Ultimate Airport Dubai (2013) s03e07 Episode Script
Episode 27
1
NARRATOR: In this episode,
Mel tackles a suspicious passenger.
MEL: If we find at any
stage that this passport has been forged,
he could end up in prison.
NARRATOR: In the newly-built Concourse
D, project delivery manager Myles
faces his toughest test yet.
MYLES: Fire department response
time is totally out of our control.
NARRATOR: And Ground Dispatcher
Gemma deals with one
of the airport's tightest turnarounds.
GEMMA: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
NARRATOR: Dubai International Airport,
the busiest global hub on the planet.
Staying on top takes a crack team.
PHIL: No one else in
the world is doing it,
but everybody else in the
world is watching us.
MEL: We have births,
we have deaths.
The whole spiel.
HASSAN: It is very
dangerous, because it can expose any time.
MYLES: This concourse
will help Dubai Airports stay number one.
NARRATOR: It's the job
of 90,000 staff, from all over the world,
to make this the ultimate airport.
100,000 passengers and 200 tons of cargo
from six continents touch down
at Dubai International every single day.
And when the whole world comes to
you, you never know what to expect next.
In Terminal Three, Airport Services Manager
Mel has been alerted to some trouble
with transferring passengers.
JEMAL (off-screen): The police
are present at the gate, right?
MEL: My colleague just received a
call to say that there was quite a few
disruptive passengers
downstairs in one of our transfer desks.
JEMAL: The police and some of
the staff are also involved.
MEL (off-screen): Okay.
NARRATOR: Passengers on a delayed flight
from Kuwait have missed their connection
to Casablanca, sparking angry scenes.
MAN: Give me First Class
or give me a flight that departs soon.
MEL (off-screen): My ultimate job here is
to protect the safety of both passengers,
and staff as well.
NARRATOR: The connection was already tight,
with only 20 minutes between flights.
The delay meant
21 people missed the flight to Casablanca.
MEL: Obvious decision
here is to misconnect those passengers,
and rebook them on another flight.
MAN (off-screen): We
can put you in a hotel.
MAN: We're exhausted, we don't
want to leave the airport.
NARRATOR: Most have agreed
to go on the next flight.
But one family of five are refusing.
MAN: The four hours
we've been here
and the money we've spent
has all been wasted.
NARRATOR: Instead, they now want to be
flown First Class via a stopover in Milan,
a trip that would cost
the airline over $20,000.
MEL: Their demands
are to travel to Milan and stay in Milan,
and they won't get to
Casablanca until tomorrow.
That's too far stretched for us, when we
have a flight within the next six hours.
MAN: You don't care about us
you just want to save money,
even if it means we suffer.
NARRATOR: Airport authorities
attempt to calm the passengers down.
MEL (off-screen): The authorities
are involved; the police are on standby.
We've got Dubai Airports involved.
NARRATOR: But these passengers
are not taking no for an answer.
MAN: Put us in a hotel and
put us in First Class.
MEL: I heard a mention
of First Class for the outbound flight.
That's not gonna happen.
MAN (off-screen): I
want to fly First Class.
MEL: No, you're not
getting first class.
MALE: Okay.
MEL: We've discussed this already.
It seems like the mindset is, First
Class, First Class or nothing else.
NARRATOR: Mel has a
standoff on her hands.
MALE: First Class.
MEL: Discussions are not
really going anywhere.
We've handled 150 missed
connections this morning.
These passengers have taken up
a lot of time from the staff.
We've given you an option.
NARRATOR: Mel decides
to offer a compromise.
MAN: The best thing we can do for you is
to put you in the Business Class lounge.
NARRATOR: The angry, stranded group
will be upgraded, but only on the ground.
MEL: We don't normally put facilitate
passengers in Business Class lounges,
or First-Class lounges, but on this
occasion, I think it's quite necessary.
It's involved, and they
all seem to be smiling,
so we obviously have done our job here.
NARRATOR: Mel's placated
the passengers without costing the airline
tens of thousands of dollars.
MALE: How are you?
MEL: You look happy.
MALE: Yes. Thanks.
NARRATOR: But at the gate,
she's alerted to an issue
with a different passenger,
also flying to Casablanca.
MAHMOUD: Okay, where is
your visa to Morocco?
NARRATOR: Staff check all visas before
departure, as the airline is responsible
for the cost of returning
passengers without the correct paperwork.
WOMAN: When I checked, the visa
was for another country, not our flight,
not for Casablanca.
NARRATOR: This man doesn't
have the correct paperwork,
and Mel's ground team are suspicious.
WOMAN (off-screen): First he was confused,
he was, like, "I'm going to Casablanca only."
MEL: Well done. Good job.
But he's not going anywhere now.
NARRATOR: A visa may not be
the only thing this passenger lacks.
Staff now suspect his
passport isn't genuine.
MEL: So, his
whole-body language has changed, actually.
It's very evident that the gentleman
is becoming a little bit nervous now.
It's huge.
NARRATOR: Traveling on a fake
passport is a serious offense,
and could land this passenger in jail.
Out on the stands, Line Maintenance
Engineer Andy drives 50 miles a day,
but never leaves the airport.
He's on his way to an urgent repair on
a Triple Seven due to depart for Madrid.
ANDY (off-screen): I'm on my
way down, now, to the aircraft,
and we're looking at an
igniter plug change.
A bit like changing the spark
plug on your car engine,
but there's lethal voltages involved.
It's almost 8:30 in the morning,
and it's due out at 2:15 this afternoon.
NARRATOR: Airlines operate
on precision schedules.
This plane takes off in six
hours, and it must be fixed in time.
ANDY: There's two spark
plugs on a jet engine.
If they're not working, then you
won't be able to start the engine.
NARRATOR: It's a big job, so
Andy's joined by fellow engineer, Leigh.
ANDY: Slats are okay,
reverse as well.
LEIGH: Okay, all right, so.
NARRATOR: It's his job to prepare
the kit the pair need for this fix.
LEIGH: I've got all the spanners
and the power parts we're gonna need,
cause they take a bit of getting out.
WESLEY: We had a tow
planned at 10:30, yeah?
NARRATOR: In Network Control, Operations
Manager Wesley is gambling that Leigh
and Andy will get this job done on time.
It'll take three hours to prepare
a new plane, so if he waits,
and Leigh and Andy can't fix
this one, he's risking a huge delay.
WESLEY: Flight's scheduled to go at 14:15,
which is in our second peak of the day,
and those flights
are critical, we need to get those moving,
because that affects
the night wave, as well.
NARRATOR: But on the ground, Andy
and Leigh aren't expecting an easy fix.
LEIGH: The spark plug, or the igniter,
as we call it, it screws into a housing,
which then screws into the engine.
If we can't get the spark
plug out of the housing, that then, there,
is a bit of a problem for us.
ANDY (off-screen): This is
dockyard stuff, this is brutal.
This is where you gotta be
Popeye to get this thing out.
So, we need the power bar.
LEIGH (off-screen): Power bar.
EROS: Want to be 138.
LEIGH: So, we need a
one and three eighth. Okay.
NARRATOR: This is a specialist
job that requires specialist kit.
LEIGH (off-screen): Yeah,
it's a closed foot.
It's a spanner end, but you
can put it on a ratchet.
NARRATOR: And after rooting
around, it emerges they haven't got it.
LEIGH: The guys, the mechanics
here, only carry tools up to an inch.
So, anything bigger than an inch
we have to get from the stores.
NARRATOR: Work has
ground to a halt.
ANDY: We've stopped, we can't take the
spark plug out without the correct tool.
NARRATOR: The engineering
stores keep more than six million parts,
from the tiniest screw,
up to a jet engine.
But it's on the other side of the airport.
And Leigh's going to have
to battle to get there.
All vehicles used to service aircraft
share the one busy perimeter road,
where the speed limit is
just 15 miles an hour.
LEIGH (off-screen):
It's the traffic.
You got all the slow-moving
cargo handling stuff,
with all the dollies and all the baggage.
You got all the cabling struts.
It could easily be a half hour drive
there, and a half hour drive back.
NARRATOR: In Network Control, Wesley is
also keeping a keen eye on their progress.
If this plane isn't fixed in time
for Flight EK143 to take off,
there'll be serious repercussions.
WESLEY: If we have to change aircrafts
for this EK143, it will be recorded,
and there will be an
investigation done afterwards,
and someone will be held accountable.
NARRATOR: There couldn't be a worse
time for Leigh to get stuck in traffic.
LEIGH: Now, this could seriously
impact whether we can do the task or not.
NARRATOR: Back inside Terminal three, a man
has been stopped from boarding a flight to
Casablanca, as airline staff
suspect he's traveling on a fake passport,
a serious criminal offense.
MEL: If we find, at any stage,
that this passport has been forged,
our simple procedure is
to offload the passenger from the system,
and hand it over to the authorities.
NARRATOR: Terminal Manager
Mahmoud is grilling the man.
The passenger's booking history has raised
suspicions that he's bought his documents
off people smugglers, and is planning
to illegally enter the United States.
MAHMOUD: He's saying, I'm
going to Sao Paulo to work.
But these people, they go to Sao Paulo
from Sao Paulo they will
try to smuggle into America.
MEL (off-screen): There's several
journeys that this gentleman has booked.
Some to Bogota, some to Sao
Paolo, one to Casablanca.
Sometimes the passenger
himself may not know where he's going.
He's been handed several tickets.
NARRATOR: If the passport is forged, the man's
identity and even nationality are in doubt.
