"Airport 24/7" Customer Service

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,120 Thank you. Thank you. Airport Thank you. Thank you. Airport is 2 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:00,240 Thank you. Thank you. Airport is next, 3 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:00,400 Thank you. Thank you. Airport is next, see 4 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,240 Uh, we've probably got about five minutes 5 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:09,240 till the next aircraft probably uses this taxiway. 6 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:10,520 (DRILL WHIRS) 7 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,600 Very important to make sure we don't, uh, 8 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:14,840 stay here too long. 9 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:16,880 Especially with aircraft landing the whole time. 10 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,320 (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) 11 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:24,280 Is he coming our way, Gab? 12 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:25,760 Uh, yeah. 13 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:33,074 14 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:36,680 NARRATOR: In Australia, 15 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:38,640 'just down the road' 16 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:40,640 can mean hundreds of kilometres. 17 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,960 So, to keep everyone connected, we rely on planes. 18 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:47,440 (INDISTINCT CHATTER) 19 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:49,480 And lots of them. 20 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:55,680 Crucial to this highway in the sky is Melbourne Airport. 21 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:00,640 Melbourne Airport - expect the unexpected. 22 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:03,520 It's the busiest airport in the country 23 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,040 that operates 24 hours a day... 24 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:08,360 They might not have experienced something like this before. 25 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:10,000 ..seven days a week. 26 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,520 We've had fog, we've had rain. 27 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:13,920 So tonight we've got to get it done. 28 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,240 With unprecedented access... 29 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:19,120 The team are always on alert. 30 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,600 ..from the control tower... First aid call. 31 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:23,800 ..to the tarmac... It's all about speed. 32 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,960 ..to the airport's 24-7 nerve centre... 33 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:29,280 Even if there's an incident, we're the ones scrambling 34 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,000 and passengers still have a smooth journey. 35 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:32,920 ..we're going behind the scenes... 36 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:34,760 MAN: We're looking at the cameras now. 37 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,880 ..to places very few people get to see. 38 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,160 What's inside that? 39 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,720 All to keep Melbourne airport running smoothly, 40 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:47,080 safely... 41 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,120 Suspected firearms still in the chamber. 42 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:50,840 ..and on time. 43 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:52,320 Two down, one to go. 44 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,520 At a 24-7 airport, every... 45 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:57,720 I don't want this kangaroo jumping anywhere. 46 00:01:57,720 --> 00:01:59,840 ..second counts. 47 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:02,120 10 to 6. We're on-scene. 48 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:03,920 We've got a green light. We're good to go. 49 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,000 Australia's largest all-hours airport 50 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,480 welcomes a whopping 35 million passengers every year. 51 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,840 MAN: (OVER RADIO) Jetstar 18, please land. 52 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,800 And today kicks off one of the busiest times of the year... 53 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:28,720 ..school holidays. 54 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,920 Over the next two weeks, an extra 350,000 passengers 55 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:36,960 will pass through the doors... 56 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,000 ..bringing total traveller numbers to 1.7 million. 57 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,360 That's a lot of screaming kids. 58 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:48,800 (INDISTINCT CHATTER, SHOUTING) 59 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,640 I love this time of year, when Melbourne's buzzing. 60 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:56,320 I mean, you can see it out there, you can feel it out there. 61 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:59,320 Leading the charge is IOC manager Daniel, 62 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,200 who's been working at the airport for ten years. 63 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,040 The prediction is that we'll hit about 118,000 passengers today. 64 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:07,600 There's a flow-on effect all the way through 65 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,720 from the freeway all the way to the airfield. 66 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:11,560 So from about now onwards, 67 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,960 we're going to start to see some capacity issues in International. 68 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,320 In Terminal 2, three international flights 69 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,720 have landed close together. 70 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,600 With all passengers needing to clear Border Force, 71 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:26,960 queues are building fast. 72 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:30,760 Terminal coordinator Sarah 73 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,000 is keeping a close eye on the congestion. 74 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,080 We are queuing up from around carousel 3 75 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,720 all the way to around carousel 1, 76 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:41,400 all the way here, 77 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,000 where they're met by a Border Force staff member. 78 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:46,880 If they are declaring, 79 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,080 they'll be directed into the red queue. 80 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,680 If they're not, they'll be directed to the green queue, 81 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:53,520 which will exit straight out. 82 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,640 The only issue now is we've got a massive flight that just landed 83 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:58,640 that's probably going to fill up the queues. 84 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,360 What we might do is just crowd control, 85 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,400 move some queues around to make it safe for everyone, 86 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,360 and allow people to the walk-through. 87 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:12,760 Exit between carousel 5 and 6, please. 88 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:14,600 Yeah. Just on the other side. 89 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,840 Yeah. If you're not declaring anything. 90 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:21,560 While Sarah wrangles the crowds in T2, 91 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:27,040 there is a call to the IOC about an issue affecting passengers in T4. 92 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:29,680 Does it impact their check-in? 93 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,360 OK. And is it having an impact on your flight, as of now? 94 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:35,680 (ON PHONE) Oh, yeah. 95 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,560 OK. And when did this issue start? 96 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,200 OK. No worries. Thanks. Bye. 97 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,480 Uh, Dan, just for your info, 98 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,920 there's a host connection issue for Jetstar, 99 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,560 so they cannot use any self-service kiosks. 