Discovery Channel - X-Ray Mega Airport (2015)

Every day, almost 200,000 people pass through Frankfurt Airport. Flying has become so routine, that most travelers never consider what a remarkable feat of human ingenuity it is. But that's about to change. X-Ray: Mega Airport takes you behind the scenes, from the tarmac to the terminal to the aircraft, revealing how everything in this intricately designed mini-city functions. Using state-of-the-art camera technology and computer imagery, we detail the engineering inside the planes, the machinery, and even the brains of the people who work here.

Part 1: Race Against the Clock
Every action at an airport is planned to the hour, minute, and second. From the ramp agent, who gets in-bound planes ready to go back out again, to the taxiway controller, who guides them to the runway, to the pilots, who take them to the skies. Meet the people at Frankfurt Airport who make the decisions to win the race against the clock. Using cutting-edge camera technology and computer imagery, we give an inside look at the inner-workings of this Mega Airport and the high stress challenges happening every second of every day.

Part 2: Total Control
Moving 100,000 bags a day and ensuring they make it to their flights on time. Managing the ecosystem to prevent disaster. Landing a 430-ton super jumbo. To run a Mega Airport, everything must be kept under control. Join us as we use state-of-the-art equipment to x-ray scan Frankfurt's international airport and reveal how every action is precisely controlled, from the passengers as they enter the terminal to the vast, underground baggage network to the brain of a pilot as he attempts one of the most dangerous parts of a flight, landing.

Part 3: The Airport Never Sleeps
Go behind the scenes at Frankfurt Airport and see firsthand how their on-site firefighters control the flames when disaster hits the runway. Enter the air traffic control tower, where another team that never hits the off switch patrols the skies overhead. Meet the rest of the crews working to keep this Mega Airport working round-the-clock.

Part 4: Crosroads of the World
700 flights from 5 continents land at Frankfurt Airport every day, a feat only possible due to specialists from 70 countries working together to welcome passengers into this busy hub. Meet the teams that connect this Mega Airport to the globe. We show how over 20,000 weird and wonderful ground vehicles race across the tarmac to keep flights on schedule, how retail specialists have turned international shopping into a science, and how a four-legged fleet of sniffer dogs are leading the fight against global drug smuggling.

Part 5: Failure is not an Option
At an airport, one simple mistake can mean the loss of millions of dollars, or worse, the loss of lives. At Frankfurt's international airport, everything must go off without a hitch, and for all who work here, they know that failure is not an option. Go behind the scenes and follow the highly specialized employees who repair the engines, screen all the passengers and luggage, change the runway lights, and keep a Mega Airport that uses more electricity than some small countries powered up.