BBC Four - The Secret Life of the Airport [2009] [3 Part]

Three-part series charting the development of Britain's airports and how they have transformed the country, in the process creating both freedom and fear.


This part takes us from the heady, imperial glamour of Britain's first airport terminal at Croydon to the internationally-agreed hieroglyphics on today's taxiways and runways. Using rare archive and access to airports' hidden corners, it reveals the intense local rivalry, skulduggery and sheer passion for flight behind our airports.
Contributors include architect Lord Foster, philosopher and author Alain de Botton, veterans of Britain's interwar airports and a 'wildlife control co-ordinator', talking about how, in 100 years, the muddy airfield became the 24-hour airport.





This part explores the golden age of jet travel, when 'money, tickets, passport' became the mantra of the moving masses. Using rare archive and contributions from early travellers and airport workers, it looks at how airports expanded our horizons and the repercussions that these gateways of the globe had for British society.
Contributors include Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic and author Sarfraz Manzoor.





The final part takes us from the open, easily accessible airport of the late 1960s to present day security procedures and climate protest. Using rare archive and eye-witness accounts, it reveals the events that have shaped our experience and view of the modern airport. Contributors include Lord Foster, Jonathan Glancey and Will Self.