The Airport Chaplain (2026) s01e08 Episode Script

1
Ooh. Breaking out the good stuff,
Cori.
3C has been knocking back
the Xanax since we hit altitude.
Yeah. HK departures are the worst.
Should clear for descent at least?
Very funny, Captain.
Captain?
Captain, can you open the door,
please?
Do you think Mrs. Miller
would be open to mediation?
Some free flights
for the whole family to the GC.
Tobias literally abducted
this woman's kids.
I think we're lucky
she's only filed a complaint.
Sure and we will take it
very seriously,
but there are protocols
Which will only escalate things.
We drag this out,
she gets lawyers involved,
moves to sue the airport.
We need to show her that
we're taking this really seriously.
Yeah. You're right.
I'll get HR
onto terminating his contract.
Troy Cameron.
OK.
Yeah. We'll do.
Um, is Tobias in yet?
What's going on?
You're arresting him, are you?
Cath, can you give us some space,
please?
See if it was an error of judgement.
It's not a crime.
The bloke's well liked.
He's ambitious.
He's talented.
There's nothing to flag
in his records.
The dark horses pilots.
I'm not sure, though,
why he's refusing to talk
to anyone but you.
Any ideas?
Well, um, we mainly talked
about family travel,
um, footy, that sort of thing.
If Captain Cahill had said
anything of concern,
you would have been required
to report it to Aviation Safety.
Yeah, of course, of course.
Thank you, Mira.
We don't have time
to get you to the tower.
This flight's been circling
on autopilot for a while now.
Sami will get you
patched in from here.
Is emergency comms connected, mate?
Yeah.
I'm on with ATC now.
You'll have a direct line
into the cockpit, OK?
Uh, just give me a second.
You OK?
Never better, Sami.
Alright.
Yes, Sami to ATC.
I've got the chaplain with me.
Copy that.
Captain Cahill.
We have Chaplain Wallace.
Hello?
Mark?
Can you hear me?
I'm so sorry it took
so long to get here.
I turned my phone off
for the first time in 15 years.
And of course, it's the one time
I should never have done it.
My timing is absolutely terrible.
Can you hear me, Mark?
A pilot is having a panic
attack at 30,000ft,
and we're sending in Tobias?
Is this a prank?
It's a hell of a way
to avoid termination, right?
Not indefinitely, I hope.
No. At some point,
the fuel reserve will run out
and then we'll all be fucked.
So no knowledge of any of this
can lead to terminal.
I can't I can't.
I can't swallow.
Just tell me three things.
Three things that you can see.
Shoe.
Yeah. Good.
Con controls. Uh.
Yes.
Ch chair.
Good and now just breathe.
Mark, remember to just breathe.
Hey. How are you feeling?
Oh.
I'm, uh.
I'm OK. I think that
I'm OK.
What I need you to do is
to lift that hand.
And turn the switch
to unlock the door.
Mark, can you hear me?
Mark.
Nobody has died.
That is definitely not
why the chaplain was brought in.
Are you sure?
Yeah, just one second.
I'll be back in a tick.
Um, I've got a lot of
anxious people wondering
why AT151 is still delayed.
Uh, just blame the bad weather.
Well, someone got a text saying
that the plane was plummeting
30 minutes ago.
And now there's no response,
so everyone is panicking.
So if I went out, uh,
then just blame bad weather
and tell them that
we'll update the arrival time
as soon as we can.
So what's really going on?
That's the script, Cath.
Can you just stick to it this time?
OK.
Can't throw them away
because they're a fire hazard
and you can't store them
because they're a fire hazard.
So what are we meant
to do with them?
You could put them on Marketplace.
Split it 70/30.
60/40.
Hmm.
You'd have to sanitise
all 500 first.
Oh, fuck off, I'm not
I nearly got you to do it
though, didn't I?
I was very close.
Uh, we would love
the manifest for AT151.
Can't give you the manifest,
TM, you know that.
There's just a lot
of concerned relatives,
and, uh, we'd love to give them
somewhere to wait
so they don't spread panic.
Alright, well, why don't you
just make an announcement
asking who's waiting
for the flight?
Rules are rules.
Yep.
She's obsessed with me.
Mark.
Mark, can you hear me?
I am such a fuck-up.
You're not, Mark, you're not at all.
Bessie. The twins. They love you.
Not after this, they won't.
Yes, they will.
Mark, are you a Miles Davis fan?
Uh. Not really, Chaplin.
We're gonna have to change that
when we get you back down here
because there's something
that Miles Davis once said.
He said it's not the note
you play that's wrong.
It's the note you play after
that makes it right or wrong.
That's the next note.
So You can turn that switch.
Open that door.
And that becomes the action
that defines this moment.
I'm a pilot, Chaplain.
Yes, you're a very good one.
So there is no next note.
They're never gonna
let me fly again.
You know why I talk to you?
Because if I see
a health professional,
it goes on my record.
It'd be like putting a great
big red flag on my head.
So all the stress,
all the responsibility,
I just have to suck it up
and pretend that everything is fine.
Absolutely. All of the time.
All I've ever wanted to do
since I was four years old
was to do this.
That's not true, is it?
He needs to hear it from you.
He trusts you.
Uh, excuse me, Ms Ansari-Cole.
Uh, Mira.
Mira, right.
Um, I figured you had a good reason
to ask for the manifest.
I deliberately didn't ask you
for a reason.
Yeah, I noticed.