100 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,720 So they have to do manual check-in. Uh-oh. 101 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:56,920 She doesn't know what's the impact as of now. 102 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:58,440 Understood. 103 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:01,480 I'll just give them a heads-up. 104 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:04,720 In Terminal 4, 105 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:09,720 36 self-check-in kiosks and 18 bag drops have gone down. 106 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:13,920 It's an IT outage for the airline, 107 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:18,480 and the provider has no idea when it will come back online. 108 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,240 Meanwhile, Jetstar has 20 flights departing Melbourne 109 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:23,680 in the next three hours. 110 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:25,720 Actually, there are trends building up down there 111 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:27,400 that I can see on the cameras. 112 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:31,720 I'll double check, but usually around... (INDISTINCT) (RITESH SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) 113 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,600 3,700 passengers need to check in, 114 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:39,600 but, with the system crawling at 10% capacity, 115 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:41,640 it's less smooth sailing 116 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:45,120 and more like a chaotic conga line. 117 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:47,120 Yeah, yeah, we've got cameras on. 118 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,280 There's probably about 200-odd passengers in the hall. 119 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:52,520 Alright? We'll keep you posted. 120 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:54,840 Alright. See ya. Bye. 121 00:05:57,720 --> 00:05:59,520 Issue down at T4? 122 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,880 There's still manual check-in. They're just a little bit nervous 123 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:04,680 and it's starting to build up. 124 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,440 The queues are building. I think we've got about an hour. 125 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,400 And if it's not good, it's going to become... 126 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,320 Thank you, Dan. Thank you. 127 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,640 Today's afternoon peak hits at 3pm, 128 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,000 with a surge in passenger numbers expected. 129 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:25,520 If the issue isn't fixed by then, 130 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:28,280 the airline won't be able to keep up, 131 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:30,160 leading to widespread delays, 132 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,160 with the ripple effects felt across the country. 133 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,360 ANNOUNCEMENT: ..flight JQ 518 through to Sydney. 134 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:37,840 Once again, we do apologise for the delay on your service. 135 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:40,200 'Cause it is school holidays, 136 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:42,360 obviously the airlines will be a bit concerned. 137 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:44,040 We'd be a bit concerned, 138 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:47,880 just to see whether we're going to have any congestion. 139 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:51,200 Obviously, passengers impacted on travel, 140 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:55,000 people can't check in quickly or their flight's potentially delayed, 141 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:56,840 and they've got connections to other cities, 142 00:06:56,840 --> 00:06:58,680 whichever it might be, 143 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:03,360 it can spill over into passengers becoming a little bit aggressive 144 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:05,800 or, you know, a little bit frustrated. 145 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:07,360 But our role is then to go down there 146 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:09,840 and make sure that they're informed, they know what's going on. 147 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:11,960 Generally, that keeps the nerves down. 148 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,680 If they don't know and they can just see chaos, 149 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:17,160 then, yeah, we can get some bad reactions. 150 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:18,920 You know, it could escalate very quickly. 151 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:20,560 So we're on alert now just to be ready. 152 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:23,880 ANNOUNCEMENT: Please make your way to gate 49, 153 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,640 as your flight is closing. 154 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:29,080 You walk in and it's packed out. 155 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:31,560 Oh, you get a little bit annoyed. Especially if you're 156 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:34,680 running a bit late to catch a flight. So... 157 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,360 With the issue threatening to disrupt 158 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:39,720 all of Jetstar's Melbourne departures, 159 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,520 terminal coordinators Sarah and Nathan 160 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,280 are both called in to steady the ship. 161 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:47,800 In 30 to 40 minutes, it's going to get really busy. 162 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:52,040 So we're just gonna grab our portable check-in counters. 163 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:57,760 So these counters are designed to be moved around in a moment of crisis. 164 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,000 Melbourne Airport has mobile check-in counters 165 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,760 that can manually check passengers in. 166 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,520 All I need is people to be able to stand there and force bags down. 167 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:08,840 You're checking them in. 168 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:10,720 They don't have enough staff at the moment 169 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:13,720 to operate all of the bag drops to manually bag drop, 170 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:15,000 so we're going to help them out. 171 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,600 I'm happy to hang around and force-release bags for you guys. 172 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:19,600 Yeah. 173 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,120 We are getting our hands dirty today. (LAUGHS) 174 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,600 You've got a bag tag on there? 175 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:26,760 Do you want to come through to me? 176 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:28,200 Just one at a time. 177 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:31,320 You're all good. Thank you. 178 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:35,200 Two domestic flights are set to depart in the next 15 minutes, 179 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,280 but queues are growing 180 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:41,160 and a lot of the passengers aren't even checked in. 181 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,040 If we had a massive influx of passengers at the same time 182 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:45,880 for flights that are departing soon 183 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,440 might cause us an issue, with people potentially missing flights. 184 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:54,000 WOMAN: We're checked in, we just can't drop our bag. 185 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:02,240 Flights on time? 186 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:15,920 Our planes ready to close off in, like, ten minutes. 187 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:17,400 There's a lot of other people 188 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:19,120 that are going to be in the worst predicament. 189 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,400 With the 3pm afternoon peak fast approaching... 190 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:25,840 You're almost there. 191 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:27,760 ..concern is rising. 192 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,440 As soon as we hear anything on our end, we'll let you know. 193 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:33,960 Alright. Thanks. Bye. 194 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:35,920 The Jetstar duty manager, 195 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:37,960 asking if we had an update from SITA. 196 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:40,600 SITA's the company that looks after all the kiosks 197 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,480 and the technology around the kiosk, the self-check-in kiosks. 