MAHMOUD: We'll check the
documents and we'll find out
what nationality he is exactly.
MEL (off-screen): If it's a forged
document then it is a very serious offense.
It is a case whereby
he's tried to illegally enter a country.
He could end up in prison.
NARRATOR: The passenger is
taken to the Deportee lounge.
False passports are seen as a
major threat to Dubai's security,
and using one is a serious offense.
MAHMOUD: This passport has been
confirmed by immigration that it is
forged.
First of all the texture.
When you touch the passport, you'll know.
The second thing, the
stamps are totally fake.
NARRATOR: One of the stamps
is for a country that doesn't exist.
If the man has been traveling
illegally, he may have just bought himself
a one-way ticket to a Dubai jail.
Protecting passenger safety
is staff's greatest concern.
Over in Concourse D, it's a critical milestone
for Project Delivery Manager Myles Jones.
A make or break fire drill.
The concourse has been constructed
to meet ever-increasing demand at the
airport, and keep Dubai the
number one international hub in the world.
MYLES: Anybody standing on this piece of
carpet with me, here, will be staying here.
Everyone else has to evacuate.
NARRATOR: The building work is nearly
complete, but before any of the potential
18 million annual passengers
can come through the door,
one vital safety trial must be met.
MYLES: The fire alarm is really one
of the most critical systems in every
building, and for an airport,
it has to work perfectly.
NARRATOR: Today, the
main atrium will be filled with smoke,
to simulate a fire emergency.
MYLES (off-screen): Today is
critical for the handover of the building.
We need to put this into
operation, and to be able
to have passengers and staff in here.
At the end of the day, everything
can look glamorous, and be finished,
but without a fire
certificate, nobody can come in here.
MAN (off-screen): How you doing?
HAYDEN: Keeping all right?
All good?
NARRATOR: The airport's Chief
Fire Officer, Hayden Baynon,
is the man who decides whether
the building passes, or fails.
HAYDEN: We need to ensure that the actual
systems within the building activate
in accordance with their design.
NARRATOR: Smoke, not fire, is the
biggest danger in a crowded airport.
As well as the risk of smoke
inhalation, it can impede an evacuation.
So, for this trial, the atrium will be
completely filled with synthetic smoke,
made from oil and carbon dioxide.
It's not harmful if breathed in, but is
otherwise identical to the real thing.
MYLES: We're really gonna push the system,
and this atrium will pretty much be filled up
with smoke to a point where you won't
be able to see from one end to the other.
NARRATOR: Stage
one of the trial.
Once the alarm sounds, smoke
ventilation windows must open
automatically within three minutes.
MYLES (off-screen): The building's
been designed for certain windows to open,
let fresh air in, and
let the smoke go out.
Now, if that doesn't
happen, we got a problem.
NARRATOR: This is not the time to discover
Concourse D has a serious design flaw.
MYLES: It has to happen, because we can't
exactly just go and change the building
design right now, at the
last stage of the job.
NARRATOR: Stage two.
If the airport's own fire crew
doesn't respond in time,
their boss Hayden won't grant
the fire safety certificate.
HAYDEN: Within five minutes
of the alarm sounding,
our team have to arrive
into this building.
If the crew does not arrive within
the five minutes, we will fail the trial.
NARRATOR: Finally,
stage three.
The building's ceiling exhaust fans have just
ten minutes to clear the atrium of smoke.
MYLES (off-screen): These fans
above us will start opening up the hatches
and sucking out the smoke.
NARRATOR: Myles is desperate
for Concourse D to pass today's trial.
MYLES (off-screen): Any failure to
this will mean a delay in the opening.
Dubai does not fail.
Everyone, can we just come around
here, so we can just do our briefing?
NARRATOR: Staff
are standing by.
The fire trial is about to begin.
In the next ten minutes, years of hard work
and weeks of planning could go up in smoke.
MYLES: The pass or fail
here is the ten minutes.
We need the smoke to be gone
within a ten-minute period.
It's gonna work.
MAN: Am I good to go?
MAN (off-screen):
Okay, I'll see.
MYLES (off-screen):
Yeah, we're already now.
HAYDEN: Yeah? The important thing is,
we'll sign off if everything goes to plan.
If it doesn't, then we won't.
NARRATOR: The smoke
machine starts.
Myles is about to discover if this
billion-dollar project can open on schedule.
MYLES (off-screen): Nervous
is an understatement.
It's gonna work.
It's gotta work.
NARRATOR: The ultimate
airport is facing the ultimate fire drill.
Synthetic smoke is being pumped
into the newly-built Concourse D.
MYLES: Building is filling up with smoke,
you can see we're covered in smoke,
surrounding us totally.
NARRATOR: To test the systems to the
max, the sprinklers have been deactivated,
and the fire alarm
delayed until the atrium is full of smoke.
VOICE (over loudspeaker): Please
leave the building immediately.
NARRATOR: Inside the fire
station, the alarm sounds.
Fire fighters, including
rookies Abdulrahman and Yared, scramble.
From now on, this trial
is against the clock.
The ventilation windows
open automatically,
easily inside the required
three-minute deadline.
MYLES: The shadows have
gone down; the curtains have gone down.
NARRATOR: But this success will count for
nothing if the airport's fire service can't
prove they can be on
site in five minutes, ready for action.
MYLES: Yeah, the fire department response
time is totally out of our control,
and it could still
be a failure if they don't come on time.
NARRATOR: But, like engineers
Leigh and Andy, they too have to rush to
the concourse using the busy
airside perimeter road.
(siren)
The fire service are in the building.
MYLES: Here they come.
(siren)
MYLES: Within two and a half minutes they're
here, so it's a pretty good response time.
NARRATOR: The response
has to be real, even if the fire is not.
As the deadline looms closer,
there's just one big obstacle
between Myles and his fire
safety certificate.
A large amount of smoke
that's still not clearing.
Is this a sign of a serious building
design fault Myles has been dreading?
MYLES: Well, we got about
another six minutes left.
NARRATOR: Everything rests on
the four ceiling exhaust fans.
They must remove the smoke within ten
minutes, or the trial will be a failure.
MYLES (off-screen):
What do you reckon?
HAYDEN: There's not
a lot of draw there.
NARRATOR: Myles has noticed one
fan doesn't appear to be working properly,
and unfortunately, so has the fire chief.
HAYDEN: I would expect to see
that drawing a lot quicker than that.
MYLES: It's almost like it's.
HAYDEN: Look at those.
They're fine down that end.
MYLES (off-screen): Yeah.
Really, those fans really have
to suck all this smoke out.
NARRATOR: It's touch and go.
One failing fan is putting the
whole opening under threat.
HAYDEN: If this fan's
not working, we'll have to fail the trial.
MYLES: I did wanna see
the smoke go quicker.
We got two minutes left.
NARRATOR: Even if the fan can be fixed quickly,
it will take up to three weeks to organize
another fire drill and run it again.
A logistical nightmare.
HAYDEN: Where we up to?
MYLES (off-screen): One minute left.
NARRATOR: Myles tries
everything to secure the result he needs.
MYLES (off-screen): Oh
yeah, you can see it.
It is clear enough to
be able to see where you're going, and.
NARRATOR: But time is up.
It's the moment of truth.
HAYDEN: As far as today's
exercise is concerned, this is a pass.
MYLES: Ah, that's good.
HAYDEN (off-screen): We were not sure whether
one of the fans was actually working properly,
but I think it was mainly because
we were in the bulk area where
the majority of the smoke was.
NARRATOR: Rookie fire fighters Abdulrahman
and Yared are there to celebrate.
ABDULRAHMAN (off-screen):
It was amazing.
We worked well as a team.
Finally, being able to put what we
learnt into practice is very satisfying.
NARRATOR: After a tense
test, Project Delivery Manager Myles
will get his fire safety certificate.
MYLES: This pass today
means that we're on schedule for opening.
It was a perfect result.
I couldn't ask for anything more.
NARRATOR: After a 45-minute
round trip to the engineering parts store,
Leigh has finally returned.
But this vital igniter
plug change is now way behind schedule.
ANDY: Leigh's back now with the
parts, so I'm just gonna go over there,
we're gonna pick him up, and then
we'll start putting them on the engine.
NARRATOR: In Network Control,
Wesley is monitoring their progress,
and can see that the plane's
departure gate is empty.
WESLEY: If these flights start going,
you can have consecutive delays.
If we have one delay,
it affects the next one.
NARRATOR: Despite the delay to the work,
Wesley is sending a tow truck to take the plane
to the gate in time for
its scheduled departure.
It's now up to Andy and Leigh to
get the job finished before it arrives.
ANDY: Now we're
against the clock.
We've got 15 minutes to accomplish
this before they need to tow the plane.
LEIGH (off-screen):
Okay, you're. EROS (off-screen): Yeah.
LEIGH: You're going up, yeah?
EROS: Yeah.
LEIGH: As you can see,
it's not going in.
The igniter plug is actually
extremely difficult to get out,
and it's not coming out easy.
It's probably ceased in
the housing slightly.
NARRATOR: Even in the advanced
world of aircraft engineering,
sometimes brute strength is required.
LEIGH: Just keep
going at it. Ah.
ANDY (off-screen): You crack it?
LEIGH (off-screen): Yeah.
ANDREW (off-screen): Okay.
LEIGH (off-screen): Bit of pain.
ANDY (off-screen):
You all right?
LEIGH (off-screen):
Yeah, it's out.
Burst a blood vessel.
