Airport (TV series)

Airport
Airport title card from Season 8
Narrated by	John Nettles (1996–2005) Liza Tarbuck (2005) Robert Webb (2008)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	11
No. of episodes	96 (+ 7 specials)
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC Two (1996, 2008) BBC One (1997–2005)
Picture format	4:3 (1996–1998) 16:9 (1999–2005, 2008)
Original release	2 May 1996 (1996-05-02) – 24 July 2008 (2008-07-24)

Airport is a British documentary television series based at London Heathrow Airport, the world's busiest international airport, broadcast by the BBC and syndicated to Dave, part of the UKTV network.

The show is a fly-on-the-wall series following a handful of passengers and staff based at the airport, who work for the airlines, BAA, (the airport operator), the animal reception centre, which handles all animals arriving and departing through the airport, the ambulance, fire and police services serving the airport, customs and immigration, resident press and others. The airlines and staff featured tend to change from series to series. However, certain staff feature in multiple series.

The first series of Airport aired on BBC Two in 1996. Originally intended to be a low-key behind-the-scenes documentary, the emergence of several memorable recurring characters gave the show a docusoap feel. As a result, the series was transferred to a primetime BBC One slot the following year. Special fame was gained by Jeremy Spake, an Aeroflot employee, whose flamboyance earned him a series of short 'bumpers' on UKTV People explaining how to best use airports. Other airlines featured throughout the series are Avianca, Aer Lingus, BMI, Canadian Airlines, Cyprus Airways, Czech Airlines, El Al, Emirates, Gulf Air, Icelandair, Iran Air, Jat Airways, Kuwait Airways, Pakistan International, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic.