Aylesbury teenager wins behind-the-scenes tour of Heathrow Airport

An Aylesbury High School student enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of Heathrow Airport, after entering a competition at last year’s Farnborough Airshow.

Hannah Edwards, aged 15, won Talentview Aviation’s Pioneers of Tomorrow competition, which saw her go airside on a private tour of Heathrow airport.

The contest asked students to design a plane that had sustainable features, utilised technology and innovation, and improved passenger experience.

Hannah’s winning drawing was of a plane called ‘The Eagle’, featuring a glass floor so passengers could see below, massage seats made from recycled plastic from the ocean, and a beak on the front to make it look like a bird of prey.

She went on the behind-the-scenes tour on Thursday, July 6, with her friend, Charlotte, and her father, Richard.

As a surprise, they were allowed to go up into the Air Traffic Control Tower and learn about airside operations from the airfield duty manager.

Heathrow tailored the tour to Hannah’s interests, as she is currently studying for a GCSE in engineering. As part of the tour she also visited the airside operations control room, a Concorde, the fire and rescue operations, the Royal Suite, and the inside of a double-decker A380 cockpit.

Hannah said: “It was a very good experience and very eye opening in terms of looking at careers. Everyone was really friendly and accommodating as we were going around, and all the places we visited were very cool.

"I have seen things people might not ever see, or even think about. Some of the stuff I didn’t know existed.”

Hannah’s winning entry was chosen by judges from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who loved the detail, clarity, innovation, recycling element and thought that had gone into it.

The tour was organised by the Heathrow Employment and Skills Academy, to showcase the benefits of working in aviation and the pathways available to students looking to get started in the sector.

Talentview Aviation (TVA) is a free-to-use platform that helps young people in schools, colleges and universities to find opportunities to join the sector and helps employers showcase entry-level roles including apprenticeships, graduate jobs, placements and internships, and traineeships.