NARRATOR: The old
igniter plug is out,
but getting the new one in
is a more exact science.
It must be fitted
with a precise torque of 270 inch-pounds.
LEIGH: We do it up too tight, the
next guy'll have a mission impossible.
If we do it up and the torque is too
low, then it could always become loose,
and it won't do what it needs to do.
You know, at the end of the day the combustion
chamber is where the heat's generated,
so having this rattling around is
not gonna be any good for the engine.
NARRATOR: A torque wrench must be used
to ensure the precise pressure is applied.
EROS (off-screen): This
hand is 380, so we might need an adapter.
NARRATOR: And once again, the
job requires a specialist tool that they
don't have with them.
LEIGH: We haven't
got an adapter.
EROS: Oh, la la.
LEIGH: Not having a good day.
EROS: No. No.
NARRATOR: The missing kit means
the fix grinds to a halt once more.
Just as the tow truck Wesley has
sent arrives, expecting a fixed plane.
WESLEY: Just wanna confirm
that this, bravo echo,
this plan for a tow is
actually ready to go.
NARRATOR: A delay
looks inevitable.
LEIGH (off-screen): You got a
three eight to half inch step?
MAN: Ok, a three
eight to a half.
LEIGH: That, to that.
If you have, I'll buy you lunch.
NARRATOR: Until Leigh's
aircraft technician comes to the rescue.
LEIGH: Thankfully my trusted technician
here, who doesn't have to carry this tool,
has actually got one, so he's just
saved us about another 40 minutes.
ANDY: Yeah, we're getting
very close to the wire here.
LEIGH (off-screen): We
gotta get our skates on.
So, we're just torqueing up
the igniter plug, that's all.
And that little click
is the torque making.
NARRATOR: Andy and Leigh
have yet to finish the job.
LEIGH: So, we get a bit of a
spurt on to get rid of everything.
NARRATOR: But Network
Control are gambling the fix will work,
and are towing the plane as scheduled.
LEIGH: We'll close up, and
we'll do the ground run at the gate.
Well, we need to test the igniter
on the engine, because it was a fault,
to be certain that we fixed it.
ANDY: Towing always
has priority over what we need to do.
NARRATOR: Wesley is piling the
pressure on Leigh and Andy.
WESLEY: Cause we have only ten tugs
available to maneuver these aircraft around,
so it is critical that they go as planned.
NARRATOR: The pair must now
do what every engineer dreads.
Test repairs at the busy gate, where
conditions are a lot harder to control.
ANDY: Worst case scenario,
a person gets injured
or killed by being sucked into the engine.
NARRATOR: Engineers Leigh and Andy are
about to start the world's most powerful
passenger jet engine while still parked at
the stand, something that's usually only
done during pushback,
due to the large safety exclusion zone
needed around the engines.
ANDY: You're gonna
run the engine. LEIGH: Yeah.
ANDY: where do you want Eros?
LEIGH: Eros can go on the headset, or
he can come up on the flight deck with me.
NARRATOR: The pair have changed the igniter
plug in a triple seven due to depart for
Madrid in two hours, but they've
no idea if the engine will start.
ANDY: We wanna quickly get this done before
anybody else shows up to load bags or
anything on this plane.
NARRATOR: With over 100,000 pounds of thrust,
and the ability to suck in 1.8 tons of
air a second, the GE90 is the
big beast of aviation engines.
Testing one in a busy airport means Leigh
and Andy must be at the top of their game.
ANDY: You need total situational
awareness whilst you're out on the ramp,
there's just so many things
happening all around you.
NARRATOR: A 350-foot exclusion zone needs
to be in place to prevent ground crew being
sucked into the engines, and
that's not the only risk.
ANDY: We can't run an engine
with catering trucks in place.
As you can see, they're very tall structures,
and the jet blast from behind the engine
will just blow it right over.
NARRATOR: Leigh and Andy must get
special permission to start the engines,
and clear the immediate area.
ANDY (off-screen): We got one
vehicle on one side to block the traffic,
but traffic is still coming round
behind the back of the aircraft,
so I'm gonna ask the
other mechanic to take my
truck onto this side of the
aircraft to block both sides.
NARRATOR: Finally, the safety exclusion zone
is in place, and Leigh and Andy can find
out if they've successfully
fixed the aircraft.
LEIGH: We're gonna
do two starts.
We're gonna run for four
minutes, shut down,
because we have two channels
that control the engine.
We have channel A and channel B.
NARRATOR: The engine has
to start on both tests,
or this plane isn't going anywhere today.
WESLEY: If the engine run fails, we
could be looking at an aircraft change,
so we're just waiting for
the outcome from engineering.
LEIGH: Okay Andy, go ahead.
ANDY: Okay, our vehicle's
in position, uh, whenever you get the nod.
LEIGH: We've already
got permission from the tower to go.
NARRATOR: Test one begins.
The engine starts, and with
the exclusion zone in place,
the focus now shifts to Leigh.
LEIGH (off-screen): We
have other engineers in the flight deck.
They have a terrible habit of putting their
hands on the throttles when they're leaning
over, and all they need to do is
suddenly slip, and if I accelerate then,
it will accelerate extremely quickly.
If I were to do that, we would suddenly find
ourselves, one, the left wing would hit the
building, we would be facing another
direction, we'd probably burst into flames.
NARRATOR: Leigh keeps
his throttle in check.
And the first test is a success.
LEIGH: The engine
is spooling down.
NARRATOR: But it
needs to be repeated.
ANDY: We're now gonna start it
again, and run it on the other system.
NARRATOR: Even with
the pushback deadline fast approaching,
and passengers and crew waiting
to board, this test can't be rushed.
LEIGH: Put the fuel in,
nothing's happening.
The engine won't start until the temperature
of the exhaust gas gets below 100 degrees.
This is to stop the chance of the
engine going too hot when it starts.
Nothing will happen
until it gets below that.
NARRATOR: Two digital channels
can start the engine from the cockpit.
One now works, but if the spare
fails, the plane will have to be changed,
meaning misery for the passengers.
WESLEY: If we have to change aircraft
at this stage, we will likely be looking
at a lengthy delay.
We'll be looking at three hours.
NARRATOR: With time
fast running out,
the engine is finally cool
enough for a second test.
LEIGH (off-screen):
Temperature's now below 100,
so we should see the fuel go on shortly.
Fuel's going in.
And we're good to go.
Start the second.
Yeah, and we look like we've got it.
We've had two good starts.
It's all good, so we can clear the defect.
NARRATOR: The second
test is also a success.
The repair has worked.
The engines are operational.
LEIGH: We're clear on status,
so I'm gonna shut down.
We clear downstairs?
ANDY (over radio): Clear to
shut down. Thank you.
LEIGH: Okay,
shutting down one.
NARRATOR: The plane is finally fully
functional, just in time for takeoff.
LEIGH: Thank you very
much. Thank you.
ANDY (off-screen): Traffic's all
freely flowing, we've finished,
and we're releasing the
aircraft now back to service.
NARRATOR: Andy and Leigh hit their
departure deadline by a matter of minutes.
WESLEY (off-screen): Excellent.
So, it looks like we'll be
good to go to Madrid on time.
NARRATOR: Dubai International
has no noise restrictions at night.
Planes land 24 seven, and
after dark, the airport is at its busiest.
Tonight, Gemma Taylor is taking
on the job that no dispatcher wants.
With just 80 minutes from landing to
takeoff, this plane from Nairobi has one of
the quickest scheduled turnarounds
of any that touches down in Dubai.
GEMMA: Just keep me
updated as to the baggage.
I believe there's 12 units.
NARRATOR: And it's
arrived 20 minutes late.
Gemma now has an hour
to do a job that usually takes 80 minutes,
but she's still feeling confident.
GEMMA (off-screen): The
baggage won't take very long to come off.
The heavy load is cargo,
so it's more like a
cargo aircraft than a passenger aircraft.
Hello.
MAN (off-screen):
Morning. How are you?
GEMMA: How are you?
MAN (off-screen): Good.
NARRATOR: Now, one of
Gemma's two crucial unloading vehicles,
called transporters, hasn't shown
up, meaning it will take twice as long.
GEMMA: We need the
two transporters,
cause it's a lot quicker to
offload the forward and aft.
NARRATOR: But if Gemma starts
unloading with just one transporter,
even that has huge consequences.
To unload safely at speed, the cargo
needs to come off the front and the back
of the plane simultaneously.
GEMMA (off-screen): If too much weight is
removed from the forward hold before the aft,
you can sometimes tip the aircraft.
NARRATOR: Tracking down the missing transporter
is made even harder by another issue.
Peak time radio traffic
makes it hard to get the message across.
GEMMA: Only got one high
low down, one transporter, at the moment.
That didn't work.
The radios are terrible tonight.
Fabio, are you on your way to the bay?
(radio chatter).
NARRATOR: Gemma finally gets
through to Operations Control.
(radio chatter).
GEMMA: Thank you.
NARRATOR: Her missing
transporter can't come soon enough,
as the cargo on this flight cannot
be kept waiting in the hot desert night.
GEMMA (off-screen): Just
over 20 tons of flowers coming off today.
They are perishable.
It's a little warm tonight, so we need
to get them in a chilled environment
as quickly as possible.
NARRATOR: It's the 12th of February, and
these flowers should be in the shops of
Dubai for Valentine's Day.
GEMMA: It's a larger amount of
cargo to arrive on a passenger flight than
we normally expect, so it's
gonna be a challenge.
