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

On this page we’ll be telling you all about the different things you do at the airport.

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.

Things you’ll do…
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When you take a train to visit a friend, it only takes a minute to hop on and hop off.  But if you’re getting on a plane, it’s a bit more complicated – although a lot more exciting!  It all starts when you arrive at the terminal.

Check-in

The first thing you have to do when you arrive at the airport is to check in.  This is a bit like the school register.  They look at your passport, tick you off the list and give you a seat number which is normally printed on aboarding card, an extra piece of paper to hold – don’t lose it!

Security Check

This is a very important step that makes sure everyone stays safe.

Your hand luggage goes through a special X-Ray machine to make sure there’s nothing in there that’s not allowed.

Then you have to walk through a special metal detector after taking your shoes off and putting any jewellery or coins in a tray – anything metal will make the machines beep!

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The Gate

The gate is the name for the place where you get on the plane.  Airports have dozens of gates, each serving a different plane.  Before each gate is a departure lounge, with seats and snack machines to keep you comfy whilst the plane gets ready for boarding.

When the plane is ready, the gate opens and you can take your seats on the plane. Just inside the door, a flight attendant will check your boarding card and show you to your seat.  And then you’re ready for takeoff!

So what happened to your bag???

When you check in and get your boarding card, your bag will also get a ticket as well. However, it then goes off behind the curtain on a different journey of its own, meeting you at your destination – so where does it go?

All large airports have massive networks of conveyor belts to carry bags about.  Many are high speed, with thousands of bags being whizzed around every hour, and automated – with the barcode on the ticket telling a computer where to send it.

In the baggage area, all bags are X-Rayed and then sorted by baggage handlers and computers onto different baggage trucks which take the bags to the right planes.

If you look out of the windows at the airports quite often you can see the baggage trucks motoring around the airfield, carrying bags to and from the planes. Well, these are your bags travelling with you so they’re ready for you to pick up wherever you go!