The Aiport – everything you ever wanted to know about the airport and more!

On this page we’ll be telling you all about some of our favourite facts about airports, planes and flight in general.

And if you fancy exploring any of the other sections, simply click one of the buttons below.

Brought to you by Heathrow – making every journey better.

Fantastic Airport Facts
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Airports are fascinating places. So you can show off to your mates or just enjoy for yourself, here are some of our favourite facts:

Today’s pilots have to sit lots of exams, but in the 1920s, anyone could fly passengers or goods without obtaining a pilot’s licence or having to pass any difficult tests!

The bigger the plane – the longer the runway needs to be.  The Antonov AN225, which is one of the largest cargo aircrafts in the world, needs a runway that is 4 kilometres long!

Atlanta airport in America is one of the largest airports in the world and has over 180 gates!  Getting to the gates can take a long time – as much as half an hour to walk there!

It’s not just bags that go in the hold – it’s also the place where animals travel!  Many airplanes have special insulated parts in the hold for jet setting pets.  And did you know pets must have their own passports to travel, just like you and me?

In the early days of flying pilots didn’t have air traffic control to direct them safely into the sky or onto the runways.  They just had to keep their eyes open and to be “see and be seen!”  Hope they didn’t blink for too long!

Snow or ice on the airfield can be extremely dangerous, but grit can’t be used like it is on the roads, it would be dangerous to the plane if it got in the engines.  A special de-icing chemical called Glycol is used by the dozens of de-icing and snow ploughing vehicles that keep the runways clear.

The air crew will make sure the aircraft doors are shut and secured before take off – and the door will not open in flight because it is actually bigger than the door frame itself, and the pressure inside the cabin keeps it snugly in place!

If you want to be an air traffic controller speaking English is an advantage.  Air traffic controllers over the world have to speak English when required!

Heathrow Airport was built in the 1940s by the government, but it didn’t look like it does today!  The terminal building was just a row of tents!  Sounds draughty!

A nice cup of tea in a china cup is something many people associate with England but every teabag has come a very long way!  Most tea that we consume is grown in India from where it has been imported for hundreds of years.