Transportation Library News

And the Oscar goes to Los Angeles International Airport?

Okay, maybe they haven't gone so far as to create an award for the Best Supporting Airport, but the film and TV industries have a history of pairing up with airports to get a sense of realism in travel scenes.

Robin Stone touches on some of the most memorable airport moments in film and TV history in the article "Director's cut" in the August/September issue of Airport World. It seems that on-location filming in airports is a mutually beneficial arrangement, as the movie gets a sense of realism, and the airport often charges a fee for the use of the space. However, airports are busy 24 hours a day and typically cannot shut down even one terminal in order for a crew to film. Thus, directors often ask a less highly trafficked or more easily accessible airport to "play" another airport in their movies.
For example, the famous airport scenes from film classic "Casablanca" were actually filmed in the Van Nuys Airport in Southern California, not Morocco. Other directors may choose to insist on shooting in a particular airport, while accepting the tradeoff that they may only end up with enough usable footage for a few fleeting scenes in the final product.

In the recent romantic comedy "Love Actually" for example, scenes taking place at London Heathrow and Marseille Provence were shot on location at the actual airports, however the scenes in which they appear are quite brief. Read more about the fascinating partnership between the film and TV industries and the travel industry in Airport World!
By Gwen Persons