The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the birds were singing. Today was going to be a very special day. Today was the Grand Opening of Funfly Airport!
Airport Andy was so excited that he couldn’t stop smiling and his eyes sparkled behind his square glasses. Everything was almost ready and in an hour the guests were all going to start arriving. The Mayor was going to declare the airport open and the airport vehicles were going to do a parade for all the boys and girls from the town.
The last part of the festivities was for the first plane to take off from Funfly Airport full of people going on holiday. It was going to be brilliant!
The new airport has been scrubbed clean from top to bottom and was shining in the bright sunshine. Even the windows were sparkling!
Andy and the rest of the team had been working very hard getting everything ready and they were just finishing off the last jobs before everyone arrived.
“Is everybody here?” Andy asked as the big group stood in front of the stage in the airfield.
“YES!” cried everyone.
In front of Andy stood Tracy Check-In, Passport Polly, Security Steve, Engineer Ed and Peter Pilot. Then there was Mack the plane, Gush the fuel truck, Steps the mobile stairs truck, Cruz the bus, Carter the baggage cart and Beep the buggy.
“Great!” said Andy. “There are still a few more things to do before the party starts! Is everyone ready?”
“Yes!” they all cried. Everyone was very excited
“Right,” said Andy, “let’s have a quick practice of the parade!”
The vehicles all lined up, drove in front of the stage and down the path in the middle of all the seats. Not too fast and not too slow. Then they all went to their stations and pretended to do their own special airport job.
Gush drove up next to Mack and pretended to put fuel into the plane’s tank. Cruz drove to the door from the airport building, opened his doors and revved his engine. Carter pretended to take bags from Mack and take them over to the terminal building. Steps drove her stairs up to Mack’s door and Beep drove in a circle carrying Airport Andy who was waving to where the crowd would be.
But there was a problem. Steps had not driven far enough and there was a big gap between her stairs and Mack’s door!
Beep whizzed over to where Steps had stopped.
“What’s the matter?” asked Andy. “Why have you left such a big gap?”
“I don’t want to scratch Mack’s paint! He has only just been washed and he looks so clean!” Steps replied.
“Why don’t you try again?” Andy suggested. “Don’t worry – you won’t scratch him!”
Steps backed up and drove towards Mack’s door again. But again she stopped short and this time there was an even bigger gap.
“Oh dear,” she said sadly.
“What happened?” asked Andy.
“I can’t see when to stop,” Steps said quietly. “I can line myself up but when I get close I get scared of bumping into Mack!”
“Hmmm... that is a tricky problem,” Andy said. “We need something that tells you when to stop in the right place. Let’s ask Ed to see if he has any ideas to fix this!”
Andy waved Ed over and explained the problem.
“Actually I do have an idea!” said Ed. “I had a similar problem with a fire engine at the last airport I worked in. Come on Steps! Let’s go to my workshop!” He hopped into her passenger seat and off they went.
“Thank goodness,” Andy said, watching them go. “We don’t need any problems today!”
“Andy! Come in Andy!” came Polly’s worried voice over the walkie-talkie.
“Hi Polly. Andy here!” he replied.
“We have a big problem! The Mayor needs to cut a ribbon to open the airport and it hasn’t arrived. When I opened the box it was full of paper cups!” cried Polly.
“Oh no,” groaned Andy, “that’s all we need. Right, meet me in the office and we’ll try to think of something. Over and out!”
Andy turned to the rest of the team.
“OK. We have a problem and don’t have long to go before people start arriving! All you vehicles need to go and clean up through the spray wash! Peter and Steve - could you go and meet the media crew and welcome the guests? Tracy and I will go and see what we can find for a ribbon. We’ll be there as soon as we can!”
Andy and Tracy jumped onto Beep and they whizzed off to the airport office.
They found Polly in the office just as she was putting down the telephone.
“It’s no good,” cried Polly, “the ribbon makers are out on other deliveries and can’t get any more to us in time! What are we going to do?”
Tracy covered her face with her hands.
“Let’s not panic!” said Andy. “There must be something else we can use instead... I’ve got it! What do we have that comes in long, long strips that we tear up and use with our passengers?”
“Baggage labels!” cried Polly and Tracy together.
“We can use a long strip of baggage labels between the poles and the Mayor can cut that instead!” Andy exclaimed.
Soon everyone had arrived and all the families and guests were sitting down on the chairs looking at the stage where Airport Andy and the Mayor were standing. But Steps and Ed were not back yet and Andy was starting to get worried that they would have to start without them!
Just as Andy had nearly given up hope, Steps drove around the corner and back to where the other vehicles were parked. Ed got out and gave Andy the thumbs up – they were good to go!
Andy noticed that Steps had got dressed up for the occasion and had pink feathers on her top stairs. Well, this was a celebration after all!
“Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and girls!” proclaimed the Mayor. “Today is a very special day! It gives me great pleasure to declare Funfly Airport open!”
With that the Mayor stepped forward and cut the strip of baggage labels with a pair of scissors. Everyone clapped and cheered!
The Mayor turned to Andy and said “Using baggage labels to open Funfly Airport? What a great idea! Far better than just having a boring old ribbon!” and they both laughed.
The vehicles drove not too fast and not too slow, and the boys and girls clapped and cheered as all the different types of vehicles drove by.
Then Gush, Cruz, Carter and Steps sped to their stations and started to show everyone their special jobs!
Everyone did exactly what they had done in practice apart from Steps. She drove forward slowly and got closer and closer. Just as she was in the right spot to stop, Mack giggled and Steps stopped straight away – and there was no gap!
Everyone cheered and Step’s cheeks blushed a deep pink. The passengers going on holiday started to climb up the stairs and boarded the plane. She was very happy! She did it!
Finally Beep drove in a circle carrying Airport Andy who was waving to the crowd. Andy’s smile could not have been any bigger!
After the parade had finished Mack and Peter taxied onto the runway and prepared for the first take-off from Funfly Airport. Everyone was watching excitedly and waiting for the roar of Mack’s engines.
Andy and Ed were stood next to each other to watch Mack and Peter.
“Steps was brilliant!” Andy said to Ed. “What did you do to help her stop in the right place?”
“Simple!” replied Ed. “See those pink feathers on her top stairs?” Andy looked and nodded. “Well, not only do they look nice but they also tickle! So I just said to Steps that she needed to keep driving forwards slowly until she heard Mack giggle and then stop straight away. Then she would be in the right place!”
“What a good idea!” Andy said with a smile. “Thanks Ed! We couldn’t have done it without you!”
At that moment Mack’s engines roared and he launched down the runway with a big grin! Mack was gleaming in the sunshine and sped faster and faster until his nose lifted and he powered up into the sky!
The guests, vehicles and staff all erupted with cheers and laughter!
“What an amazing way to open our airport!” Andy said, looking at Mack flying away into the sky. “Up and away! Enjoy your holiday!”