Heathrow Where is Heathrow (west of London, main London airport)? What other airports do you know? What do you find at airports (shops, check-ins, restaurants, passport control)?

If you had to travel alone, would you know what to do (ask pupils who have flown to describe the steps: check-in, security, departure routines, and so on)? Why is there sometimes chaos at airports (industrial action by staff - pilots, baggage handlers; fog, ice, floods or other natural disasters; heavy holiday traffic can lead to delays)? Why is Heathrow so important (one of the biggest and busiest airports in the world; business, holiday and freight traffic)?

Air traffic control What is air traffic control (the management of aircraft, including jumbo jets, private planes, helicopters)? What do controllers do (ensure planes take off and land safely)? How do they avoid crashes (needs brilliant planning; planes have to go down certain corridors, then get handed on to foreign-speaking air traffic controllers; may hold aircraft in a circling pattern so each can land in turn)? Simulate take-off and landing with model aircraft, noting what the problems are. What mathematics is involved (some of it complex, but at a simple level the calculation and prediction of height, speed, angle, fuel availability)?

Impact of terrorism Some people are anxious about air travel. Would you be willing to fly? What airport security is involved (searching luggage, metal detection, removing weapons, looking at identity papers, cross-questioning people, photographing passengers at check-in)? If you were running an airline, what would you do to get passengers back in the air (offer cheap seats, emphasise safety of air travel - fewer accidents per mile than other transport, run a high-profile advertising campaign)? If the popularity of air travel is permanently reduced, would this be good or bad, and why?

Writing (a) Imagine you are a Martian arriving over Heathrow. Describe what you make of the aerial view; (b) Report a discussion between two people, one of whom lives near the airport, the other a regular business traveller, giving a fair account of each person’s point of view.

Talking points

Should airports be allowed nightearly morning flights over populated areas?

For Many people have to travel by plane for business and holidays nowadays so there will always be inconvenience for those living near an airport or under the flight path. Congestion would be even worse if all travel had to be in the daytime. Noise from aircraft is no worse than that from a railway line or a busy road.

Against Noise and pollution from jet engines is highly intrusive and residents deserve to be protected from it so they can sleep properly. It would be better to build an extra runway or have an additional airport rather than fly round the clock. Passengers who have no roots in an area should not dictate to residents.

Ted Wragg is professor of education at Exeter University