Young Aviators Terminal 5 Trip

On Thursday 6 November, ten students from the GHC Young Aviators Club visited Heathrow Terminal 5 for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go airside. Airside refers to the part of an airport used by aircraft for loading, unloading, take-offs, and landings – a tightly controlled and secure area of the terminal.

Students explored the complex and fascinating engineering marvel that is the underground baggage system — miles of conveyor belts incorporating sophisticated automation and scanning systems to ensure bags reach the correct flights.

Other highlights included walking onto the tarmac to get up close to planes preparing for departure, going through security alongside crew and pilots, and visiting the 24/7 Baggage Operations Control Room.

Following the visit, the group stopped by the British Airways Headquarters at Waterside to visit the Speedbird Centre, learning about the airline’s 100+ year history. They also attended a talk by Michelle Murray, Lead Customer Excellence Manager, who spoke about the variety of roles available at BA and the skills the company looks for in young people wishing to join the airline.

Russell Wooding, Baggage Transition Manager for Heathrow, who kindly hosted the trip, commented:

'It was a real pleasure taking the group around yesterday — the youngest we have ever taken on a tour. All the students were extremely well-behaved, very polite, and most importantly inquisitive, asking some really good questions. They all commented during the tour that this exceeded their ideas of what baggage systems involve and look like, and many are now wishing to pursue a career at Heathrow – some within our Engineering & Baggage department.

It is worth sharing that when going through Staff Security, an Officer said that they had never seen such a well-behaved group of students come through — I can assure you, that is indeed amazing feedback!

Owing to the maturity and exemplary behaviour of these ten students, Russell and his colleagues have kindly offered to run a second trip for those who missed out on this occasion.

We would like to say a huge thank you to the staff at Heathrow, Vanderlande, and British Airways for hosting this amazing visit.