NARRATOR: With her perishable cargo
in peril, Gemma finally catches a break.
GEMMA (off-screen): This is, hopefully,
my second transporter, that's turning up.
NARRATOR: Her equipment is in
place, but Gemma's next problem is lurking
in the hold of the plane.
GEMMA: Because there's so many flowers coming
today, they've had to put extra pieces into
the bulk cargo, and the small
hold at the back of the aircraft,
so these pieces have to
be manually offloaded, one at a time.
NARRATOR: Manually unloading will take much
longer, and 15 minutes into the offload,
more fresh cargo gives
Gemma fresh headaches.
GEMMA: There are some units that are stuck,
they need some extra manpower to pull them.
NARRATOR: Meaning Gemma's already tight
schedule just hit another major setback.
NARRATOR: Aircraft engineer
Leigh is still on shift, and his next job
is a world away from fixing a jet engine.
LEIGH: We've got
a toilet blockage.
It's a bit of a strange job, actually.
You do go from extremely complex
tech tasks, to ridiculously low-tech.
NARRATOR: Regular clearing
of blocked toilets in aircraft
has taught Leigh to expect the unexpected.
LEIGH (off-screen): We have a
lot of surprises in the toilets.
Even though there's stickers on the toilet
saying not to throw waste down there,
we get babies' bottles,
we've had a blanket, nappies.
NARRATOR: Around half of all aircraft toilet
blockages clear themselves in midflight,
helped by the difference in air
pressure between the plane and outside.
LEIGH: There's a
valve in the toilet.
The other side of that valve is outside
air pressure, which is extremely low.
Obviously, the inside of the aircraft
is nearly, you know, ten, 11 psi,
which is nearly atmospheric
pressure, so when you open that valve,
the high pressure inside the aircraft
forces whatever's in the toilet bowl
down into the waste tank.
NARRATOR: But Leigh's not
been lucky this time around.
LEIGH: Oh. Would appear that
it's well and truly blocked.
The tube that the waste
goes down is only, sort of, two inches,
that's five centimeters,
in diameter, so it's not a big tube.
What we can do is, it's quite a neat little
trick, we get a very long, clear hose,
we run it from the toilet on the
opposite side of the airplane,
and then put the hose in there, and we use
the vacuum from that toilet to suck the
waste out of this toilet.
The hoses are out.
The hose turned up.
It was about a meter and a half long,
which leaves us about four meters short.
NARRATOR: Leigh now
has a simple choice.
Completely replace the toilet in time
for the plane to depart in seven hours,
or use a low-tech solution.
LEIGH (off-screen): Here's
a tool I made earlier.
And, which basically means we're gonna
scoop it out, sort of a precision tool.
Mm, lovely. Lovely jubbly.
Now it starts to smell.
I need another bottle,
I need it cut smaller.
It's just a lot of tissue
been thrown down in there.
NARRATOR: He might be a highly qualified
engineer, but it's dealing with jobs like this
that earn Leigh the respect of the crew.
MAN: Leigh is the gutsiest person on
the line, dealing with these situations.
Look at that.
The legend at work.
LEIGH (off-screen):
You have water on?
MAN: Water on.
NARRATOR: Even in the glamorous
world of international aviation.
LEIGH: Sweet music.
NARRATOR: sometimes you've
got to get your hands dirty.
LEIGH (off-screen): I've probably
cleared thousands of toilets.
One or two a week.
I am a toilet expert.
(toilet flushing)
NARRATOR: There's
a sweeter smelling blockage on the stands.
Dispatcher Gemma and her team have got a
pallet of fresh fruit stuck during offload.
GEMMA (off-screen): If it's not going anywhere
then you're gonna have to start offloading
the pallet, which we don't want to do.
NARRATOR: Gemma and
the team are under severe time pressure.
GEMMA (off-screen): Got about
15 minutes left for departure.
NARRATOR: So, she comes up
with a plan to get the fruit moving.
GEMMA (off-screen): Use the
second unit to help push the first unit.
Sometimes brute force does work.
NARRATOR: Gemma now has
to get the aircraft reloaded
and up in the air in under 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, the 20 tons of Valentine's
flowers she's just offloaded are on their
way to be inspected at the airport's
specialist chilled import facility,
run by Robert Blythe.
ROBERT (off-screen): Yeah, it's amazing,
you see something new every day coming
in you haven't seen before.
You think you've seen everything.
Every day something new coming in.
NARRATOR: But not
every import makes it.
The warehouse is one of the first
lines in Dubai's defense against insects
that could harm the ecosystem.
ROBERT: The whole objective is not to let
anything in the country that would destroy
the plants, fruits,
vegetables, or human beings.
NARRATOR: Robert's scientists will not
let these flowers into the country until
a sample of each batch
has undergone a rigorous inspection.
ROBERT: If I shake this,
something falls out. Okay.
MAN (off-screen):
Ah, there's one, too.
NARRATOR: An alien insect has traveled
all the way from Africa in the flowers.
ROBERT: So, these
will all be destroyed.
NARRATOR: Unwanted insects mean this
batch of flowers are unwelcome in Dubai,
and the customer won't receive them.
On average, one box of flowers is destroyed
every day, after failing inspection.
The plane the flowers arrived on was late.
Now, Ground Dispatcher Gemma and her
team are working flat out to get it back
in the air on schedule.
GEMMA: Running out of time, still
quite a few little units left to load.
NARRATOR: But not all the passengers' bags
have arrived, and Gemma's tight turnaround
just keeps getting tighter.
GEMMA: I'm around 30
transfer baggage missing.
But the connectivity with the
radios is not good tonight,
so I can't get through to baggage.
Jinade, KQ311.
Jinade, KQ311.
GEMMA: My EKQ just told me
they changed the pallet on 12 papa.
NARRATOR: Ground Dispatcher Gemma needs a
quick reload if she's to get her delayed plane
from Nairobi back in
the air in 30 minutes.
GEMMA (off-screen): I'm still
missing two units cargo,
and there's a lot of transfer
bags missing from the system still.
NARRATOR: Now,
there's another delay.
GEMMA (off-screen):
What's the reason?
MAN: Excess baggage.
GEMMA: Are they
paying, or not?
MAN: Not yet.
GEMMA (off-screen):
They're not gonna pay?
NARRATOR: It's the
worst possible news.
Loading must stop, and a bag
already in the hold needs to be located.
GEMMA: There are some passengers
that won't pay for the excess baggage,
so we need to look for their bags.
Carlos, come offload.
I'll get the details.
Radio's not working, it's a bit busy.
NARRATOR: The baggage hub control
center should know the number of the bag,
and where to locate it.
GEMMA: Ahh. Really hard to
get hold of people tonight.
And when I do get hold
of them, I can't hear what they're saying.
NARRATOR: But overloaded
radio frequencies mean communications
are proving tricky.
GEMMA: I don't know which
container it's loaded in.
(radio chatter)
Yeah, go ahead.
MAN (over radio):
That number is 198827.
That's the second sequence
is 62, card number is 198823.
NARRATOR: Gemma now knows
where to find the bag.
GEMMA: I will take the
details from the bags,
and I will cross check
it with the gate agent.
198827, 198823, confirm bags offloaded.
NARRATOR: But with just
ten minutes until takeoff,
another passenger pulls out of the flight.
GEMMA: Why? Excess baggage?
MAN: Lost passport.
GEMMA (off-screen): Lost passport?
NARRATOR: If a passenger
doesn't fly, neither does their bag.
So, the team need to
locate more loaded luggage.
GEMMA: Ten minutes to departure,
it's really pushing for time now.
MAN: 77425, correct?
GEMMA: Typically, the bags we
want are right at the bottom of the unit.
MAN (off-screen): Is it one?
GEMMA: Yeah. Put them
on the trolley, you got a trolley?
MAN (off-screen): Yeah.
GEMMA: Yeah, those two,
leave them at the top.
All offloaded.
NARRATOR: The pilots need
to know the exact weight and distribution
of all cargo, to make flight calculations.
Now passengers have failed to
board, Gemma needs to update the load
instruction report for the flight deck.
GEMMA: I need to make a last-minute
change to the load sheet, manually.
And they'll just collect the
load sheet from the captain.
NARRATOR: Without these
last-minute changes, or LMCs,
the plane cannot legally depart.
GEMMA: What's your
passenger weight?
NARRATOR: But no one's
told the flight crew.
GEMMA: Whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.
Whoa, whoa. Don't close.
I need to make LMC.
I'm just working it out.
What's the passenger weight?
MAN (off-screen): 88 and three.
GEMMA: 371 off.
MAN: 371.
GEMMA: Yeah, taking off
hand baggage weight.
MAN (off-screen): No, we're
adding hand baggage weight.
GEMMA (off-screen): So,
why're you taking it off?
NARRATOR: So, after some 11th hour
arithmetic, and a visit to the flight deck.
GEMMA: Hello.
PILOT (off-screen): Hello.
GEMMA: I just need to make LMC.
Some passengers are offloaded.
MAN (off-screen):
Their luggage?
GEMMA: Oh, that's
all off as well.
NARRATOR: The plane pushes
back just five minutes behind schedule.
GEMMA (off-screen): All cargo's been
received; all baggage has been received.
Everything's loaded and closed downstairs.
It's been a tough turnaround, but we managed
to get away with only five minutes late.
NARRATOR: But Gemma
can't celebrate.
GEMMA: Okay, thank you.
An arrival on 47.
