
she said she's not
alright so they just put her on the floor.
JO: Okay, I'll get another
medical team. Don't worry I'll get,
NARRATOR: She now has two medical
emergencies on her hands on the same plane.
JO (off-screen):
Hi, it's Jo here.
Hey, Muhammad, I need another
medical team on this aircraft.
There's another sick passenger at R3.
The same aircraft, yeah, R3.
Can you just call another team for me?
Thanks. Thanks. Bye.
NARRATOR: The paramedics take the passenger
to one of the airport's specialist medical
facilities, but the
second emergency unit are still en route.
JO: They'll take you
down to the medical center.
Do you know where the medical team is?
I've got someone else on-board.
WOMAN: Another team is coming. JO: Another
team's coming. Do we know where they are?
NARRATOR: Dubai's emergency units are always
ready to respond at a moment's notice,
but they still need
time to arrive at the gate.
JO: There's someone else that's
just collapsed on-board as well.
MAN: Now?
JO (off-screen): R3.
MAN: Really?
JO: She's on oxygen so, yeah.
MAN: She is the second
one, is that right?
JO: This is two. Yeah,
this is the second one.
NARRATOR: Knowing time is precious,
Jo decides to take the initiative.
JO: Is she responding or not?
Is she sitting up or is
she still on the floor?
WOMAN: She's on the floor.
MAN: She's on the floor.
NARRATOR: The female
passenger seems to be in severe distress.
JO: Just slowly. Right, get one hand
each. Get one of our, one arm each.
Don't do it on your own.
NARRATOR: Like many of Dubai's airport
staff, Jo is trained in basic first aid.
But she's also a highly
skilled people person.
JO: Do you wanna get
one of our hands each?
WOMAN: Yes.
JO: Is that better? Are you sure?
NARRATOR: And she identifies
that the passenger is
in emotional not physical distress.
JO (off-screen):
So do you think.
WOMAN: My dad actually died
and I'm on my way to the funeral.
JO (off-screen): Oh. Okay.
We'll still get you seen by the
medical team before your next flight.
'cause I don't want you.
NARRATOR: Jo knows she needs
to calm the passenger down
and keep her on track
for her connecting flight.
JO: Are you all right if you walk with us
to the front to the medical team or do you
just wanna sit down
for a few more minutes?
WOMAN: I can try.
JO: Do you need
water or something?
This would have to be the scariest thing
I've ever had to deal with in this job.
I have never had a
medical emergency before.
I hope not to get too
many of them in the future.
Words can't explain it.
I just feel numb when I come
to these situations so, yeah.
It was touch and go at the
beginning with the gentleman.
The lady was in a bad way when I first
saw her, but we got a smile out of her so
I was quite relieved with that.
I couldn't have asked for any more.
Look at the time!
MAN: 5:00.
JO: It's 5:00!
You've worked hard tonight.
MAN: And yesterday.
JO: And the day
after. And the day.
NARRATOR:
Network Control Center
is the hub of Emirates
airline operations at Dubai.
GEORG: Engineering make the proposal
to board the economy class passengers,
but we don't wanna do that.
We rather wanna wait 'til
the thumbs is up, yeah?
MAN: Alpha 4.
NARRATOR: They deal with up to 470
incoming and outgoing flights every day.
PETER: Okay, so just confirm,
do you have an engineer with no
headset or you've got
no one for the headset?
MAN (over radio): We've got no
headset and they're just all standing
around doing nothing.
NARRATOR: and their job is to deal with the
inevitable array of issues thrown at them on a
minute-by-minute basis.
GEORG: Bravo Victor was 151 for a
medical offload. Cabin crew fainted.
ABED: Yeah, hi, good morning,
it's Abed from Operations.
NARRATOR: Abed has worked here for 14
years and, like everyone in NCC, he has to
keep a clear head to deal with
and resolve multiple problems.
