Aerodrom Ljubljana dd : Airport Fun Festival a great success again this year

Last Saturday around 1,000 visitors were given the chance to look behind the scenes at the airport as part of the Airport Fun Festival. This was the third year in a row that Aerodrom Ljubljana has organised this event for colleagues and friends.

Through their proposals, ideas and hard work, around 100 airport staff - from Aerodrom Ljubljana and other companies and organisations based at the airport - ensured that the day was an unforgettable one. Aerodrom Ljubljana's managing director Zmago Skobir was proud of the way the event turned out: 'Ties of friendship between colleagues, pleasant company, the commitment and hard work of employees and a wonderfully organised event are things that make our company better and distinguish us from the rest,' he said. 'Thank you to everyone who has taken part in realising this wonderful event and providing visitors with a fascinating day at the airport,' he added.

Airport tours, demonstrations of equipment and presentations of airport services
Throughout the day visitors had the chance to get to know the airport by means of various guided tours, on which we showed them the airport infrastructure, the various types of technical equipment essential for the airport's operation, aircraft maintenance at Adria Airways Tehnika, pilot training on the simulator at the Flight Careers Centre and the work of the emergency medical helicopter team.

A special exhibition area was devoted to the activities of the airport winter service. The bravest visitors were even able to get a bird's-eye view of the airport from an elevated working platform. With the help of enthusiasts from the Virtual Aviation Slovenia club and their computer equipment, visitors gained a better understanding of the experience of an airline pilot.

Officers from the airport police station gave a demonstration of how false documents are detected. Visitors tried on special police equipment and watched a police sniffer dog being put through its paces. Airport customs officers talked about their experiences preventing the illegal trade in wild animal and plant species. Their display of seized items attracted a great deal of interest. An army unit was on hand to demonstrate their mobile radar system and talk about the life of a soldier. Colleagues from Slovenia Control presented the work of air traffic controllers. A team from G4S, the company that provides security services at the airport, told visitors about items that can and cannot be taken aboard aircraft, how the security screening of passengers and baggage actually works and what an airport X-ray operator's job involves.

Other activities - Discovering America
As well as showing visitors how the airport works, this year's festival aimed to draw attention to the special low fares available for flights from Ljubljana to various American cities. These can also be found online at: http://www.flyljubljana.si/ugodnosti-za-vas/ugodnosti-letalskih-druzb.

Entertainment for the youngest visitors transported them to the Wild West. With the help of the Simply Friends team, children became Red Indians for the day: putting on feathered headdresses, painting their cheeks with warpaint, listening to an old Indian story and, learning to shoot with a bow and arrow. They even had the honour of meeting a real Native American chief.

Youngsters burnt off their excess energy on bouncy castles and a mini racetrack. Old and young alike got to experience more recent American stories by playing baseball, learning country dancing with the Country Freaks dance troupe and riding a rodeo bull.

Our festival journey then continued in South America. Together with the team from Salsateca Ljubljana we danced to salsa rhythms and turned our thoughts to Rio de Janeiro, where in just over two months' time the world's top athletes will come together at the Olympic Games. We also joined forces to create a wave of energy for Rio, and in this way wish the Slovenian athletes who will be representing us at the Olympics plenty of luck and success.

Family Games
A new feature of this year's festival were the Family Games. As a family-friendly company, we wanted to encourage families to get to know the airport together. Twenty-one families took part in a competition with an attractive first prize - a panoramic flight in a light aircraft. The competitors had to sort packages, test their fitness on a military assault course and try their hand as firefighters and security staff.

Brnik, 30 May 2016

Video of the 2015 Airport Fun Festival

Zg. Brnik, 2. 6. 2016