Heathrow to blast soundtrack of jet engines and beeping scanners all summer

Telegraph

4 days ago

Passengers flying from Heathrow this summer will be subjected to a non-stop soundtrack of roaring aircraft engines, tannoy announcements and beeping security scanners.
The four-minute loop, created entirely from more than 50 sounds sampled from the airport's terminals and runways, began playing on Tuesday and is due to run until the end of August.
Also featured on the track are recordings of passenger footsteps, passports being stamped, bags hitting the luggage carousel and 'dings' from lifts and tannoys.
Other noises, including a jet engine firing up, a baggage conveyor siren and a plane taking off, were passed through synthesisers to create the soundscape, which is punctuated by passenger announcements and radio chatter between pilots and the control tower.
While music derived from the cacophony of a busy airport might seem to be of dubious appeal to passengers stuck in security queues or marooned after cancellations, Heathrow said it will 'loop seamlessly and will be played throughout the terminals this summer'.
Ode to Brian Eno
The gurgle of a water fountain has also been included for 'ambience and ASMR', Heathrow said, referring to the autonomous sensory meridian response, where the brain creates a feeling of tingling or euphoria.
Composed by Grammy-nominated musician and producer Jordan Rakei and named Music for Heathrow, the track is intended to evoke 'the excitement and anticipation at the start of a summer holiday,' while helping to 'diffuse any pre-holiday jitters'.
Heathrow said it is also an ode to Brian Eno's 1979 album Music for Airports, which is credited with launching the ambient music genre and also designed to be listened to ahead of a flight.
Lee Boyle, director of services at Heathrow, said: 'We hope tuning in will be the perfect start to our passengers' well-deserved summer breaks.'
Mr Rakei, a New Zealander who in the past year has appeared at the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House and Glastonbury Festival, made his recordings over the course of a day last month after being granted access to all parts of Heathrow.
He said that the track is intended to build suspense and set the mood for passengers as it follows the four stages of a journey from check-in to take-off.
A spokesman for the airport, which expects to handle 250,000 passengers a day over the summer, declined to say how much Mr Rakei had been paid for the commission.
Heathrow under fire
Thomas Woldbye, chief executive of Heathrow, said last month that punctuality had improved to the best level amongst European hubs.
However, disruption has flared up recently following French air traffic control strikes, bad weather in Europe and the conflict with Iran.
Meanwhile, Mr Woldbye has come under fire after it emerged he slept through the first seven hours of the airport's shutdown earlier this year because his phone was switched to silent mode.
Heathrow's airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have also stepped up criticism of the airport's charges, saying they are the highest in the world and not justifiable based on the standards of service it provides to passengers.