The world of aviation is experiencing a surge in popularity. Content creators are live-streaming from runways, with thousands tuning in to watch planes land and take off in real-time.

From nail-biting footage of planes battling severe weather conditions during landing, to the poignant farewell of the Virgin Atlantic 747-400 fleet, Martin and Andy have seen it all. The duo are part of a group of enthusiasts who live-stream landings and take-offs from Manchester Airport.

Their popular live streams have amassed millions of views online and they have a loyal subscriber base. But there’s more to their story than what’s captured on camera. Martin, who had a keen interest in aviation for years, conceived the idea back in 2018. Since then, their venture has grown into a massive business.

Starting with a few hundred viewers and no profit, seven years later they boast a following of over two million – and counting. But their work extends beyond live streaming, reports the Manchester Evening News.

They churn out a steady stream of social content, explainer videos and short clips, offering everything from aviation photography tips to advice on overcoming fear of flying. So confident were they in their vision, both Martin and Andy boldly quit their jobs in events management during the Covid-19 lockdown to invest all their time, money and effort into their channel, Airliners Live.

“Myself and a friend of mine first started the channel in 2018 and to be honest, we were going down to the airport just because we were aviation enthusiasts,” Martin revealed.

“We decided to start a live stream as we watched a lot of live content. We thought, if we get 50 views, it’ll be great. We got quite a bit of traction on Twitch which is where we started, then migrated to Facebook when it started pushing live content and we began getting 1,000 concurrent viewers, and then YouTube.

“But we were facing tech issues at the time which cost us a lot of money and we weren’t making any. We decided to pull the channel offline and work on pre-recorded content, but everyone began missing the live streams.”

Martin, 33, and Andy, 30, have also splashed out thousands on high-tech gear, including several cameras and a sound desk. They’ve even launched a website complete with their own merchandise line, racked up a bunch of paying subscribers, and are constantly churning out plane-centric videos and content.

The dynamic duo also leverages their platform for good causes, having raised a whopping £66,000 for charities like MacMillan Cancer Support, Manchester MIND, and The Samaritans. Their channel really took off after they broadcasted the final flight of Virgin Atlantic’s 747-400 fleet in 2020, capturing the hearts of aviation enthusiasts everywhere.

Martin added: “It was during Covid and there weren’t any events happening. We knew it couldn’t get any worse and we weren’t getting work, so we decided it was the time to take the risk. It spurred us on to take on Airliners Live full time,” and added, “We fully committed and now here we are, in our third year full time.

“Both of us both just owed it to ourselves to give it a go. We had nothing to lose. It was scary of course and a risk, but exciting.

“It really kickstarted things for us when Virgin retired an aircraft. Staff were turning up to wave the planes goodbye and they were clapping and waving. Thousands of viewers watched and we were so proud.”

Andy highlighted the technical challenges they faced: “In the early days there wasn’t much available. We had to put a lot of money into this, and with Manchester Airport being quite rural, their network coverage isn’t great, so we had to do some wizardry to make the stream work.

“It was all very expensive and really hard work before we made that big jump in 2020. We had gone from scraping viewers to soaring levels after we quit our jobs.”

On social media, Airliners Live is skyrocketing with almost 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube and over two million dedicated followers on Facebook who eagerly anticipate their three weekly live streams beside the runway and rely on them for myth-busting and detailed aviation coverage, with their flagship Sunday stream drawing the biggest crowd.

The dynamic duo behind the popular streaming channels have expressed that their work is more than just about broadcasting videos; they’ve fostered a ‘friendly community’ where both enthusiasts and novices can mingle. Their venture has expanded from Martin’s spare room to an office at Barton Aerodrome, now supported by a team of global moderators who keep an eye on the live chat feeds.

Andy added: “It’s hard to comprehend the numbers. We have thousands of paying members who make all this possible and made it happen. We are always trying to push the bar, and there are a lot of costs and maintenance involved, and this allows us to carry on.

“We aren’t just a live channel where we set up in a field with a camera, we have a full sound desk, a studio-quality set up with multiple cameras. FlightRadar24 work directly with us to bring data into the live stream and we have a custom overlay to show the current wind, temperature and weather conditions.

“I’ve always had a curiosity for how vehicles work. I met friends through flight simulation and ended up going to the runway and watching the planes, and it just went from there. I developed a photography hobby for taking aviation photos and that’s what’s kept me going. It’s rare to see people make full-time jobs out of this. But we are so grateful.”

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