NARRATOR: She's got another flight
to turn around before her shift ends.
Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.
NARRATOR: In this episode,
Mel tackles a suspicious passenger.
MEL: If we find at any
stage that this passport has been forged,
he could end up in prison.
NARRATOR: In the newly-built Concourse
D, project delivery manager Myles
faces his toughest test yet.
MYLES: Fire department response
time is totally out of our control.
NARRATOR: And Ground Dispatcher
Gemma deals with one
of the airport's tightest turnarounds.
GEMMA: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
NARRATOR: Dubai International Airport,
the busiest global hub on the planet.
Staying on top takes a crack team.
PHIL: No one else in
the world is doing it,
but everybody else in the
world is watching us.
MEL: We have births,
we have deaths.
The whole spiel.
HASSAN: It is very
dangerous, because it can expose any time.
MYLES: This concourse
will help Dubai Airports stay number one.
NARRATOR: It's the job
of 90,000 staff, from all over the world,
to make this the ultimate airport.
100,000 passengers and 200 tons of cargo
from six continents touch down
at Dubai International every single day.
And when the whole world comes to
you, you never know what to expect next.
In Terminal Three, Airport Services Manager
Mel has been alerted to some trouble
with transferring passengers.
JEMAL (off-screen): The police
are present at the gate, right?
MEL: My colleague just received a
call to say that there was quite a few
disruptive passengers
downstairs in one of our transfer desks.
JEMAL: The police and some of
the staff are also involved.
MEL (off-screen): Okay.
NARRATOR: Passengers on a delayed flight
from Kuwait have missed their connection
to Casablanca, sparking angry scenes.
MAN: Give me First Class
or give me a flight that departs soon.
MEL (off-screen): My ultimate job here is
to protect the safety of both passengers,
and staff as well.
NARRATOR: The connection was already tight,
with only 20 minutes between flights.
The delay meant
21 people missed the flight to Casablanca.
MEL: Obvious decision
here is to misconnect those passengers,
and rebook them on another flight.
MAN (off-screen): We
can put you in a hotel.
MAN: We're exhausted, we don't
want to leave the airport.
NARRATOR: Most have agreed
to go on the next flight.
But one family of five are refusing.
MAN: The four hours
we've been here
and the money we've spent
has all been wasted.
NARRATOR: Instead, they now want to be
flown First Class via a stopover in Milan,
a trip that would cost
the airline over $20,000.
MEL: Their demands
are to travel to Milan and stay in Milan,
and they won't get to
Casablanca until tomorrow.
That's too far stretched for us, when we
have a flight within the next six hours.
MAN: You don't care about us
you just want to save money,
even if it means we suffer.
NARRATOR: Airport authorities
attempt to calm the passengers down.
MEL (off-screen): The authorities
are involved; the police are on standby.
We've got Dubai Airports involved.
NARRATOR: But these passengers
are not taking no for an answer.
MAN: Put us in a hotel and
put us in First Class.
MEL: I heard a mention
of First Class for the outbound flight.
That's not gonna happen.
MAN (off-screen): I
want to fly First Class.
MEL: No, you're not
getting first class.
MALE: Okay.
MEL: We've discussed this already.
It seems like the mindset is, First
Class, First Class or nothing else.
NARRATOR: Mel has a
standoff on her hands.
MALE: First Class.
MEL: Discussions are not
really going anywhere.
We've handled 150 missed
connections this morning.
These passengers have taken up
a lot of time from the staff.
We've given you an option.
NARRATOR: Mel decides
to offer a compromise.
MAN: The best thing we can do for you is
to put you in the Business Class lounge.
NARRATOR: The angry, stranded group
will be upgraded, but only on the ground.
MEL: We don't normally put facilitate
passengers in Business Class lounges,
or First-Class lounges, but on this
occasion, I think it's quite necessary.
It's involved, and they
all seem to be smiling,
so we obviously have done our job here.
NARRATOR: Mel's placated
the passengers without costing the airline
tens of thousands of dollars.
MALE: How are you?
MEL: You look happy.
MALE: Yes. Thanks.
NARRATOR: But at the gate,
she's alerted to an issue
with a different passenger,
also flying to Casablanca.
MAHMOUD: Okay, where is
your visa to Morocco?
NARRATOR: Staff check all visas before
departure, as the airline is responsible
for the cost of returning
passengers without the correct paperwork.
WOMAN: When I checked, the visa
was for another country, not our flight,
not for Casablanca.
NARRATOR: This man doesn't
have the correct paperwork,
and Mel's ground team are suspicious.
WOMAN (off-screen): First he was confused,
he was, like, "I'm going to Casablanca only."
MEL: Well done. Good job.
But he's not going anywhere now.
NARRATOR: A visa may not be
the only thing this passenger lacks.
Staff now suspect his
passport isn't genuine.
MEL: So, his
whole-body language has changed, actually.
It's very evident that the gentleman
is becoming a little bit nervous now.
It's huge.
NARRATOR: Traveling on a fake
passport is a serious offense,
and could land this passenger in jail.
Out on the stands, Line Maintenance
Engineer Andy drives 50 miles a day,
but never leaves the airport.
He's on his way to an urgent repair on
a Triple Seven due to depart for Madrid.
ANDY (off-screen): I'm on my
way down, now, to the aircraft,
and we're looking at an
igniter plug change.
A bit like changing the spark
plug on your car engine,
but there's lethal voltages involved.
It's almost 8:30 in the morning,
and it's due out at 2:15 this afternoon.
NARRATOR: Airlines operate
on precision schedules.
This plane takes off in six
hours, and it must be fixed in time.
ANDY: There's two spark
plugs on a jet engine.
If they're not working, then you
won't be able to start the engine.
NARRATOR: It's a big job, so
Andy's joined by fellow engineer, Leigh.
ANDY: Slats are okay,
reverse as well.
LEIGH: Okay, all right, so.
NARRATOR: It's his job to prepare
the kit the pair need for this fix.
LEIGH: I've got all the spanners
and the power parts we're gonna need,
cause they take a bit of getting out.
WESLEY: We had a tow
planned at 10:30, yeah?
NARRATOR: In Network Control, Operations
Manager Wesley is gambling that Leigh
and Andy will get this job done on time.
It'll take three hours to prepare
a new plane, so if he waits,
and Leigh and Andy can't fix
this one, he's risking a huge delay.
WESLEY: Flight's scheduled to go at 14:15,
which is in our second peak of the day,
and those flights
are critical, we need to get those moving,
because that affects
the night wave, as well.
NARRATOR: But on the ground, Andy
and Leigh aren't expecting an easy fix.
LEIGH: The spark plug, or the igniter,
as we call it, it screws into a housing,
which then screws into the engine.
If we can't get the spark
plug out of the housing, that then, there,
is a bit of a problem for us.
ANDY (off-screen): This is
dockyard stuff, this is brutal.
This is where you gotta be
Popeye to get this thing out.
So, we need the power bar.
LEIGH (off-screen): Power bar.
EROS: Want to be 138.
LEIGH: So, we need a
one and three eighth. Okay.
NARRATOR: This is a specialist
job that requires specialist kit.
LEIGH (off-screen): Yeah,
it's a closed foot.
It's a spanner end, but you
can put it on a ratchet.
NARRATOR: And after rooting
around, it emerges they haven't got it.
LEIGH: The guys, the mechanics
here, only carry tools up to an inch.
So, anything bigger than an inch
we have to get from the stores.
NARRATOR: Work has
ground to a halt.
ANDY: We've stopped, we can't take the
spark plug out without the correct tool.
NARRATOR: The engineering
stores keep more than six million parts,
from the tiniest screw,
up to a jet engine.
But it's on the other side of the airport.
And Leigh's going to have
to battle to get there.
All vehicles used to service aircraft
share the one busy perimeter road,
where the speed limit is
just 15 miles an hour.
LEIGH (off-screen):
It's the traffic.
You got all the slow-moving
cargo handling stuff,
with all the dollies and all the baggage.
You got all the cabling struts.
It could easily be a half hour drive
there, and a half hour drive back.
NARRATOR: In Network Control, Wesley is
also keeping a keen eye on their progress.
If this plane isn't fixed in time
for Flight EK143 to take off,
there'll be serious repercussions.
WESLEY: If we have to change aircrafts
for this EK143, it will be recorded,
and there will be an
investigation done afterwards,
and someone will be held accountable.
NARRATOR: There couldn't be a worse
time for Leigh to get stuck in traffic.
LEIGH: Now, this could seriously
impact whether we can do the task or not.
NARRATOR: Back inside Terminal three, a man
has been stopped from boarding a flight to
Casablanca, as airline staff
suspect he's traveling on a fake passport,
a serious criminal offense.
MEL: If we find, at any stage,
that this passport has been forged,
our simple procedure is
to offload the passenger from the system,
and hand it over to the authorities.
NARRATOR: Terminal Manager
Mahmoud is grilling the man.
The passenger's booking history has raised
suspicions that he's bought his documents
off people smugglers, and is planning
to illegally enter the United States.
MAHMOUD: He's saying, I'm
going to Sao Paulo to work.
But these people, they go to Sao Paulo
from Sao Paulo they will
try to smuggle into America.
MEL (off-screen): There's several
journeys that this gentleman has booked.
Some to Bogota, some to Sao
Paolo, one to Casablanca.
Sometimes the passenger
himself may not know where he's going.
He's been handed several tickets.
NARRATOR: If the passport is forged, the man's
identity and even nationality are in doubt.