198 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:46,720 So we're waiting from them for an update to see what's going on. 199 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,360 Jetstar's obviously getting nervous. 200 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:52,760 Uh, Dan? Yeah, I spoke to SITA. 201 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:53,880 Yeah? 202 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:09,760 With no solution in sight, 203 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,280 a crisis management meeting is called in the IOC. 204 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,080 With that in mind, since it's a waiting game, 205 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:17,280 we'll do next EMT in an hour. 206 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:19,800 Crisis at the airport would be 207 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,520 anything that interrupts the passenger journey. 208 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:25,720 So if you can't get on the plane, that's a crisis. 209 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,920 But from what we're hearing, it's starting to build down there. 210 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,440 We still have high passenger loads due to school holidays. 211 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,720 Got probably another 3 or 4 flights opening up in the next half an hour 212 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:36,520 that would probably be affected. 213 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,280 We'll probably start seeing delays from now. 214 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:41,520 If this isn't fixed by this evening, 215 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:43,800 they won't be able to keep up with demand. 216 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,800 ANNOUNCEMENT: Both of these services will be closing shortly. 217 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,120 It's a crisis. 218 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:00,600 With 118,000 passengers expected today, 219 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:03,720 Melbourne Airport staff are being pushed to the limit. 220 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,800 But no matter how hectic things get, 221 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,120 the goal remains the same - 222 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:12,800 keeping people safe. 223 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:19,240 Up in the tower, air traffic control keeps watch over the skies... 224 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:21,560 Runway 27 cleared for take-off. 225 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:25,880 ..expertly managing over 700 aircraft movements a day, 226 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,320 directing take-offs and landings, 227 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,680 sometimes with just seconds in between. 228 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:35,280 Wind 200 degrees... (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) 229 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,480 (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) 230 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:44,160 Supporting the tower on the ground is the airside safety crew. 231 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:48,120 We're the eyes of the tower on the ground. 232 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:50,920 We're first response to all emergencies out here. 233 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:54,440 Pretty much anything that happens on the airfield comes through us. 234 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,600 Senior airside safety officer Rodney 235 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:01,080 has been working at the airport for 37 years. 236 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:03,760 Starting in '88 and still here now. 237 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:05,160 Every day I come to work, 238 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:06,960 I keep telling everyone I love this job. 239 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,760 I love the people I work with. 240 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:10,840 And, whenever something does happen, 241 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:12,800 I mean, it gets the adrenaline running. 242 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,160 The tower has just received an emergency call 243 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:18,600 from an incoming flight. 244 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:19,720 OK. 245 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:23,360 A ten-month-old baby is suffering anaphylaxis. 246 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,120 A pan emergency has been declared, 247 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,600 the second-highest distress call after a mayday. 248 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:33,280 The tower needs to alert the Integrated Operations Centre 249 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,640 to get help on the ground fast. 250 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:37,640 G'day, Tower. What's up? 251 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:39,400 Pan medical. Which one? 252 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:41,720 517, inbound to Golf 51. 253 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:46,000 We have a ten-month-old possibly having an anaphylactic reaction. 254 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,640 And that's all I've got. 255 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:49,840 Calling ambulance. Calling off. 256 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:54,680 Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction. 257 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:56,680 There's no time to waste. 258 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:01,000 The IOC must coordinate a full emergency response. 259 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:02,680 Aviation rescue and firefighting. 260 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:05,920 Jetstar, JQ 517, they have declared a pan medical. 261 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,960 (SIREN BLARES) 262 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:11,880 Attention, attention. First aid call. 263 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,000 10 to 6, turn out. 264 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,600 With the flight set to land in just six minutes, 265 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:20,400 it's been given priority over all other arrivals. 266 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,720 Rod is leading the airside response. 267 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:29,480 4, can you head straight over there, please, bud, 268 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:30,960 and stand by there? 269 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:33,680 Yeah, on the way. 270 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:37,480 It's a medical emergency. 271 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:42,600 So they've called a pan, which means it's full-on. 272 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:47,120 I mean, we probably average, you know, 3 or 4 ambos a day, 273 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:48,920 out here. 274 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:51,520 And it's not that you don't take every one of them serious, 275 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:53,200 but when you hear a ten-month-old, 276 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,920 most people get that bit of a rush, you know, to get there. 277 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:58,520 So we'll have cars waiting 278 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:00,240 'cause we'll have ambulances arrive. 279 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:02,120 Uh, there'll be a first responder 280 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:04,160 which we'll get in as soon as we can. 281 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,080 Our aim, at the end of the day, is to make sure everyone goes home, 282 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:09,240 you know, healthy and safe. 283 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,840 The flight has entered Melbourne airspace. 284 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:17,160 Pan procedure requires air traffic control 285 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,520 to carefully negotiate the safe landing of the plane 286 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:24,080 ahead of all other aircraft. 287 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,680 If Velocity A823's with you, can you get them to hold position? 288 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:28,400 (INDISTINCT) ..hold position. 289 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:30,320 Jetstar 50, runway 27. 290 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,080 (OVER RADIO) 4 knots. Runway 27 cleared to land. 291 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,640 That might even be the aircraft there. 