In this series of three programmes, reporter Harold Williamson takes an Intimate look at the men and women who get 800 aircraft and some 80,000 passengers in and out of Heathrow every day.

Departure is the story of the 12 hours up to the time when the wheels of Flight 844, bound for Australia, leave the runway at Heathrow. Who will be on that flight and why? And who helps to get this giant jumbo off the ground? An emigrating family; a captain whose career can end with his next medical; a grandmother flying for the first time; and two stewardesses who reveal that life at 35,000 feet may have its moments but isn't always as glamorous as the 'Fly Me' ads suggest.
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