Arrival

S1 E3: There are around a million people airborne at any one time. But what goes up must come down - and getting passengers safely back to earth depends on complex global networks and some astonishing technology. Around the world, 100,000 flights a day make touchdown – almost every one safely. In this programme we explore what is involved in bringing the citizens of the sky back to the ground. We take a front row seat, joining one of the most experienced pilots in the Himalayas in his cockpit. Our pilot is one of just 26 in the world qualified to land at Paro, Bhutan, considered by many to be the world’s most dangerous place to land. It’s a hair-raising flight through an incredibly narrow valley, just a few hundred feet from the mountainside. In Atlanta airport, we meet up with air traffic controllers who at certain times of year may have to guide in 1000 flights a day. Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world, and we find out how its ingenious layout helps it cope with the weight of numbers. At Bangor Airport, in Maine, staff are on a constant state of alert: this is a designated emergency airport, and there have been over 2000 unscheduled landings here in the last decade. We join the airport fire crew for emergency response training. With the City in the sky predicted to double in size in the next 20 years, we learn what challenges will be faced in the decades to come.