ABED: It's important to know what you need
to do in case something fails, so everything
is actually on your mind
straightaway, do the changes.
You don't need to think about it,
you need to actually execute your plan.
We haven't actually
boarded the passengers.
NARRATOR: NCC monitors planes
in the air and on the ground.
Out on the tarmac, Emirates
EK77 is in the final stages
of preparations before
its takeoff to Nice.
It's a prestigious flight, taking many
first-class passengers to Monaco Grand Prix
and the Cannes
Film Festival, and it's almost good to go.
WOMAN: They have put the catering on-board
and they are settling everything in and our
customers are coming
in approximately ten minutes time.
NARRATOR: Before the passengers start
boarding, Hassan, who has worked at Dubai as a
Maintenance Engineer for eight
years, must check the plane
to sign it off for technical clearance.
MOHAMED: We are doing
pre-departure inspection.
We are inspecting the aircraft
to release to the next flight.
We want to make sure
that everything is OK.
Everything as per the manual. No
problems, no defects on the aircraft.
We're checking the
fuselage, right-hand wing
right-hand landing gear
and wheels and brakes
and then the whole fuselage.
Then the same, left-hand side.
NARRATOR: It's
a routine check.
Every plane goes through this
meticulous pre-flight examination.
But as he's finishing the inspection he
discovers a leak coming from one of the plane's
wings onto the tarmac.
MOHAMED: We don't know if it's water
or fuel. So we have to go on up and check.
MOHAMED: See the white
line on the wing? MAN: Yeah.
MOHAMED: I need to
reach this area.
NARRATOR: If it's water it's fine, but if
it's fuel it could indicate a serious issue
with one of the plane's engines.
MOHAMED: Yes.
NARRATOR: Hassan puts a call in to NCC
to keep Abed informed of the situation.
ABED: Operations, Abed.
Oh, man.
So, what, do you want
me to hold the boarding?
Ten more minutes.
Okay. Thanks.
So it looks like they are having difficulties,
so what we'll do now, because we're
getting close to the departure
time, we'll hold the boarding.
Nanak? 77, can we hold
the boarding, please?
NARRATOR: With the boarding on
hold, Hassan begins his tests.
MOHAMED: OK, now I wipe it
and I can smell fuel here.
So, have to put some fuel
up to here to check
if it's the same fuel coming
from this panel or not.
NARRATOR: This may be a small leak, but it's
vital to carry out the necessary checks.
The only way he can test the
seal is by pumping fuel into
the 10,000 gallon tank in the wing.
In NCC, Abed knows that if there's a leak
it could have significant ramifications for
the entire network.
ABED: Now, at the moment, we still have an
hour to go, so any aircraft change would be
delaying us because the catering's already
loaded, the aircraft has been cleaned,
the crew are on-board, the security checks
are done, everything is almost ready.
NARRATOR: Changing a plane at this late
stage can have a ripple-like effect that can
delay flights around the world.
NARRATOR: As Abed waits for
news of the fuel leak test,
he's hoping the plane
will still be able to fly.
But out on the tarmac,
Hassan has got bad news.
MOHAMED: Now, where we have the leak beyond
the limit, we are going to ground the aircraft.
MOHAMED: Hi there! Hello!
MOHAMED: This will take a
long procedure. It will not fly today.
ABED: 261 operations, go ahead.
MAN (over radio): Fuel is done
now we'll be ready in five minutes.
ABED: Thank you,
61, that's understood.
Thanks for the update.
MAN (over radio): Thank you. Bye-bye.
ABED: Okay, it's confirmed
now they are unable to fix the aircraft.
The seal is still leaking.
NARRATOR: Abed now has a
problem on his hands, he's got
to locate a replacement plane, and fast.
ABED: So EK77 going to Nice is operating
now at Bravo Juliet which is not good.
We are going to operate
with Echo November Mike,
the aircraft that actually
arrived from Glasgow now.
