Hypnotizing Video Of Planes Landing At London Heathrow

by Jeremy Kressmann on

London’s Heathrow airport is among the world’s busiest airports for passengers, with the total number of travelers passing through in the first half of 2012 topping out at over 46 Million. Think about that number for a moment and try to put it in context. It’s not easy, is it?

To give some sense of what a typical travel day looks like at this London transportation hub, watch the above video. This dizzying time-lapse of takeoffs and landings, with planes hovering mid-air like buzzing honeybees entering the hive, is a hypnotic visual reminder of just how much travel we’re all doing these days.

Behind The Scenes At Miami International Airport, Tonight

by Chris Owen on

Travelers passing through Miami International Airport (MIA) most commonly are concerned about luggage, customs, security and making connections. Given the time, they might linger at an airport store in the mall-like shopping areas, have something to eat, work or just relax before a flight. But behind the scenes, an army of MIA workers handles situations travelers may never hear about from drug smuggling to terrorist threats, medical emergencies and more.

Tonight, the Travel Channel is taking us back stage to see how it all unfolds every day as 100,000 travelers make their way through one of the busiest airports in the world.

“This is one of many ways in which Travel Channel is trying to give viewers a different look at all aspects of travel,” network general manager Andy Singer said in a Washington Post article. “And we think the Miami International Airport is a fascinating way to do that.”

“Airport 24/7: Miami” brings us behind closed doors to watch workers as they handle terrorist threats, deal with drug smugglers, act quickly in medical emergencies, get ready for an Air Force One landing and more.

Going behind doors marked “Staff Only” and “Secure Area” into places travelers rarely see, “Airport 24/7: Miami” promises to show what happens as thousands of Miami International Airport workers go about the business of running a safe and secure airport facility, all while getting passengers to their flights on time.


“Airport 24/7:Miami” premieres tonight with back-to-back episodes at 9 p.m. EST.



[Flickr photo by Let Ideas Compete]

Fake Pilot Arrested After Flying Across Europe

by Sean McLachlan on

Police in Italy have arrested a man for impersonating a pilot and fooling the crew and ground staff into letting him into the cockpit of a European flight, the BBC reports.

A man managed to pose as a pilot using a uniform and fake ID and fly in the cockpit of an Air Dolomiti flight from Munich to Turin on April 6. Reportedly he flew as a “third pilot” and did not touch the controls.

Police, who have not revealed the man’s name, say he is jobless. They are now investigating his motives. They’re also checking to see if he managed to become a “crew member” of any other flights. He was arrested at Turin airport and was found to be in possession of uniforms similar to those worn by pilots but lacking an airline logo, a fake ID and fake flight manuals.

The man used the alias Andrea Sirlo and even created a Facebook page for himself with fake flight attendants as friends.

The website Myflightbook lists Andrew Sirlo as the pilot on a Munich-Turin flight on October 23, 2011.

Bungling airport security seems to be a regular feature here on Gadling. We’ve covered a number of stories such as a child boarding an international flight without a ticket or passport, TSA workers claiming body scanners cause cancer, and an elderly woman being put on the wrong flight.

[Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

New Airport Entertainment Options Coming Soon Via Wi-Fi

by Chris Owen on

Airport entertainment options run the gambit from TV monitors hanging around here and there to the magazine racks of gift shops. In Singapore, travelers killing time between flights can go for a swim. In Orlando, kids can visit a huge Disney store. Starting this fall at Raleigh-Durham airport, ClearVision arrives as a new video diversion for travelers.

A product from Clear Channel Airports, known as the world’s leading marketer of airport advertising, ClearVision will bring together a customized lineup of news and entertainment programming.

“Airports ultimately will be able to leverage Wi-Fi services to provide travelers accustomed to on-demand content access to the ClearVision network on their smartphones, iPads and laptops,” said Clear Channel’s Toby Sturek in an Executive Travel Magazine article.

Rather than just CNN’s news-only airport network, ClearVision will bring together a customized lineup of news and entertainment programming from a variety of sources, including CBS News, CBS Entertainment, CBS Daytime and CBS Interactive; NBC offerings like “The Today Show,” “Smash,” “The Voice,” “America’s Got Talent” and “The Office”; daily headlines from The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Live; and sports from the Tennis Channel.

The company said it will work with airports and a partner called connectVISION Digital Networks to assemble content from media providers, adding local news programming into the mix.

In a statement, connectVISION marketing chief David Tetreault explains, “Our goal is to provide travelers – especially frequent business travelers – a diverse, 20-hour-a-day programming lineup of top network shows, news, weather, and sports while enabling airports to deliver a customized TV station with local flare and programming.”

Interesting to be sure. But not as much fun as Singapore’s tallest slide at Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 where travelers can speed along at 6 meters/second as we see in this video:



[Flickr photo by bgmb42]

Sleeping Man Found On Luggage Belt In Rome Airport

by Jessica Festa on

Airport security certainly sees some unusual items going through baggage screenings; however, the TSA at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport were recently shocked when the outline and internal organs of a sleeping man popped up on their X-Ray machine.

According to The Guardian, a 36-year-old Norwegian tourist was found fast asleep on the baggage conveyor belt in Terminal 3. He had spent about 25 minutes riding around, blissfully unaware of where he was. Unfortunately, waking up was not so pleasant as he is now facing charges for the unauthorized ride.

When found, the man appeared to have been drinking heavily. After dumping his bags on the luggage belt at an unoccupied check-in point, he had lay down and fallen asleep on the main belt. Thankfully, police say his impromptu journey was not a security risk.

“There is a security system – a sort of roll-up blind – which can only be opened by the member of staff who loads the baggage,” a police officer told Italian newspaper La Repubblica. “[The Norwegian] could have carried on going round the main belt but he could never have ended up in sensitive areas of the airport.”

[Image via MadEmoiselle Sugar]