BBC - Secret Life of the Airport (2009) Part 3 The Final Approach

The Secret Life of the Airport documents the rise of mass air travel, starting with a look at the advent of commercial air travel through to the dropping of prices and the rise of mass air tourism. Once, all cities aspired to having their own cathedral. Now, they want an airport and 44 public airports are now in use in Britain. The series looks at how the system of airports developed, and how they have transformed people's attitudes towards travel and made long distance travel more widely available. Series charts the airports and how they have transformed the country, in the process creating both freedom and fear. A social history of how airports came into being, the series is also an affectionate and entertaining look at how we got used to living with them and the ways in which they changed us.

Part 3: The Final Approach

The final part takes us from the open, easily accessible airport of late 1960s to one besieged by present day security procedures and climate protesters. 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.

Full Version Available Upon Request