NARRATOR: There is a plane available
incoming from Glasgow, but using it to fly
the Nice route will inevitably lead
to a whole series of later issues.
GEORG: We are looking at a
pearl string of events because
this is all connected to each other.
If you are talking four hours' delay on one
thing, it means reactionary that they have a
four, three and a half hour
delay on the return again.
NARRATOR: But Abed
doesn't have an option.
This is a prestige flight and
he needs to get it airborne.
ABED: For me, it's all about the game, what
do I do next, where do I change my aircraft
to, what do I change it to and when?
Now we have to actually
co-ordinate with my staff,
with the crew, the ground handling.
It's just endless.
NARRATOR: Under intense pressure,
Abed has to commit to a major decision
and use the Glasgow plane.
ABED: I would have to reschedule
this to go at a realistic time which is,
let's say, two hours from now,
so five, six, seven Zulu.
When I hit the save button here, this will
be published on the Emirates.com website,
on the screens inside the airport.
So one click here will display in thousands
and thousands of different systems
and websites and all
the display screens inside.
Anything that I'm doing I
need to think twice about it.
There's no actual room
for any mistakes here.
Yeah, so this is the Real World Save.
So this has been saved, confirmed now, so
we'll go and call the catering guys and let
them know that we have an aircraft change.
Yes, hi, good morning,
it's Abed from Operations.
NARRATOR: The new
schedule is locked down.
But the replacement plane is at the
other side of the airport and, with the
passengers and crew ready to takeoff, Abed
now has to co-ordinate the reloading of
the entire plane in less than two hours.
ABED: The new aircraft
will be Echo November Mike.
EK77 confirmed aircraft change.
We can start shifting
the cargo and the baggage.
NARRATOR: The decision to change planes has
triggered a massive logistical operation.
The new plane must be cleaned,
refueled and safety checked.
A team of more than 43 people
must now go into overdrive
to move up to 23 tons of cargo
and passenger luggage,
catering, and the whole crew,
over a mile to the new aircraft.
ABED: So now
I'm coordinating.
I've called the crew transport.
They need to send a crew bus.
It's a long distance, so they have to go
and pick up the crew from Gulf ten and take
them all the way to Alpha
two to the new aircraft.
NARRATOR: And all the while, Abed is still
having to keep on top of more than 65 other
departures, which he's
dealing with simultaneously.
ABED: While I'm looking at
this there are so many other
things that I'm thinking
about at the same time.
GEORG: Abed, before you do that ask
Engineering for an ops flash because I haven't
seen anything in writing.
ABED: I have asked
for an ops flash.
And, of course, at the same time I'm talking
to you now, and I'm still monitoring all
the other flights.
You're playing the game and you're still
playing another game at the back of your head
and you're still monitoring the VHF and
you're monitoring also the ongoing flights.
Emirates 424 Operations.
NARRATOR: Out on the apron, the crew and
service team are putting the pieces of Abed's
plan into operation.
After an hour and a half of frantic rearranging,
it looks like the new flight is going
to takeoff in time to make
the checkered flag at Monaco.
WOMAN (off-screen): We are ready for
anything so we did everything we could
and in fast as time as possible, so we
are now good to go soon and Nice we go.
ABED (off-screen): I have
saved approximately 45 minutes,
because we have loaded the aircraft.
If I had left everything to go on to the
last minute, loaded the aircraft, had all the
passengers on-board, didn't think of
plan B, didn't know which aircraft to use,
I would have been doing this
now and I would have delayed
the flight for approximately
three to four hours.
NARRATOR: In Terminal 3, the endless
tide of incoming passengers continues
to flow through customs.
It's a new shift, but Mustafa Ahmed Naqeeb is
relying on the same state-of-the-art scanning
equipment to help him detect contraband.
And he's been called in to investigate
a passenger suspected of carrying
something highly unusual in his luggage.
MUSTAFA: We are going
to the office now to find out this guy.