292 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,240 They still must rate it fairly serious, 293 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,360 because, uh, they are hiking to the bay. 294 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,040 2:40pm. Back at Terminal 4, 295 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:08,960 a system outage has taken down all self-check-in kiosks, 296 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:11,120 leading to long queues. 297 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:12,760 ANNOUNCEMENT: ..have a system outage. 298 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:16,480 On top of that, it's the busy school holiday period. 299 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:21,440 Our kiosk machines and bag drops are not working this afternoon. 300 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:23,120 As the pressure builds, 301 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,680 another 500 passengers arrive, 302 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:31,400 and three afternoon flights have just opened at check-in. 303 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:32,880 Just lay it flat for me, please. 304 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,000 At the Integrated Operations Centre, 305 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,920 terminal coordinator Ritesh 306 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:42,560 is monitoring the growing crowds on CCTV. 307 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:46,000 Is that line next to... (INDISTINCT) ..is it gone out? 308 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,280 Is it gone out on onto the forecourt? 309 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,920 What will happen, as soon as it goes onto the forecourt, 310 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:54,960 that would cause a problem. 311 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,320 If the crowd keeps growing 312 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,240 and spills towards the passenger drop-off areas, 313 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,920 it could quickly become a safety concern. 314 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,640 We'll got some holding rails there also. 315 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,760 Yeah, yeah. That'd be great. Just to get one or two of the lines to go down towards. 316 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,440 Yeah, yeah. So that they can, you know, 317 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:14,560 still keep them in the terminal, though. 318 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:16,800 Yeah. I don't want them to go out. 319 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:18,400 OK. Brilliant. No worries. 320 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:19,800 Thanks, man. BOTH: Bye. 321 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:25,360 Priority is now to make sure the passengers are safe 322 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:27,040 and they don't spill outside. 323 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:29,000 ANNOUNCEMENT: On behalf of Jetstar, we do apologise... 324 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,640 With just ten minutes before the 3pm peak, 325 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,320 there's still no resolution in sight. 326 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:45,240 On the airfield, a flight with an ongoing medical emergency 327 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:48,160 has touched down at Melbourne Airport. 328 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,080 On board, a ten-month-old baby boy 329 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,760 is suffering a suspected anaphylactic reaction. 330 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:57,600 Car 2. 331 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,400 First responders and ambos should go straight up onboard. 332 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:04,240 Paramedics need urgent access to the plane. 333 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,320 Every second matters. 334 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:17,280 A flight with an ongoing medical emergency 335 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:20,000 has touched down at Melbourne Airport. 336 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:27,200 A ten-month-old baby boy suffering a suspected anaphylactic reaction 337 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:28,800 is onboard. 338 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:30,400 Car 2. 339 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,320 Senior airside safety officer Rod 340 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,040 is on-site overseeing the coordinated response. 341 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,840 First responders and ambos should go straight up onboard. 342 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:44,400 They won't allow other passengers off until they deal with this. 343 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:55,440 The top priority now is gaining immediate access to the plane. 344 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,840 My daughter's anaphylactic as well, so... 345 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,320 Anything like that always hits you, especially with kids. 346 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,840 It does pull at the heartstrings a little bit. 347 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:19,600 Thanks to a junior EpiPen administered on board, 348 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,440 the baby boy's breathing has stabilised, 349 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:26,880 but he still needs to head to hospital for further assessment. 350 00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:31,440 The swift, coordinated response 351 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:36,520 meant he received medical attention just two minutes after landing. 352 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,720 It's not just a solo effort. 353 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:45,320 It starts when they call. 354 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,480 Then the guys in the tower give them priority, 355 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:48,880 then the guys on the ground. 356 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:53,400 You know, as well as in the IOC, 357 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,880 you know, getting everything in place. 358 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:00,960 It's just a big lot of people 359 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:02,840 that all do their little bit 360 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,360 to make sure everyone goes home healthy and safe. 361 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:13,440 With just five minutes until the afternoon peak... 362 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,440 ..there's finally some good news in the IOC. 363 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:20,840 Just checking... the systems are coming back online? 364 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:22,400 Thank you. Bye. 365 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:25,640 It's back! 366 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:27,760 Hopefully it stays like that. 367 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:29,600 Is the issue resolved? 368 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,120 There are systems coming back, so I just want to know that as well. 369 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:35,320 If you can check, yeah... OK. No worries. 370 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,040 Thank you, mate. Bye. Bye. 371 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,520 It looks like we're back in action and we're all good. 372 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:40,760 We'll have a quick check. 373 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:45,000 OK, cool. So judging by the self-check-in, 374 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,040 it seems like everything's back up and running. 375 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:49,120 As the 3pm rush hits, 376 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:51,560 the tech issue is resolved - 377 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:53,960 just in time. 378 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:58,280 Melbourne Airport and the airline have avoided major delays, 379 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:01,840 keeping flights landing and departing on schedule. 380 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,720 Probably 30 minutes ago, as you guys would have seen, 381 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:07,200 terminal was packed full of people. 382 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:09,280 Since then, the numbers have gone down dramatically. 383 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,320 Everyone's getting to their flights on time. 384 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:13,160 There's no issue with any delays. 385 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:16,920 (LAUGHS) 386 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:22,560 (OVER RADIO) ..flight 71, request taxi. 387 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:24,760 (OVER RADIO) Taxi, Uniform Victor, Hotel to Foxtrot. 