MAHMOUD: We'll check the
documents and we'll find out
what nationality he is exactly.
MEL (off-screen): If it's a forged
document then it is a very serious offense.
It is a case whereby
he's tried to illegally enter a country.
He could end up in prison.
NARRATOR: The passenger is
taken to the Deportee lounge.
False passports are seen as a
major threat to Dubai's security,
and using one is a serious offense.
MAHMOUD: This passport has been
confirmed by immigration that it is
forged.
First of all the texture.
When you touch the passport, you'll know.
The second thing, the
stamps are totally fake.
NARRATOR: One of the stamps
is for a country that doesn't exist.
If the man has been traveling
illegally, he may have just bought himself
a one-way ticket to a Dubai jail.
Protecting passenger safety
is staff's greatest concern.
Over in Concourse D, it's a critical milestone
for Project Delivery Manager Myles Jones.
A make or break fire drill.
The concourse has been constructed
to meet ever-increasing demand at the
airport, and keep Dubai the
number one international hub in the world.
MYLES: Anybody standing on this piece of
carpet with me, here, will be staying here.
Everyone else has to evacuate.
NARRATOR: The building work is nearly
complete, but before any of the potential
18 million annual passengers
can come through the door,
one vital safety trial must be met.
MYLES: The fire alarm is really one
of the most critical systems in every
building, and for an airport,
it has to work perfectly.
NARRATOR: Today, the
main atrium will be filled with smoke,
to simulate a fire emergency.
MYLES (off-screen): Today is
critical for the handover of the building.
We need to put this into
operation, and to be able
to have passengers and staff in here.
At the end of the day, everything
can look glamorous, and be finished,
but without a fire
certificate, nobody can come in here.
MAN (off-screen): How you doing?
HAYDEN: Keeping all right?
All good?
NARRATOR: The airport's Chief
Fire Officer, Hayden Baynon,
is the man who decides whether
the building passes, or fails.
HAYDEN: We need to ensure that the actual
systems within the building activate
in accordance with their design.
NARRATOR: Smoke, not fire, is the
biggest danger in a crowded airport.
As well as the risk of smoke
inhalation, it can impede an evacuation.
So, for this trial, the atrium will be
completely filled with synthetic smoke,
made from oil and carbon dioxide.
It's not harmful if breathed in, but is
otherwise identical to the real thing.
MYLES: We're really gonna push the system,
and this atrium will pretty much be filled up
with smoke to a point where you won't
be able to see from one end to the other.
NARRATOR: Stage
one of the trial.
Once the alarm sounds, smoke
ventilation windows must open
automatically within three minutes.
MYLES (off-screen): The building's
been designed for certain windows to open,
let fresh air in, and
let the smoke go out.
Now, if that doesn't
happen, we got a problem.
NARRATOR: This is not the time to discover
Concourse D has a serious design flaw.
MYLES: It has to happen, because we can't
exactly just go and change the building
design right now, at the
last stage of the job.
NARRATOR: Stage two.
If the airport's own fire crew
doesn't respond in time,
their boss Hayden won't grant
the fire safety certificate.
HAYDEN: Within five minutes
of the alarm sounding,
our team have to arrive
into this building.
If the crew does not arrive within
the five minutes, we will fail the trial.
NARRATOR: Finally,
stage three.
The building's ceiling exhaust fans have just
ten minutes to clear the atrium of smoke.
MYLES (off-screen): These fans
above us will start opening up the hatches
and sucking out the smoke.
NARRATOR: Myles is desperate
for Concourse D to pass today's trial.
MYLES (off-screen): Any failure to
this will mean a delay in the opening.
Dubai does not fail.
Everyone, can we just come around
here, so we can just do our briefing?
NARRATOR: Staff
are standing by.
The fire trial is about to begin.
In the next ten minutes, years of hard work
and weeks of planning could go up in smoke.
MYLES: The pass or fail
here is the ten minutes.
We need the smoke to be gone
within a ten-minute period.
It's gonna work.
MAN: Am I good to go?
MAN (off-screen):
Okay, I'll see.
MYLES (off-screen):
Yeah, we're already now.
HAYDEN: Yeah? The important thing is,
we'll sign off if everything goes to plan.
If it doesn't, then we won't.
NARRATOR: The smoke
machine starts.
Myles is about to discover if this
billion-dollar project can open on schedule.
MYLES (off-screen): Nervous
is an understatement.
It's gonna work.
It's gotta work.
NARRATOR: The ultimate
airport is facing the ultimate fire drill.
Synthetic smoke is being pumped
into the newly-built Concourse D.
MYLES: Building is filling up with smoke,
you can see we're covered in smoke,
surrounding us totally.
NARRATOR: To test the systems to the
max, the sprinklers have been deactivated,
and the fire alarm
delayed until the atrium is full of smoke.
VOICE (over loudspeaker): Please
leave the building immediately.
NARRATOR: Inside the fire
station, the alarm sounds.
Fire fighters, including
rookies Abdulrahman and Yared, scramble.
From now on, this trial
is against the clock.
The ventilation windows
open automatically,
easily inside the required
three-minute deadline.
MYLES: The shadows have
gone down; the curtains have gone down.
NARRATOR: But this success will count for
nothing if the airport's fire service can't
prove they can be on
site in five minutes, ready for action.
MYLES: Yeah, the fire department response
time is totally out of our control,
and it could still
be a failure if they don't come on time.
NARRATOR: But, like engineers
Leigh and Andy, they too have to rush to
the concourse using the busy
airside perimeter road.
(siren)
The fire service are in the building.
MYLES: Here they come.
(siren)
MYLES: Within two and a half minutes they're
here, so it's a pretty good response time.
NARRATOR: The response
has to be real, even if the fire is not.
As the deadline looms closer,
there's just one big obstacle
between Myles and his fire
safety certificate.
A large amount of smoke
that's still not clearing.
Is this a sign of a serious building
design fault Myles has been dreading?
MYLES: Well, we got about
another six minutes left.
NARRATOR: Everything rests on
the four ceiling exhaust fans.
They must remove the smoke within ten
minutes, or the trial will be a failure.
MYLES (off-screen):
What do you reckon?
HAYDEN: There's not
a lot of draw there.
NARRATOR: Myles has noticed one
fan doesn't appear to be working properly,
and unfortunately, so has the fire chief.
HAYDEN: I would expect to see
that drawing a lot quicker than that.
MYLES: It's almost like it's.
HAYDEN: Look at those.
They're fine down that end.
MYLES (off-screen): Yeah.
Really, those fans really have
to suck all this smoke out.
NARRATOR: It's touch and go.
One failing fan is putting the
whole opening under threat.
HAYDEN: If this fan's
not working, we'll have to fail the trial.
MYLES: I did wanna see
the smoke go quicker.
We got two minutes left.
NARRATOR: Even if the fan can be fixed quickly,
it will take up to three weeks to organize
another fire drill and run it again.
A logistical nightmare.
HAYDEN: Where we up to?
MYLES (off-screen): One minute left.
NARRATOR: Myles tries
everything to secure the result he needs.
MYLES (off-screen): Oh
yeah, you can see it.
It is clear enough to
be able to see where you're going, and.
NARRATOR: But time is up.
It's the moment of truth.
HAYDEN: As far as today's
exercise is concerned, this is a pass.
MYLES: Ah, that's good.
HAYDEN (off-screen): We were not sure whether
one of the fans was actually working properly,
but I think it was mainly because
we were in the bulk area where
the majority of the smoke was.
NARRATOR: Rookie fire fighters Abdulrahman
and Yared are there to celebrate.
ABDULRAHMAN (off-screen):
It was amazing.
We worked well as a team.
Finally, being able to put what we
learnt into practice is very satisfying.
NARRATOR: After a tense
test, Project Delivery Manager Myles
will get his fire safety certificate.
MYLES: This pass today
means that we're on schedule for opening.
It was a perfect result.
I couldn't ask for anything more.
NARRATOR: After a 45-minute
round trip to the engineering parts store,
Leigh has finally returned.
But this vital igniter
plug change is now way behind schedule.
ANDY: Leigh's back now with the
parts, so I'm just gonna go over there,
we're gonna pick him up, and then
we'll start putting them on the engine.
NARRATOR: In Network Control,
Wesley is monitoring their progress,
and can see that the plane's
departure gate is empty.
WESLEY: If these flights start going,
you can have consecutive delays.
If we have one delay,
it affects the next one.
NARRATOR: Despite the delay to the work,
Wesley is sending a tow truck to take the plane
to the gate in time for
its scheduled departure.
It's now up to Andy and Leigh to
get the job finished before it arrives.
ANDY: Now we're
against the clock.
We've got 15 minutes to accomplish
this before they need to tow the plane.
LEIGH (off-screen):
Okay, you're. EROS (off-screen): Yeah.
LEIGH: You're going up, yeah?
EROS: Yeah.
LEIGH: As you can see,
it's not going in.
The igniter plug is actually
extremely difficult to get out,
and it's not coming out easy.
It's probably ceased in
the housing slightly.
NARRATOR: Even in the advanced
world of aircraft engineering,
sometimes brute strength is required.
LEIGH: Just keep
going at it. Ah.
ANDY (off-screen): You crack it?
LEIGH (off-screen): Yeah.
ANDREW (off-screen): Okay.
LEIGH (off-screen): Bit of pain.
ANDY (off-screen):
You all right?
LEIGH (off-screen):
Yeah, it's out.
Burst a blood vessel.
