An episode of the ITV reality documentary Airline, which aired in May 2002 as part of its sixth series, offers a striking snapshot of how the world changed on September 11, 2001, according to Metro's opinion and analysis editor Ross McCafferty. The show, which ran from 1998 to 2007, focused on regional British airports, with particular attention on easyJet hubs in Luton and Liverpool.
Passengers React to the Attacks
In the 9/11 special, staff are shown struggling to cope with the impact of the attacks in America and the knock-on effect on aviation globally. Angry passengers, who McCafferty suggests might have been slightly embarrassed when they saw themselves, display a distinct lack of understanding and patience. One young mum at Luton airport, running low on milk, is told she will have to wait three days to get back to Belfast and angrily announces she will stand at the gate like a chained-to-railing protestor until she is allowed on.
An easyJet representative named Laura remarks to camera, 'Be glad you've got a life really,' after dealing with customers at Liverpool Airport who keep insisting 'this isn't America, what's the problem?' As September 11th ticks into the 12th, staff are continually berated and customers demand compensation for the harm they have suffered.
A Turning Point in Travel
McCafferty notes that the episode highlights how relatively relaxed airport security was before the attacks. In earlier clips, a Swiss businessman tries to physically charge through security, a teenager attempts to get on a flight with her twin's passport, and a French woman shrieks 'I'm a big terrorist' because they won't allow her cat into the country. In other pre-9/11 episodes, customers arrive less than 20 minutes before takeoff and demand to be let on, and one passenger, after being advised of a technical fault on her flight, asks 'can you tell me what the fault is because my husband's an engineer?'
The show, mostly narrated by Tony Robinson, also tracks changes in the wider industry as Luton becomes a hub for easyJet just as no-frills, low-cost airlines start to flourish. McCafferty reflects that the 9/11 episode becomes a turning point in more ways than one, representing a simpler, safer time before the attacks seemed to permanently raise everyone's anxiety on flights and in general life.