I'm not going to put you
in a position where
Where I can lose my job?
Not again.
I think Darren cares more
about the job than I do.
I'm not sure I have the same passion
for cavity searches.
So.
Captain. Captain, please.
Please.
What's going on?
What is going on?
Can you just take your seat,
please, sir?
Isn't the pilot meant to be
in the cockpit?
The pilot is in the cockpit.
Why is the door locked?
What the fuck is going on here?
Everything's under control.
Like hell it is.
We're dealing with a minor
medical issue here.
And spreading panic amongst
passengers could be disastrous.
So please take your seat
and stay calm.
Yeah, OK. Standing by
for further instructions.
Hey, baby. Um.
I was coming to-- uh, fuck--
I guess, trying to confront you
about our situation
and try to force your hand,
but I'm currently 40,000ft
in the air right now,
and this plane may
never fucking land.
So, um, I just wanted
to tell you that I
I'm sorry.
And I love you.
Hi, Mum. Hi, Leila.
Leila wants to talk to you.
Mummy, look, I got a new toy.
That's amazing, darling.
Where are you coming home, Mira?
Not too late?
No, no, it shouldn't be
too late tonight.
Um. See you at home.
See you, darling.
Tobias.
What's happening?
Nothing. They're still circling.
Traffic control thought
it would be better
if they took over.
Why? He asked for you.
You know him.
You're the person he needs
to be talking to.
Well, clearly not.
Tobias, what, uh
What's he talking to you about?
He came and gave you a box
of chocolates to say thank you.
For what?
If you had filled out a report
like you were asked,
could we have prevented this?
There was nothing to report.
Mark struggles with everything.
All of the things that
all of us struggle with, right?
When you're fatigued with anxiety.
The only difference is he has a job
where he feels he's not allowed
to express weakness.
So he came to me to talk.
That's all.
They wanted me to tell him that
he could keep his job.
And I can't do that.
Do you think with people's lives
in the balance,
that maybe you could
just this once just
Do what I'm told?
Yeah.
Mark's a very perceptive man.
He knows that'd be a complete lie.
He asked for you for a reason.
So go in there and tell him that.
Patch me in again.
VOC to Tower One?
Tower one receiving you.
Mark, it's Tobias again.
I'm sorry, mate.
I shouldn't have left you.
You're right. You messed up.
You messed up big time.
I know what it is to do that.
And I also know
what a relief it is
to pretend that you haven't.
Finding a place to run away to.
To hide where you feel valuable,
untouchable, even.
That's what your plane is for you,
isn't it?
It's your safe place in the world.
And for me, it's it's here
at this airport.
You know,
I come here every day.
I spend more time here
than I do at home.
I was even sleeping
on my couch there for a while.
As long as you're in
that safe space,
sunk away from
the rest of the world,
you think you'll be golden.
You think you'll thrive even.
But
the world won't be shut out.
Will it?
So that's it, then?
As a pilot, maybe.
Probably, yes.
But that's out of your control.
There are other things that
are in your control.
And you get to decide
if this plane lands.
And then after that,
the steps beyond that, Mark,
you decide what they are.
Whether you keep hiding.
Or whether you open up
to what's outside,
to what's waiting for you.
There's always another note, Mark.
It's just maybe not the one
we think we want to hear.
You'll be OK.
Tower, AT151 requesting landing.
AT151, clear to land.
Proceed downwind.
Runway 12, eastbound.
Cabin crew, please
take your seat for landing.
Yeah.
Yeah. Thanks.
Mark's not coming through here,
is he?
No, no.
His wife's waiting for him
down at the base.
She'll meet him there.
And the authorities.
Talk about
a get-out-of-jail free card.
Honestly,
I thought you were a goner.
How are you holding up?
Just take some deep breaths.
Currently 40,000ft
in the air right now.
And this plane may never
fucking land.
So I just wanted to tell you
that I'm sorry.
And I love you.
Hi, I listened to your voice mail.
Yeah.
Did you just say all of that 'cause
you thought you were gonna die?
Well. Um.
Yeah, it was a major factor.
Yeah.
Look, uh, you were right.
I saw things,
and I didn't speak up,
and that was shitfull and cowardly.
I get why you ran away.
No, no, I didn't run away.
You and Miles, that's it for me.
I'm here to be here.
Hong Kong.
Oh, fuck Hong Kong.
It's sinking anyway.
Is this your climate change
escape strategy?
No.
You're everything to me, Mira.
So keep an eye on him.
Oh, Adele.
God.
Can I get you a drink
or something?
No, I'm good.
Can I help you, mate?
Uh, yeah.
Um, is Dan working here today?
Yeah.
Uh, could you tell him
his dad's here?
Yeah, sure.
Hey, Dan.
Uh, yeah, that's, uh.
It's not my dad.
No idea who he is.
You're still there?
Can you just do me a favour?
Can I help you, Connie?
No. I'm just here to clean.
Did Tobias ask you to get it?
Tell him you threw it away.
I try to think about tomorrow ♪
Don't give me shit about my cat.
My kids give me the cat, right.
But I always think about the past ♪
About the things that didn't last ♪
I got you.
You got a career path for me?
If I could go to the beginning ♪
Then for sure
I would be another way ♪
I remember we were happy ♪
That's all I think about now ♪
I remember we were happy ♪
That's all I think about now ♪
If you have any doubt ♪
I want to thank you anyhow. ♪