388 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,360 It's not just school holiday travellers 389 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:32,840 passing through the airport tonight. 390 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:38,720 There's some seriously valuable cargo on the move. 391 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:46,600 Tonight, nearly $400 million-worth of elite horses 392 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,280 are arriving for the Spring Racing Carnival. 393 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:56,120 IRT, a leader in international horse transport, 394 00:20:56,120 --> 00:21:00,120 is gearing up for one of the busiest nights in the year. 395 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,120 We've got a charter of horses coming in from Europe 396 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:06,360 with 68 horses on board. 397 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:09,480 So the horses coming through the warehouse tonight 398 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,600 will probably be in excess of 300 or 400 million, 399 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,440 probably worth more than the plane is. 400 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:18,160 I wouldn't be surprised if a future Melbourne Cup winner 401 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:20,400 is on this plane coming in tonight. 402 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:23,240 The full process tonight, 403 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,880 from arrival of the aircraft to everyone leaving the airport 404 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,520 is probably three hours. 405 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,960 So we've got to work within that timeframe. 406 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:35,240 Pressure's on the team. 407 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,640 We've probably got about 30 staff working tonight 408 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:40,800 to make sure everything goes smoothly. 409 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,800 I just need access to that because we have to move stalls... 410 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:45,560 Oh, yeah. OK. ..out. 411 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:48,440 6:03pm, 412 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:52,800 and 68 VIPs - very important ponies - 413 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:54,920 have just landed in style 414 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:58,120 on their own private jet from Doha. 415 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,840 While the unloading starts on the airfield, 416 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:04,720 the team at IRT and First Point 417 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:07,880 are preparing all their biosecurity measures. 418 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:10,520 Can you please set up the matting so it's ready? 419 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,720 Because they're going to start bringing them shortly. 420 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:16,000 So, the horses come in. 421 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:17,320 Anyone who's wearing yellow 422 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:19,400 will have to go through the showering-out process. 423 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:21,360 Anyone wearing orange is in the clean zone. 424 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:24,440 So if you're in the dirty zone, you complete here. 425 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:26,160 You'll shower out here in our facility. 426 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:28,720 And then you're clean, from biosecurity standards. 427 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:30,560 Fence in between. 428 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:34,000 Australia has some of the strictest biosecurity laws 429 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,320 in the world, 430 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:40,440 which exist to protect the $86 billion agricultural sector. 431 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:44,400 The key is keeping out diseases that we could get here in Australia, 432 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:45,840 which we don't have. 433 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,160 So we want to make sure we give Australia the best chance, 434 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:50,560 from a biosecurity point of view, 435 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:52,680 to ensure those diseases don't come in. 436 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:00,640 20 minutes after touchdown, 437 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:04,080 the first of the air stalls rolls into IRT. 438 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,480 Each horse travels in its own container, 439 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,560 like a business class suite with a lot more legroom. 440 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:14,480 So because this was a charter flight, 441 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:16,680 it would have been about 24 hours. 442 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:21,320 Normally, a flight from Europe would be closer to 28 to 30. 443 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,840 Now the unloading dance can begin. 444 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,680 Michelle, so, put these two in, 445 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,400 then bring those forward and put these two behind it. 446 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,400 From here, the yellow team begins the delicate task 447 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,160 of unloading the horses 448 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,320 and transferring them to waiting trucks. 449 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:46,680 It's going to wait to unload the other two, 450 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:48,800 and then they'll bring these in. 451 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:51,880 Well, there's always pressure every time you move any horse. 452 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,240 The most important thing with moving this many horses 453 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,040 is making sure the process is as streamlined and fast as possible. 454 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:00,880 The longer the horses are in transit, 455 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,480 the more likely there is for them to have an issue. 456 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,720 The loading and unloading process, 457 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:08,440 that's always the most dangerous part, 458 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,600 making sure horses can load safely. 459 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,840 The most important thing is avoiding stress on the horses. 460 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:18,400 So, really, for us here, it's all about speed. 461 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,080 Come in, unload straight onto the truck. 462 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,760 The horses couldn't care less about the ticking clock. 463 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,520 They move at their own schedule. 464 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,880 (COAXES HORSE) 465 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:41,800 (WHINNIES) 466 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:43,960 But the longer they take, 467 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,440 the longer their stable mates on the airfield have to wait. 468 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,680 68 elite horses are being processed into the country 469 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,840 to compete in the Spring Racing Carnival. 470 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,040 In the 2024 Melbourne Cup, 471 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:17,480 75% of the entries came from overseas. 472 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:23,280 Time's a hard one to gauge when you're unloading horses, 473 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:24,840 or any animals, for that matter. 474 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:28,120 You've got some horses are a little bit trickier than others to load 475 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:29,600 and that sort of thing. 476 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:31,840 So, what you think might take 10 minutes 477 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:34,920 can take 15 or 20, or so forth. 478 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:36,840 So it's always something different. 479 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,280 With horse welfare the top priority, 480 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,240 the goal is clear - 481 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:45,360 get them off the airfield as quickly as possible. 482 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:47,720 No worries, I'll get that going to speed up the process. 