The Prince of Wales meets security staff and airport personnel at Heathrow Airport

The Prince of Wales visited Heathrow Airport today to highlight the work done by security and airport personnel to keep the airport and the country safe.   

During a tour of Terminal 5, His Royal Highness chatted to some of the Met Police officers who patrol the airport and met dogs, used to sniff out explosives, and their handlers, including nine-week-old future police canine Ned. The Prince’s visit also marked the 10th anniversary of Terminal 5.

His Royal Highness then sat in the cockpit of a British Airways 787 plane and was shown the controls by British Airways First Officer Kate Beesley.

The Prince trained to fly jets with the Royal Air Force before becoming a Royal Navy helicopter pilot.

Ms Beesley said: “It was incredible having him in the cockpit and to know he flew himself when he was with the RAF."

“I was showing him how we've got the really large LCD screens now, whereas for him, he would have had small screens and you couldn't fly as accurately."

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was ready to fly passengers to Baltimore in America and had some of its crew already on board.

The pilot added: "He trained in helicopters and jets, so very small flight decks, very small instrumentation, whereas this is all about being able to fly for 14 hours across the ocean and then being able to fly accurately to our target destination."

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was ready to fly passengers to Baltimore in America and had some of its crew already on board.

At the arrivals checkpoint where Border Force staff can stop and check the luggage of passengers entering the UK, The Prince was shown an array of illegal goods, from python skin stiletto shoes to a baby crocodile, seized by officers.

X-ray images were shown of cocaine packages swallowed by drug mules and the large industrial-looking toilet suspects have to use.

During a brief visit to the departure lounge, The Prince chatted to some passengers waiting to board their planes.