He is Iranian coming from South America.
(speaking native language)
MUSTAFA: So when he passed through the
custom, they change his route to the x-ray
machine and he scan his bag and our officer
at the scanning machine he suspect on
his bag that he has hiding
place down beneath of the bag.
We have this one just
now we are going to open.
NARRATOR: The hidden
compartment contains plastic bags.
They look like packets of drugs,
but are, in fact, raw, uncut diamonds.
MUSTAFA: You speak English?
MAN: A little.
MUSTAFA: A little. Why you
didn't declare this diamond
when you reached through the custom, yeah?
MAN: I don't know.
My first time bring this.
That's why I tell him I don't have
I have nothing.
MUSTAFA: Yeah and he ask you for declare
but you say you don't have nothing.
MAN: Yes. Yes. MUSTAFA: So
why you hide the diamond this place?
MAN: From another
country I bring.
MUSTAFA: From another country?
MAN: Yes.
MUSTAFA: Okay. Do you
have certificate for this one?
MAN: Now, no.
MUSTAFA: You have invoice?
MAN: No, no.
Nothing. Not now.
MUSTAFA: You don't have
anything, no invoice, no certificate?
NARRATOR: Carrying diamonds from one country
to another is not necessarily illegal.
But trade in raw diamonds has long been
linked to war zones and, to prevent the
trafficking of so-called blood diamonds,
anyone transporting them must carry a document
known as a Kimberley Certificate.
MUSTAFA (off-screen): Kimberley Certificate
you have to bring for the raw diamond.
Where you are going to take this diamond?
MAN: This one I bring
from [South America].
MUSTAFA: Where you are going
to send these diamond?
MAN: To Tehran.
MUSTAFA: To Tehran.
NARRATOR: The UAE was one of the first countries
to sign up to the Kimberley process and
is heavily committed to
upholding its principles.
MUSTAFA: Okay.
You don't have the Kimberley
Certificate, you don't have invoice,
you don't have anything.
How much you buy this one?
MAN: $15,000 US.
This is very cheap.
MUSTAFA: Very cheap.
MAN (off-screen): Yeah.
MUSTAFA: How you
know it's very cheap?
How you know this is very cheap diamond?
You have small pieces
and big pieces, yeah?
MAN (off-screen): Yeah.
MUSTAFA (off-screen):
This is big piece and this is small piece.
MAN (off-screen): Small. MUSTAFA (off-screen):
Small piece, how much you buy it?
MAN: The small one,
very cheap than this.
MUSTAFA: How much
you buy this for?
MAN: About $1,500.
MUSTAFA: Dollar?
MAN: Yeah.
MUSTAFA: Each bag?
MAN: Yes, this one. MUSTAFA: And this?
MAN: This one 800 dollar.
Totally $15,000.
MUSTAFA: Okay.
NARRATOR: Mustafa's job is
as much about reading the
people as it is checking documentation.
All his instincts tell him the figures
he's been quoted simply don't add up.
MUSTAFA: In 15.
Very expensive item and, you know,
this only 600 grams of diamonds, 600.
He said he buy it in $15,0000,
but it's worth more than that.
When it will be cut and analyzing and
everything it's worth maybe $1 million,
maybe more than that.
It depends about the
quality of the rough diamond.
NARRATOR: With the possible penalty for
illegal diamond smuggling up to six months in
prison, Mustafa has no option but to bring
the passenger in for further questioning.
MUSTAFA: We don't know
about his situation just now.
Maybe he got the certificate,
maybe he forget the certificate.
We don't know until tomorrow when
he will go to the legal department
and our investigation office.
They will ask him more information.
NARRATOR: Dubai is one of the world's
busiest hubs for the transportation of cargo.
Over two million tons of
freight pass through every
year and it can come in any form.
CARL: Right, now I'm
on the way to meet an
Emirates Boeing 777 freighter aircraft
which is inbound from Lyon in France.