NARRATOR: The old
igniter plug is out,
but getting the new one in
is a more exact science.
It must be fitted
with a precise torque of 270 inch-pounds.
LEIGH: We do it up too tight, the
next guy'll have a mission impossible.
If we do it up and the torque is too
low, then it could always become loose,
and it won't do what it needs to do.
You know, at the end of the day the combustion
chamber is where the heat's generated,
so having this rattling around is
not gonna be any good for the engine.
NARRATOR: A torque wrench must be used
to ensure the precise pressure is applied.
EROS (off-screen): This
hand is 380, so we might need an adapter.
NARRATOR: And once again, the
job requires a specialist tool that they
don't have with them.
LEIGH: We haven't
got an adapter.
EROS: Oh, la la.
LEIGH: Not having a good day.
EROS: No. No.
NARRATOR: The missing kit means
the fix grinds to a halt once more.
Just as the tow truck Wesley has
sent arrives, expecting a fixed plane.
WESLEY: Just wanna confirm
that this, bravo echo,
this plan for a tow is
actually ready to go.
NARRATOR: A delay
looks inevitable.
LEIGH (off-screen): You got a
three eight to half inch step?
MAN: Ok, a three
eight to a half.
LEIGH: That, to that.
If you have, I'll buy you lunch.
NARRATOR: Until Leigh's
aircraft technician comes to the rescue.
LEIGH: Thankfully my trusted technician
here, who doesn't have to carry this tool,
has actually got one, so he's just
saved us about another 40 minutes.
ANDY: Yeah, we're getting
very close to the wire here.
LEIGH (off-screen): We
gotta get our skates on.
So, we're just torqueing up
the igniter plug, that's all.
And that little click
is the torque making.
NARRATOR: Andy and Leigh
have yet to finish the job.
LEIGH: So, we get a bit of a
spurt on to get rid of everything.
NARRATOR: But Network
Control are gambling the fix will work,
and are towing the plane as scheduled.
LEIGH: We'll close up, and
we'll do the ground run at the gate.
Well, we need to test the igniter
on the engine, because it was a fault,
to be certain that we fixed it.
ANDY: Towing always
has priority over what we need to do.
NARRATOR: Wesley is piling the
pressure on Leigh and Andy.
WESLEY: Cause we have only ten tugs
available to maneuver these aircraft around,
so it is critical that they go as planned.
NARRATOR: The pair must now
do what every engineer dreads.
Test repairs at the busy gate, where
conditions are a lot harder to control.
ANDY: Worst case scenario,
a person gets injured
or killed by being sucked into the engine.
NARRATOR: Engineers Leigh and Andy are
about to start the world's most powerful
passenger jet engine while still parked at
the stand, something that's usually only
done during pushback,
due to the large safety exclusion zone
needed around the engines.
ANDY: You're gonna
run the engine. LEIGH: Yeah.
ANDY: where do you want Eros?
LEIGH: Eros can go on the headset, or
he can come up on the flight deck with me.
NARRATOR: The pair have changed the igniter
plug in a triple seven due to depart for
Madrid in two hours, but they've
no idea if the engine will start.
ANDY: We wanna quickly get this done before
anybody else shows up to load bags or
anything on this plane.
NARRATOR: With over 100,000 pounds of thrust,
and the ability to suck in 1.8 tons of
air a second, the GE90 is the
big beast of aviation engines.
Testing one in a busy airport means Leigh
and Andy must be at the top of their game.
ANDY: You need total situational
awareness whilst you're out on the ramp,
there's just so many things
happening all around you.
NARRATOR: A 350-foot exclusion zone needs
to be in place to prevent ground crew being
sucked into the engines, and
that's not the only risk.
ANDY: We can't run an engine
with catering trucks in place.
As you can see, they're very tall structures,
and the jet blast from behind the engine
will just blow it right over.
NARRATOR: Leigh and Andy must get
special permission to start the engines,
and clear the immediate area.
ANDY (off-screen): We got one
vehicle on one side to block the traffic,
but traffic is still coming round
behind the back of the aircraft,
so I'm gonna ask the
other mechanic to take my
truck onto this side of the
aircraft to block both sides.
NARRATOR: Finally, the safety exclusion zone
is in place, and Leigh and Andy can find
out if they've successfully
fixed the aircraft.
LEIGH: We're gonna
do two starts.
We're gonna run for four
minutes, shut down,
because we have two channels
that control the engine.
We have channel A and channel B.
NARRATOR: The engine has
to start on both tests,
or this plane isn't going anywhere today.
WESLEY: If the engine run fails, we
could be looking at an aircraft change,
so we're just waiting for
the outcome from engineering.
LEIGH: Okay Andy, go ahead.
ANDY: Okay, our vehicle's
in position, uh, whenever you get the nod.
LEIGH: We've already
got permission from the tower to go.
NARRATOR: Test one begins.
The engine starts, and with
the exclusion zone in place,
the focus now shifts to Leigh.
LEIGH (off-screen): We
have other engineers in the flight deck.
They have a terrible habit of putting their
hands on the throttles when they're leaning
over, and all they need to do is
suddenly slip, and if I accelerate then,
it will accelerate extremely quickly.
If I were to do that, we would suddenly find
ourselves, one, the left wing would hit the
building, we would be facing another
direction, we'd probably burst into flames.
NARRATOR: Leigh keeps
his throttle in check.
And the first test is a success.
LEIGH: The engine
is spooling down.
NARRATOR: But it
needs to be repeated.
ANDY: We're now gonna start it
again, and run it on the other system.
NARRATOR: Even with
the pushback deadline fast approaching,
and passengers and crew waiting
to board, this test can't be rushed.
LEIGH: Put the fuel in,
nothing's happening.
The engine won't start until the temperature
of the exhaust gas gets below 100 degrees.
This is to stop the chance of the
engine going too hot when it starts.
Nothing will happen
until it gets below that.
NARRATOR: Two digital channels
can start the engine from the cockpit.
One now works, but if the spare
fails, the plane will have to be changed,
meaning misery for the passengers.
WESLEY: If we have to change aircraft
at this stage, we will likely be looking
at a lengthy delay.
We'll be looking at three hours.
NARRATOR: With time
fast running out,
the engine is finally cool
enough for a second test.
LEIGH (off-screen):
Temperature's now below 100,
so we should see the fuel go on shortly.
Fuel's going in.
And we're good to go.
Start the second.
Yeah, and we look like we've got it.
We've had two good starts.
It's all good, so we can clear the defect.
NARRATOR: The second
test is also a success.
The repair has worked.
The engines are operational.
LEIGH: We're clear on status,
so I'm gonna shut down.
We clear downstairs?
ANDY (over radio): Clear to
shut down. Thank you.
LEIGH: Okay,
shutting down one.
NARRATOR: The plane is finally fully
functional, just in time for takeoff.
LEIGH: Thank you very
much. Thank you.
ANDY (off-screen): Traffic's all
freely flowing, we've finished,
and we're releasing the
aircraft now back to service.
NARRATOR: Andy and Leigh hit their
departure deadline by a matter of minutes.
WESLEY (off-screen): Excellent.
So, it looks like we'll be
good to go to Madrid on time.
NARRATOR: Dubai International
has no noise restrictions at night.
Planes land 24 seven, and
after dark, the airport is at its busiest.
Tonight, Gemma Taylor is taking
on the job that no dispatcher wants.
With just 80 minutes from landing to
takeoff, this plane from Nairobi has one of
the quickest scheduled turnarounds
of any that touches down in Dubai.
GEMMA: Just keep me
updated as to the baggage.
I believe there's 12 units.
NARRATOR: And it's
arrived 20 minutes late.
Gemma now has an hour
to do a job that usually takes 80 minutes,
but she's still feeling confident.
GEMMA (off-screen): The
baggage won't take very long to come off.
The heavy load is cargo,
so it's more like a
cargo aircraft than a passenger aircraft.
Hello.
MAN (off-screen):
Morning. How are you?
GEMMA: How are you?
MAN (off-screen): Good.
NARRATOR: Now, one of
Gemma's two crucial unloading vehicles,
called transporters, hasn't shown
up, meaning it will take twice as long.
GEMMA: We need the
two transporters,
cause it's a lot quicker to
offload the forward and aft.
NARRATOR: But if Gemma starts
unloading with just one transporter,
even that has huge consequences.
To unload safely at speed, the cargo
needs to come off the front and the back
of the plane simultaneously.
GEMMA (off-screen): If too much weight is
removed from the forward hold before the aft,
you can sometimes tip the aircraft.
NARRATOR: Tracking down the missing transporter
is made even harder by another issue.
Peak time radio traffic
makes it hard to get the message across.
GEMMA: Only got one high
low down, one transporter, at the moment.
That didn't work.
The radios are terrible tonight.
Fabio, are you on your way to the bay?
(radio chatter).
NARRATOR: Gemma finally gets
through to Operations Control.
(radio chatter).
GEMMA: Thank you.
NARRATOR: Her missing
transporter can't come soon enough,
as the cargo on this flight cannot
be kept waiting in the hot desert night.
GEMMA (off-screen): Just
over 20 tons of flowers coming off today.
They are perishable.
It's a little warm tonight, so we need
to get them in a chilled environment
as quickly as possible.
NARRATOR: It's the 12th of February, and
these flowers should be in the shops of
Dubai for Valentine's Day.
GEMMA: It's a larger amount of
cargo to arrive on a passenger flight than
we normally expect, so it's
gonna be a challenge.
