Airport to feature in eight-part TV series
MAJOR CARGO OPERATION ‘SOLD DOCU MAKERS ON FILMING HERE’
EAST Midlands Airport is to feature in a new TV documentary series which starts this month.
Mega Air, an eight-part series broadcast on Dave from Saturday, October 26, at 2pm, follows major airlines and logistics companies as they transport products around the world.
Much of the airport footage was shot at East Midlands, home to the UK’s biggest dedicated air cargo operation.
As well as filming cargo aircraft flying in and out of the airport, the documentary makers look behind the scenes of the operation, giving viewers a glimpse of what’s involved in running an airport open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
It was filmed during a six-month period from October 2018 to March year.
Members of the airport team featured on the show include airfield engineering team leader Steve Irwin, airfield operations and wildlife control officer Keith Booth, fire duty watch manager Jez Paget, air traffic services manager Paul Kay and managing director Karen Smart.
Overnight runway repair and modification works, a fire training drill and the steps taken to control wildlife on this the airfield all feature in the series. Airport media relations manager Ioan Reed-Aspley said: “We’re really proud to be a key focus of Mega Air. “From the moment the producers first saw the cargo operation they were sold on the idea of filming here. The mix of traffic coming in and out of the airport combined with the scale of the operation really appealed to them. “This documentary brings to life some of the daily challenges that our dedicated team face keeping the 24-hour operation running, ensuring that both people and goods can fly in and out every day of the year.”
As well as connecting 4.9 million passengers a year to more than 80 destinations in 20 countries, the airport is also the UK’s busiest dedicated cargo airport. Second only to Heathrow in terms of the total weight of cargo that passes through it annually, it handles 365,000 tonnes of cargo a year (1,000 tonnes a day).
In August, the airport’s cargo operation hit another key milestone with the value of goods imported and exported to non-EU countries exceeding £11 billion a year.
Latin America, Asia, North America and the Middle East are some of the biggest regions for exports.
Overnight runway repairs, a fire training drill and the steps taken to control wildlife on the airfield all feature