Part of the cargo today,
we have nine horse stalls,
27 horses coming inbound.
NARRATOR: Carl Knight has been a Ground
Dispatcher at Dubai for over ten years.
His job is to make sure cargo, however
unusual, passes through smoothly.
CARL: I've had many years' experience
in the UK before of dealing with livestock
flights, horses, cattle.
But actually I've not handled a
flight with this many horses on before
so it's a little bit of a, a challenge.
Horses don't particularly
like long journeys by air.
It's quite stressful for them.
NARRATOR: The incoming horse cargo is the
biggest Carl has handled and he's going to be
helped by David Robson, a specialist
horse handler working for the client.
CARL: I'm Carl Knight. I'm gonna
be supervising the offload.
DAVID: Right. Right.
CARL: Of the horses for, for your people.
How much trucks are there?
Can you tell me?
DAVID: Four.
CARL (off-screen): Four trucks?
DAVID: Yeah.
CARL: Okay, four trucks. Great.
NARRATOR: Horseracing is one of the most
popular sports in Arabia and endurance racing in
the desert, known as the sport of a million
steps, has become woven in to Emirati culture.
DAVID (off-screen): We've got
27 endurance horses coming today.
They race over about 120 to
160 kilometers in the desert.
These horses are horses that have been
purchased, so they're new horses, so they'll
stay here for the whole season.
We see a lot more of
the endurance horses coming in here now.
Just a growing sport.
You know, it's grown in the Middle
East, it's grown in Europe as well.
Mainly pure bred Arabian
because they need the stamina
so that they can race
over the longer distances.
We've shipped some of the thoroughbred
horses which have cost anything from about
$1.5 million to about
$3, $4 million for a good,
thoroughbred, flat racing horse.
NARRATOR: Horses are elite
animal cargo and the stakes
for managing them properly are high.
With the plane carrying the horses scheduled
to land in 30 minutes, Carl's priority is to
arrive in good time and make
sure the loading bay is prepared
for the smoothest possible
transit for the precious live cargo.
CARL (off-screen): I wanna try and make
sure this area's pretty clear as well.
NARRATOR: But almost
immediately he smells trouble.
CARL (off-screen): Oh dear, there's
an awful, awful lot of horse boxes here.
Dear, dear, dear, dear, dear.
NARRATOR: The area is cluttered
with surplus horseboxes and they're too
close to the busy airport road.
CARL: An awful lot
of clutter around here.
We need to, we'll need to move
some of these boxes out of the way.
Right, we wanna get a clear
passageway because the horses
have to be taken across this road here.
NARRATOR: Precious live animals
and fast-moving vehicles
add up to a major problem.
CARL: The worst thing is the safety of everybody
crossing, constantly crossing this road,
the traffic here, so we'll just have to be
extremely careful with the maneuvering
of these, of these animals.
I'll have to get a
driver here to move these.
Otherwise we've no room
to put the horseboxes.
We need to move all of these empties.
NARRATOR: With only 20 minutes to clear the
bay before the incoming flight, he's already
up against it when he gets
a call from Flight Control.
MAN (over radio):
Good morning.
EK9768 Charlie four
available in about ten minutes.
CARL: Yep, okay, ten
minutes, copy that.
Thank you very much. Copy that.
Now it's ten minutes to land now, yeah.
It was estimating 4:22.
Now they've said ten minutes to land.
NARRATOR: The flight is early.
He's now got less than ten
minutes to clear the bay.
NARRATOR: With the plane carrying the
horses on the runway, Carl is racing to move
the surplus horseboxes.
He has to work fast.
He wants to be out of the
way when the horses arrive.
CARL: I wouldn't say I'm
confident around horses.
They can be a bit unpredictable.
I've gone up to many to stroke
a horse and find it wants
to take your hand off or kick you.
I won't be offering a hand of
friendship to any of them particularly.
The grooms are there.
