Travel and Tourism students at the College of West Anglia got the rare chance to see and experience a centre which is part of a TV programme currently being watched by thousands. Nearly 30 students, divided over two days, got the chance to visit the Cranebank training hub of world-famous British Airways at Heathrow airport. Cranebank is currently at the heart of three BBC 2 documentaries called A Very British Airline on a Monday evening. And just like the trainee aircrew in the programme, the students got the chance to experience escaping from a plane down a chute, to go in a smoke chamber, experience a pilot incapacitation exercise and practise getting people onto a life raft if a plane lands in the sea. Travel and tourism lecturer and course director Nicola Leadley said the BA staff were brilliant and had commented on the good behaviour of the students. Cranebank was in use on the day by BA’s own staff, which meant the Lynn students could enjoy lunch in the presence of its pilots and cabin crew. Since the visit some of the students had said they were more interested in becoming air crew once they had finished their Travel and Tourism course. Nicola, who attended on one of the two days, said: ““The day was a fantastic opportunity to experience first-hand what it is like to be a British Airways cabin crew trainee. “The students got to demonstrate their skills using the emergency equipment as well as experiencing a mock crash in the cabin simulator. “They thoroughly enjoyed the practical activities organised by the airline and took a lot from the day to help with their studies as well as with their future industry careers”.

• As well as using Cranebank for its own training purposes, BA also hires it out to film and television companies. It has a number of cockpits and seating formations it uses for training.

  Details about joining the Travel and Tourism course can be found on the college’s website: www.cwa.ac.uk   PICTURES     Cranebank 1   Happy landing: Students and staff pose at the bottom of the escape chute in the training plane at BA’s Cranebank centre at Heathrow.   Cranebank 2   Ready to escape: A student at the top of the chute   Cranebank 3:   All at sea: Students are saved in the life raft scenario   Cranebank 4:   Smoke chamber: Students dressed for the part to survive in a smoke-filled aircraft   Cranebank 5   Students pretend to be in a smoke-filled plane   Cranebank 6   Time to act: A small fire is tackled in the training exercise