483 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:49,320 Alright, catch you. 484 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,880 Guys, do you want to just detach and go? 485 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:54,120 We'll use our tug here, 486 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:56,080 so you can go and get some more if you want. 487 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:58,320 We might speed up the process. 488 00:25:58,320 --> 00:25:59,640 Do you want to go this way? 489 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,400 We're just going to use our own tug to move the stalls through, 490 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:05,440 just to speed the process up so these guys can go back 491 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,320 and get some more. 492 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,280 I've never seen nothing like this. (LAUGHS) 493 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,600 I've never seen this many anywhere! 494 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:14,240 It's bananas. 495 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:15,720 Three in each one. 496 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:18,480 So there would have been 18 so far. 497 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:20,480 18 of the 68. 498 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,400 50 more to go. 499 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:28,160 The last thing they need is rain. 500 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:30,520 Yeah, it's getting a little bit wet out there. 501 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,680 Horses can be sensitive to anything, really. 502 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:46,280 Um, they're flighty animals. 503 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:47,920 You still want to keep them as calm as you can. 504 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:51,280 So moving as fast as we can through this rain is always better. 505 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:55,520 There's three in. 506 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:56,960 Uh, that's the double. 507 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:03,320 Including these ones here, 508 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,720 we've had about 36 come through the gate. 509 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:09,320 The storm is already slowing down operations. 510 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:13,480 If it gets worse, everything could come to a complete standstill. 511 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:15,680 If there is lightning within a certain distance of the airport, 512 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:17,120 they run a siren. 513 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:18,520 And then, once you hear that siren, 514 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:21,840 you know everyone stops work and goes and seeks cover. 515 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:23,520 So, if they shut down the airport, 516 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:25,080 then we've got to wait till that clears 517 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,320 before anyone can go back out on the tarmac to bring the horses in. 518 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,240 I don't want to hear it right now, that's for sure. 519 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,240 Rain's OK. Lightning, not so good. 520 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:39,800 Do you want to bring two more in? 521 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:41,120 Do it now? 522 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:42,920 Michelle! 523 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:44,160 We'll bring two more in. 524 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,000 Just as the sun begins to set, 525 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,680 a much-needed break in the weather finally arrives. 526 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:55,360 We're getting there. Thanks. 527 00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:59,480 The team moves into the final stage of the operation. 528 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:02,520 The last stalls are coming through the back gate now. 529 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,240 So, everyone's here. We've just got to get them unloaded. 530 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:08,120 Alright. 531 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:10,000 MICHELLE: We're just going to put these ones here again. 532 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:11,720 Not in, yeah. 533 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:14,360 We're getting there. 534 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:18,800 Unload these last 6 or 7, and then we're done. 535 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,200 Now the focus is solely on unloading 536 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,480 then transporting the horses to nearby quarantine 537 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:31,360 to get checked over. 538 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:36,320 How's it going, Pasca? 539 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:37,680 Getting there? 540 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:41,880 OK. This one's empty. 541 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:42,960 Yep. 542 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,680 The last three horses are finally unloaded. 543 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,040 Are we all in? Yeah. 544 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,440 For the team at IRT, 545 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:57,560 it's a huge sigh of relief. 546 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:00,960 Every one of their multi-million dollar passengers 547 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,880 is safe, sound and accounted for. 548 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:07,520 It's nice that the storm passed. We got through that. 549 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:10,080 But I think it's gone about as smoothly as it could have gone. 550 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:11,360 Yeah. 551 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:13,160 There's a lot going on throughout the night. 552 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:15,520 A lot of things moving around, a lot of adrenaline pumping. 553 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:18,000 But, at the end of the day, you sit back, you look back at it 554 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,920 and you have the satisfaction of everything you've just achieved. 555 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:23,040 You brought 68 horses in. 556 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,040 Can't do much more than that in an afternoon. 557 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:27,320 (OVER RADIO) 34, good for take-off. 558 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:37,360 Midnight, and Melbourne Airport is anything but asleep, 559 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:41,680 With the runways open 24-7, 560 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:43,600 the early hours are prime time 561 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:46,080 for freight and international flights. 562 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:48,200 22. 563 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:49,680 But there are fewer planes, 564 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:54,640 which makes this a perfect time to complete airfield maintenance. 565 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:58,360 And tonight, the lighting team will be using this window 566 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:00,280 to do some runway work. 567 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,200 I am a former South African. 568 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,160 Been in Australia for a bit over 25 years. 569 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:12,320 I've been with Melbourne Airport as a airfield lighting officer 570 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:15,360 for about 12.5 years now, 571 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:20,480 and looking after all the lights 572 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:24,400 that facilitate aircraft movement from arrival to departure. 573 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,600 Evening, grounds car 21 and company on Victor, 574 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:29,520 request a cross runway 27. 575 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:31,680 (OVER RADIO) Car 21 and company on ground, good evening, 576 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:34,040 on Victor cross runway 27. 577 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:35,400 Thank you. 578 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:38,680 So we're crossing runway 0927 at the moment. 579 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:42,640 It's operational, so we're not allowed to drive over it. 580 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:47,200 You can get into a fair bit of strife with air traffic control 581 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:48,960 if you do stuff like that. 582 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:53,000 Dashing in and out to fix lights between arriving aircraft... 