Airport Safety

Welcome to Behind the Scenes at the Airport where we show you all the amazing things that happen from arriving at the airport to flying in the plane.

On this page we’re looking at the important work that goes into making sure you’re journeys in the sky are as safe as possible!

Now you’re probably, not thinking about safety – you’re just too excited to be going on holiday!

Luckily there are loads of people working at the airport to make sure your journey runs smoothly and safely. Here’s a quick look at some of the things they do:

Baggage

To keep everyone safe there are rules on what you can and can’t take on board planes, and which items must be put into the hold with your suitcases.

There’s always lots of signs around the airport to help you and when you check in the staff will also ask about what’s in your luggage.

Security

There are also rules on what you can take onto a plane. After check in you’ll get to put your hand luggage through a special X-Ray machine to make sure there’s nothing there that’s not allowed.

You also get to go through a cool machine – the Archway Metal Detector (or AMD for short!). The machine may beep as you walk through and the Security Officers may search you – you might even get a sticker!

A lot of airports now also use a body scanner. This is a really hi-tech machine that takes a picture of the person and displays it on a screen for the Security Officer to look at.

Roaming Security

Even when you’ve gone through Security you’ll probably see lots of security guards and police officers walking around – maybe even police dogs too!

They are constantly on hand to keep passengers safe and to assist in an emergency. The dogs are hard at work too so even if you want to give them a pat, it’s best to leave them to it!

Checking the Plane

Your plane will be thoroughly checked over before you’re allowed on to make sure there’s nothing on board that shouldn’t be and also to make sure there are no mechanical problems either.

Now, it can be boring sometimes waiting for your plane to be ready, but just remember – it’s for your own good!

The Airfield

There’s also plenty going on behind-the-scenes. Airfield managers and air traffic controllers are constantly working to make sure there aren’t any accidents on or above the airfield.

Airfield managers keep the runways in good condition and make sure things like wildlife and rubbish are kept off the tarmac.

Emergencies

You will have probably noticed from everything above, that lots of work goes into preventing any issues from happening. But even if there is an emergency, airports have security and fire engines on hand to come to the rescue, perfectly equipped to deal with pretty much any situation!

Want to explore more Behind the Scenes at the Airport? Click here!