They're the experts.
If they need anything they can
come to me and ask for any support.
But as far as actually physically handling
them, once they come out of the horsebox
I'm not getting involved.
DAVID: Hello boys.
NARRATOR: He's relying
on David Robson to oversee the unloading.
DAVID: They're looking good.
They seem to have traveled well.
They seem perky.
The boys have said they've drank quite a
bit, which is always a good sign 'cause you
don't want them dehydrating.
You can see their hay
nets are fairly empty.
They're looking well. They're carrying
their heads quite high, which is nice.
Eyes are looking bright.
All good? Horses traveled well?
MAN (off-screen): Good
to see you. Yes, all good.
DAVID: Yeah?
MAN (off-screen): They did drink a lot.
CARL: All done good? All good?
DAVID: Drink a lot. Yeah.
CARL: We'll go straight ahead
with the offloading and get them off.
NARRATOR: The challenge is to transport the
horses from the plane into waiting horse
trucks using a specialist
piece of equipment, a rolling horsebox.
Each one is designed to carry
three horses on the seven-hour flight.
Weighing as much as three tons, each horsebox
has to be lowered over 18 feet to the
ground using a hydraulic loader.
The horses are accompanied in the
boxes by grooms to keep them calm.
Bespoke engineering
ensures very smooth movement,
avoiding any upset to the precious cargo.
(whistling)
As the horses are moved across the busy
airport road to the waiting horse trucks,
Carl does his best to overcome
his fear of the live animals.
CARL: Hello! Hello,
hello, hello, hello!
Come on then. Come on
then. Come on. I know.
I know, I know. I know.
Do you want my radio?
Huh!
NARRATOR: Clearly uncomfortable,
Carl decides to take a backseat.
CARL: I'll give them a little bit of a berth
'cause they're a bit unpredictable at times.
They scare me to death, actually.
Anyway, we've got a
steady stream of horses waiting to go now.
Should all be finished in
20, 30 minutes no problem.
NARRATOR: As Carl watches from a safe
distance, David thoroughly inspects each horse
for injury or markings.
Emirates' aim is to
deliver all cargo in perfect condition.
Even the slightest damage to these expensive
animals would be considered a failure.
DAVID: Just make sure there's no cuts,
no bruises, the legs all looking good,
no swelling on the legs, and
then, you know, horse looking
good, he's looking bright.
(whistling)
NARRATOR: But just as it seems all is going
smoothly, the dolly jams on the rolling
tracks and Carl has no option but
to get stuck in to help get it moving.
CARL: It's not coming fully onto the dolly
so we're gonna put it back on and give it up.
There's three horses on here.
Go on.
These horses are probably anything between
800 and 1,200 kilos, so you can say you're
looking at three tons plus, three and a
half tons maybe with the horse stall itself,
so if it becomes stuck it's
not easy to manhandle that.
NARRATOR: The horses are at
their most vulnerable whilst in the box.
If the horses get distressed they can
easily hurt themselves and moving them out
runs the risk of injury.
The only option is to fix the
mechanics as fast as possible.
CARL: Hassan, do you
wanna change the dolly?
HASSAN: No.
CARL: No?
It was all going so smoothly but it's,
it's just it's not quite square,
that's the problem.
NARRATOR: As Carl works
out how to fix the dolly,
David knows he must keep the horses calm.
If they get upset they could try to
break out of the horsebox and the whole
operation would unravel fast.
DAVID: They get a bit nervous
sometimes with the movement and the noise.
So we just reassure
them everything's okay.
CARL: There you go.
There you go.
It just wasn't, it just
wasn't square on to the unit,
so it was becoming, it was
grinding on the side of the, the dolly.
So that's it, last of the horses.
Everything went as it should
do, the horses were in good spirits,
they're healthy and end
of another successful flight.
DAVID: Good service
as always. Yeah.
CARL: Yeah,
thank you very much.
Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services