583 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:54,760 (OVER RADIO) Runway 27 set for take-off. 584 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,840 Makes this one of the most nerve-wracking jobs at the airport. 585 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:01,480 Nerves of steel are required. 586 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:04,400 The risk is always aircraft movement. 587 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:08,320 And there obviously will be international traffic coming in. 588 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:12,560 The pressure is on to have it all complete before sunrise. 589 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:28,080 12:10am, at Australia's busiest 24-hour airport, 590 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:31,080 and the landings keep coming, 591 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:36,160 each aircraft guided by thousands of lights illuminating the runway. 592 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:40,440 We've probably got about 6,000-odd lights, 593 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:43,360 or probably more that we look after. 594 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:50,000 The 6,000 lights span across the two intersecting runways 595 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,280 and an extensive network of taxiways. 596 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:59,320 At full brightness, these lights can be seen 30km away. 597 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:05,080 Keeping them running is no small task. 598 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:13,520 Each light is monitored through a sophisticated computer system. 599 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,200 We're looking at our control system. 600 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:20,480 And have a look at what alarms we've got on there. 601 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,080 There's only one. 602 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:24,520 We'll have a look at that one. 603 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:29,320 14-0-80. This is the third one up. (INDISTINCT) 604 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:32,640 Faulty lights have been identified on a taxiway. 605 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,600 Time for the lighting team to spring into action. 606 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:38,120 We're looking at a couple of these faults. 607 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:42,160 From the location of them, so we'll see what the numbers are. 608 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,320 We'll reprogramme them, test them, 609 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:48,560 and then we will go out there and replace them. 610 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:55,800 Each light comes with a price tag of over $1,200. 611 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,320 So it's not your average light bulb from the hardware store. 612 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:04,400 Just the new... (MURMURS) 613 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:06,080 Taxiway... 614 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,040 We'll head out back onto the taxiways 615 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,640 and we'll go and replace those couple of fittings. 616 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:20,960 (OVER RADIO) ..line up. Runway 27 away. 617 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:22,520 ..on the crossing. 618 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:24,800 MAN: We go out in between aircraft to do it. 619 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:29,000 So it's, uh...very, very scary the first time, probably, 620 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,480 when you do it. 621 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:33,080 We do it as like a Formula One team, 622 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:35,760 where we just replace the fittings, 623 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,520 so we come out with a rattle gun and lift up the fitting, 624 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:40,480 change the fitting out, plug a... 625 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:42,440 ..plug the new fitting in, take the old one out. 626 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,560 Put new nuts on. Do it up, torc it up and off we go again. 627 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:47,200 So, you know, it is really good 628 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:51,480 to be able to do it in between the aircraft. 629 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:54,040 It's really, really fast, 630 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:56,120 and you've got to work very fast paced. 631 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:06,080 (OVER RADIO) Runway 16, here to take one departure. 632 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,520 I can see there is an aircraft. 633 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,640 It's probably on a tug because he's moving very slow. 634 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:14,840 And at least, when we sort of look down taxiways, 635 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,240 and you just see one or two aircraft, 636 00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:19,480 you can see a red and green beacon on the wing 637 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,520 saying it's red and green - don't go in between. 638 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,440 which means that aircraft is heading your way. 639 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:27,600 But, from the back of an aircraft, there's usually just white light, 640 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:29,560 so that's usually an indication, then, 641 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:32,080 that the aircraft is moving away from you. 642 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,520 Before they can replace the faulty light. 643 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:39,320 They need to make sure no planes are heading in their direction. 644 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:42,800 Turn the radios up just so that we can hear any communication, 645 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:44,320 and then we'll go for it. 646 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:48,920 (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) Was Qantas on final... Yep. 647 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:50,520 Qantas. 648 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:53,680 Then we've got another Qantas behind it. 649 00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:55,560 That's a Qantas... 650 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,160 And Jetstar's number three. 651 00:34:58,160 --> 00:34:59,920 Jetstar is only just coming in now. 652 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,520 They've got just over five minutes 653 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:05,920 before a plane rolls onto the taxiway. 654 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,880 The team are confident they can get the job done in four. 655 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,160 As long as nothing goes wrong, 656 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:17,560 no pressure. 657 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:19,720 (DRILL WHIRS) That's loose. 658 00:35:19,720 --> 00:35:21,400 Huh? That's loose. 659 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:23,360 Uh, we've probably got about... 660 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:26,440 ..about five minutes 661 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,720 till the next aircraft probably uses this taxiway, so... 662 00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:32,840 ..land and run down to Juliet, and vacate Juliet. 663 00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:34,520 So Juliet's just behind us, 664 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,720 so we just got to make sure that we're out of that. 665 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:41,400 Want to gonna grab me two new nuts, please? I've got two new nuts. 666 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:45,560 Very important to make sure we don't stand here too long, 667 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:48,480 especially with aircraft landing the whole time. 668 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:51,280 Gav, can I grab the fitting, please? The fitting. 669 00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:53,600 I just need to do the PIDs. 670 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:58,560 Is he coming our way? 671 00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:02,120 Gav? Ah, yeah. 672 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,280 Siewert and Gavan are racing 673 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,520 to change a faulty light on an active taxiway 674 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,600 as an outgoing plane approaches. 675 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:40,880 How's it looking? 