NARRATOR: With her perishable cargo
in peril, Gemma finally catches a break.
GEMMA (off-screen): This is, hopefully,
my second transporter, that's turning up.
NARRATOR: Her equipment is in
place, but Gemma's next problem is lurking
in the hold of the plane.
GEMMA: Because there's so many flowers coming
today, they've had to put extra pieces into
the bulk cargo, and the small
hold at the back of the aircraft,
so these pieces have to
be manually offloaded, one at a time.
NARRATOR: Manually unloading will take much
longer, and 15 minutes into the offload,
more fresh cargo gives
Gemma fresh headaches.
GEMMA: There are some units that are stuck,
they need some extra manpower to pull them.
NARRATOR: Meaning Gemma's already tight
schedule just hit another major setback.
NARRATOR: Aircraft engineer
Leigh is still on shift, and his next job
is a world away from fixing a jet engine.
LEIGH: We've got
a toilet blockage.
It's a bit of a strange job, actually.
You do go from extremely complex
tech tasks, to ridiculously low-tech.
NARRATOR: Regular clearing
of blocked toilets in aircraft
has taught Leigh to expect the unexpected.
LEIGH (off-screen): We have a
lot of surprises in the toilets.
Even though there's stickers on the toilet
saying not to throw waste down there,
we get babies' bottles,
we've had a blanket, nappies.
NARRATOR: Around half of all aircraft toilet
blockages clear themselves in midflight,
helped by the difference in air
pressure between the plane and outside.
LEIGH: There's a
valve in the toilet.
The other side of that valve is outside
air pressure, which is extremely low.
Obviously, the inside of the aircraft
is nearly, you know, ten, 11 psi,
which is nearly atmospheric
pressure, so when you open that valve,
the high pressure inside the aircraft
forces whatever's in the toilet bowl
down into the waste tank.
NARRATOR: But Leigh's not
been lucky this time around.
LEIGH: Oh. Would appear that
it's well and truly blocked.
The tube that the waste
goes down is only, sort of, two inches,
that's five centimeters,
in diameter, so it's not a big tube.
What we can do is, it's quite a neat little
trick, we get a very long, clear hose,
we run it from the toilet on the
opposite side of the airplane,
and then put the hose in there, and we use
the vacuum from that toilet to suck the
waste out of this toilet.
The hoses are out.
The hose turned up.
It was about a meter and a half long,
which leaves us about four meters short.
NARRATOR: Leigh now
has a simple choice.
Completely replace the toilet in time
for the plane to depart in seven hours,
or use a low-tech solution.
LEIGH (off-screen): Here's
a tool I made earlier.
And, which basically means we're gonna
scoop it out, sort of a precision tool.
Mm, lovely. Lovely jubbly.
Now it starts to smell.
I need another bottle,
I need it cut smaller.
It's just a lot of tissue
been thrown down in there.
NARRATOR: He might be a highly qualified
engineer, but it's dealing with jobs like this
that earn Leigh the respect of the crew.
MAN: Leigh is the gutsiest person on
the line, dealing with these situations.
Look at that.
The legend at work.
LEIGH (off-screen):
You have water on?
MAN: Water on.
NARRATOR: Even in the glamorous
world of international aviation.
LEIGH: Sweet music.
NARRATOR: sometimes you've
got to get your hands dirty.
LEIGH (off-screen): I've probably
cleared thousands of toilets.
One or two a week.
I am a toilet expert.
(toilet flushing)
NARRATOR: There's
a sweeter smelling blockage on the stands.
Dispatcher Gemma and her team have got a
pallet of fresh fruit stuck during offload.
GEMMA (off-screen): If it's not going anywhere
then you're gonna have to start offloading
the pallet, which we don't want to do.
NARRATOR: Gemma and
the team are under severe time pressure.
GEMMA (off-screen): Got about
15 minutes left for departure.
NARRATOR: So, she comes up
with a plan to get the fruit moving.
GEMMA (off-screen): Use the
second unit to help push the first unit.
Sometimes brute force does work.
NARRATOR: Gemma now has
to get the aircraft reloaded
and up in the air in under 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, the 20 tons of Valentine's
flowers she's just offloaded are on their
way to be inspected at the airport's
specialist chilled import facility,
run by Robert Blythe.
ROBERT (off-screen): Yeah, it's amazing,
you see something new every day coming
in you haven't seen before.
You think you've seen everything.
Every day something new coming in.
NARRATOR: But not
every import makes it.
The warehouse is one of the first
lines in Dubai's defense against insects
that could harm the ecosystem.
ROBERT: The whole objective is not to let
anything in the country that would destroy
the plants, fruits,
vegetables, or human beings.
NARRATOR: Robert's scientists will not
let these flowers into the country until
a sample of each batch
has undergone a rigorous inspection.
ROBERT: If I shake this,
something falls out. Okay.
MAN (off-screen):
Ah, there's one, too.
NARRATOR: An alien insect has traveled
all the way from Africa in the flowers.
ROBERT: So, these
will all be destroyed.
NARRATOR: Unwanted insects mean this
batch of flowers are unwelcome in Dubai,
and the customer won't receive them.
On average, one box of flowers is destroyed
every day, after failing inspection.
The plane the flowers arrived on was late.
Now, Ground Dispatcher Gemma and her
team are working flat out to get it back
in the air on schedule.
GEMMA: Running out of time, still
quite a few little units left to load.
NARRATOR: But not all the passengers' bags
have arrived, and Gemma's tight turnaround
just keeps getting tighter.
GEMMA: I'm around 30
transfer baggage missing.
But the connectivity with the
radios is not good tonight,
so I can't get through to baggage.
Jinade, KQ311.
Jinade, KQ311.
GEMMA: My EKQ just told me
they changed the pallet on 12 papa.
NARRATOR: Ground Dispatcher Gemma needs a
quick reload if she's to get her delayed plane
from Nairobi back in
the air in 30 minutes.
GEMMA (off-screen): I'm still
missing two units cargo,
and there's a lot of transfer
bags missing from the system still.
NARRATOR: Now,
there's another delay.
GEMMA (off-screen):
What's the reason?
MAN: Excess baggage.
GEMMA: Are they
paying, or not?
MAN: Not yet.
GEMMA (off-screen):
They're not gonna pay?
NARRATOR: It's the
worst possible news.
Loading must stop, and a bag
already in the hold needs to be located.
GEMMA: There are some passengers
that won't pay for the excess baggage,
so we need to look for their bags.
Carlos, come offload.
I'll get the details.
Radio's not working, it's a bit busy.
NARRATOR: The baggage hub control
center should know the number of the bag,
and where to locate it.
GEMMA: Ahh. Really hard to
get hold of people tonight.
And when I do get hold
of them, I can't hear what they're saying.
NARRATOR: But overloaded
radio frequencies mean communications
are proving tricky.
GEMMA: I don't know which
container it's loaded in.
(radio chatter)
Yeah, go ahead.
MAN (over radio):
That number is 198827.
That's the second sequence
is 62, card number is 198823.
NARRATOR: Gemma now knows
where to find the bag.
GEMMA: I will take the
details from the bags,
and I will cross check
it with the gate agent.
198827, 198823, confirm bags offloaded.
NARRATOR: But with just
ten minutes until takeoff,
another passenger pulls out of the flight.
GEMMA: Why? Excess baggage?
MAN: Lost passport.
GEMMA (off-screen): Lost passport?
NARRATOR: If a passenger
doesn't fly, neither does their bag.
So, the team need to
locate more loaded luggage.
GEMMA: Ten minutes to departure,
it's really pushing for time now.
MAN: 77425, correct?
GEMMA: Typically, the bags we
want are right at the bottom of the unit.
MAN (off-screen): Is it one?
GEMMA: Yeah. Put them
on the trolley, you got a trolley?
MAN (off-screen): Yeah.
GEMMA: Yeah, those two,
leave them at the top.
All offloaded.
NARRATOR: The pilots need
to know the exact weight and distribution
of all cargo, to make flight calculations.
Now passengers have failed to
board, Gemma needs to update the load
instruction report for the flight deck.
GEMMA: I need to make a last-minute
change to the load sheet, manually.
And they'll just collect the
load sheet from the captain.
NARRATOR: Without these
last-minute changes, or LMCs,
the plane cannot legally depart.
GEMMA: What's your
passenger weight?
NARRATOR: But no one's
told the flight crew.
GEMMA: Whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.
Whoa, whoa. Don't close.
I need to make LMC.
I'm just working it out.
What's the passenger weight?
MAN (off-screen): 88 and three.
GEMMA: 371 off.
MAN: 371.
GEMMA: Yeah, taking off
hand baggage weight.
MAN (off-screen): No, we're
adding hand baggage weight.
GEMMA (off-screen): So,
why're you taking it off?
NARRATOR: So, after some 11th hour
arithmetic, and a visit to the flight deck.
GEMMA: Hello.
PILOT (off-screen): Hello.
GEMMA: I just need to make LMC.
Some passengers are offloaded.
MAN (off-screen):
Their luggage?
GEMMA: Oh, that's
all off as well.
NARRATOR: The plane pushes
back just five minutes behind schedule.
GEMMA (off-screen): All cargo's been
received; all baggage has been received.
Everything's loaded and closed downstairs.
It's been a tough turnaround, but we managed
to get away with only five minutes late.
NARRATOR: But Gemma
can't celebrate.
GEMMA: Okay, thank you.
An arrival on 47.
NARRATOR: She's got another flight
to turn around before her shift ends.
Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.