Behind the scenes at Gatwick

Students were given a unique opportunity to experience Gatwick Airport airside on a recent field trip – the trip was linked to the International Transportation module.

The trip was organised by the Manager of Airside Control, Ian Hamilton, and both staff and students had to go through security checks beforehand as well as on the day. This was a very special trip that the course team had been trying to organise for years without any luck as security issues had always been a problem. There was a real buzz of excitement that the trip had finally come together.

During the day students drove along the airfield and runway. They also saw an Emirates A380 land and then followed it onto stand, where they were given a tour of the aircraft which included first class, business class, special bar area and the cockpit. The Emirates crew were very obliging and explained all the areas and differences between the classes and the special features of the plane.

They also visited the air traffic control tower and watched the operations, and had a tour of the fire department where they sat in the engines and met the firemen.

One of the trip highlights was driving on the runway – very fast; only special airfield control vehicles are allowed on the runway and they have to move very quickly!

This trip added to students understanding of airport operations and the complexity of running such a busy operation where security and safety are everything. All agreed it was the best field trip ever and they found the airport fascinating – many felt it would be somewhere they would like to work at in the future.

We hope we can repeat the trip in the near future.