676 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:42,120 Good. 677 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:45,800 So we'll have to hop out of the way for this one. 678 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:57,320 It's always a good feeling, 679 00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:59,680 when you know that you've done the light, 680 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:01,200 the light's all working again, 681 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:03,480 and you're dodging aircraft, 682 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,640 so it's, uh, pretty good. 683 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:11,640 Uh, so that's the aircraft, and it's going to go over the light we've just replaced. 684 00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:16,800 So, uh, yeah, it's probably hitting it around right about...now. 685 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:18,760 So that's where we were, 686 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:21,560 just to replace that light, about two minutes ago. 687 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:26,400 Happy with their quick light fix, the pair moves on. 688 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:31,760 Next up, some crucial maintenance on the north-south runway. 689 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:36,440 And later on during the night, 690 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:39,000 we'll be, uh, running the MALMS, 691 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:42,560 which is our Mobile Airfield Lighting Monitoring System. 692 00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:45,440 So we measure the intensity of the lights. 693 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:48,840 If they do need a clean, we'll go out and actually clean the lights. 694 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:52,160 Every month, runway lights are tested and cleaned 695 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:55,880 to ensure they're operating at full brightness. 696 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:57,680 Without this maintenance, 697 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:01,440 the runway would be unsafe to use during low visibility. 698 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:04,640 We'll just go and set that up, 699 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:06,280 and see how they go. 700 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:08,760 As the runway never sleeps, 701 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:12,320 dodging aircraft is the team's main priority. 702 00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:16,920 It's going to be tight 703 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:21,120 to complete the 90 minutes of work before sunrise. 704 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:24,200 So, here is our photometric array at the moment. 705 00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:29,000 Um, we'll set that up for runway centreline. 706 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:30,880 Before they run the test, 707 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:33,640 they need to check in with air traffic control. 708 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:36,200 (LINE RINGS) Melbourne Tower. Brendan speaking. 709 00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:39,360 I just want to double check movement at the moment. 710 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:43,120 Yeah. We've got a Cathay aircraft there which has pushed back, 711 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:45,160 but they've got a few issues with the tug. 712 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,760 But hopefully they're going to depart soon. 713 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:50,000 Yeah. So you've got a bit of time now, Siewert, if you want. 714 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:51,400 Yeah. OK. 715 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:53,880 So we should be able to do both our runs now. 716 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,720 Could I request runway 34 centreline on stage six 717 00:38:57,720 --> 00:38:59,920 and the edge lights turned off, please? 718 00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:03,560 And now is about the time 719 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:06,000 where sunglasses would be appropriate. 720 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:07,880 34 threshold, request to commence 721 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:09,400 a full length continuous run northbound 722 00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:10,920 crossing runway 27. 723 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:13,320 (OVER RADIO) That's approved. Cross runway 27. 724 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:14,760 Car 21, thank you. 725 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:17,040 It takes about 4.5 minutes. 726 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,560 So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. 727 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:22,600 It's the moment of truth. 728 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:28,720 Siewert and Gavan must drive the full 3.7km runway in one go. 729 00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:33,760 They need to pass over all 243 lights 730 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:36,680 to make sure they're up to spec. 731 00:39:36,680 --> 00:39:40,840 As you see, the results just loading up there at the moment. 732 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:43,480 These two areas that are quite red at the moment, 733 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:45,920 that is where aircraft touch down 734 00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:48,880 and that is areas that we will have to concentrate. 735 00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:50,480 See, there's quite a lot of red? 736 00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:54,040 And as soon as you have two reds next to each other, 737 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:57,520 then it just degrades that runway at that stage, 738 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:00,000 so it can't be used in low visibility. 739 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:03,360 So we can make a start on the cleaning. 740 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:08,280 Alright. Good to go? Yep! Good. Let's go! 741 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,480 (OVER RADIO) Ground, car 3, permission to escort. 742 00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:15,760 It's given us the right position of the lights on where we are. 743 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:17,360 I'll pull up next to it, 744 00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:20,440 and then Siewert gives it a clean with the cleaner. 745 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:24,000 I believe we will get it all clean 746 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,160 and right before sunrise. 747 00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:34,560 Getting the work done before sunrise is crucial. 748 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:37,360 If all the lights are not cleaned in time, 749 00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:41,280 the runway will not be safe to use in bad weather. 750 00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:51,320 A call comes in about an approaching plane. 751 00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:54,360 Just turned his light on. 752 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:57,320 You can see the red and green beacon on the wingtip. 753 00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:00,600 So it'll be taxiing down here now. 754 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:10,640 It's the more urgent it does become, and the faster we'll have to move. 755 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:15,120 So, we have to get it all done before the sun comes up. 756 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:23,840 OK, now that he's departed, we'll jump on. 757 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:28,920 4:45am... 758 00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:33,240 ..and with just 15 minutes before first light, 759 00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:35,280 time is running out. 760 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:42,960 As Siewert approaches the last light, 761 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:45,600 there is another request to vacate. 762 00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:51,160 We're going to vacate! 763 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:54,120 OK. The lights have been cleaned. We're good to go. 764 00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:57,920 Two minutes, he'll be down. So I'm just going to vacate now. 765 00:41:57,920 --> 00:41:59,600 Then he'll give him clearance to land 766 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:01,200 after we've vacated. 767 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:03,640 Melbourne Tower, 768 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:07,000 car 19 and company vacated runway 34 onto Juliet. 769 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:20,960 With maintenance wrapped up, 770 00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:26,240 the runway is primed for any weather Mother Nature throws her way - 771 00:42:26,240 --> 00:42:30,520 just in time for Australia's busiest all-hours airport 772 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:33,800 to kick off another day connecting Melbourne to the world. 773 00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:41,120 Captions by Red Bee Media 774 00:42:42,305 --> 00:43:42,319 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm