Airport jobs
If you’re looking for a new career, your nearest airport is a great place to start, especially at this time of year. A lot of the work is seasonal, so keep an eye out for summer vacancies, which are advertised in the spring. If you look beyond the obvious roles there are lots of different opportunities to be found – they even employ people to scare the birds off the runways!
The glamour and excitement of an airport job can definitely be attractive and some roles can bring great personal and financial rewards. But you have to bear in mind the downsides of this type of work, which is often demanding and usually involves being “at the office” when your friends and family are at home, in the pub, or asleep. To help you weigh up the pros and cons, here’s an airport jobs guide with all the facts about the most desirable roles.
Pilot
The Job
A pilot spends his working life in command of an aircraft and can fly up to 900 hours a year. Beyond that, it’s not really possible to talk about a typical job, because the conditions vary so much depending on what kind of plane he flies. Those working for charter airlines will fly more during the summer, while those in charge of scheduled flights will have their work spread evenly across the year. They can work up to 12 hours a day, or they might only be in the cockpit for 3 or 4 hours out of 24. All of them work shifts, but short-haul pilots have a fairly regular schedule, whilst the working patterns for long-haul pilots can be erratic and unpredictable.
The Money
There are huge differences in salaries as well. A pilot with a small regional airline might only make £18,000, but the annual salary of an experienced long haul captain could be as much as £140,000.
The Way In
Getting into this profession isn’t easy, because it’s very competitive and expensive. Training can cost up to £70,000, and scholarships and sponsorships are few and far between. Having a degree is an advantage, although not strictly speaking necessary. The minimum requirement is 5 good GCSE’s, including Maths, English and a science. It’s still very much a male-dominated profession, although a few women are starting to break in.
Air Cabin Crew
The Job
You might think that the cabin crew spend all their time up in the air, but in fact about half of their working life is spent on the ground, preparing the aircraft, writing reports and attending briefings. As with pilots, unsociable hours, long shifts, and fatigue are par for the course, but vary in intensity according to which airline they work for. For an insider’s view of the job, check out The Flying Pinto. It’s a fun blog about the adventures of Sara Keagle, a flight attendant with a major US airline.
The Money
Salaries are not high – they start at about £12,000 and rise to about £25,000 after a decade or more of work. But because of the other things the job has to offer, there’s always a lot of competition for posts.
The Way In
Training is given by the airline, but to get in you’ll have to conform to certain standards. As a general rule you’ll have to be fit, healthy and slim, and taller than 5’2. The Mohican haircut and facial piercings will have to go. Graduates in languages and nursing will have an advantage, and you will need at least 4 or 5 good GCSEs to be considered.
Air Traffic Controller
The Job
Again, this is shift work, but it usually follows a predictable pattern. This is generally 2 days on the early shift, 2 days on the late shift, 2 nights and then 4 days off. It’s a very high pressured role; you’ll have lots of planes in the air at once and they’ll all be looking to you for direction. The safety of everyone on board is in your hands. Because of this, you won’t be allowed to sit at the screen for more than 2 hours at a time and you’ll have to submit to random drug and alcohol tests.
The Money
You start earning straight away in this job, although not much! You get £10,000 during your first year of training and this can go up to £18,000 when you get your first appointment. When you finally qualify (after 2 more years) there is a massive hike in salary up to £50,000. Senior managers with many years of experience can earn up to £94,000.
The Way In
If you want to do this job you should apply to the National Air Traffic Services student air traffic control scheme, which takes place at their college in Hurn, near Bournemouth. It’s very competitive. Most applicants are university graduates, but the minimum requirement is five good GCSEs, including English and Maths. Good eyesight and hearing are vital, as is a clear speaking voice.
Check-In Officer
The Job
The check in desk is the front line of passenger services at the airport, and if you work here you can expect to come under heavy fire from the people you’re trying to help. When a passenger misses a plane, you’ll be the one standing in front of them, having to face the full force of their anger. To get an idea of the kind of thing you’ll have to put up with, check out my post on funny airport videos. That said, it can be an excellent learning experience and a great entry level job with an airline. It’s possible to work your way up from here to senior management roles at the airport.
The Money
A new passenger services agent will earn about £11,000, with the potential to add a couple of thousand on to that by becoming a team leader. Although the starting salaries are low, you could be on the path to a very well paid job. From here, you can take on more senior roles within passenger services, and those who progress to management level in airport operations or flight safety can earn up to £50,000.
The Way In
Some vacancies are advertised by the airlines, but some are looked after by ground handling agents. Competition is fierce and you will need to have some GCSEs, including English and Maths. Foreign languages are an advantage. Once accepted, you’ll be given training in the basic procedures and paperwork involved in the job. They’ll also send you on a manual handling course so you know how to lift heavy bags without injuring yourself – which is definitely useful for anyone handling one of my suitcases! There are lots of opportunities for further training as your career develops.
Picture Credits
1 – My Net Bizz
2 – Concorde SST
We’d like to hear from you!
Do you have an airport job? What are the best and worst bits about it? Please leave your comments below.
Airport arrivals
When you’re collecting someone at the airport, it’s a good idea to check the details of their flight online before you leave the house. I learned this the hard way after being despatched to an airport to pick up a friend’s mother. We had never met before and we spoke different languages, so it was never going to be an easy task. Unfortunately, when I got to the airport, I discovered my friend had told me the wrong flight time and the wrong airline, which led to a lot of panic and running around as I tried to work out how I was going to find this woman! I succeeded in the end, by a process of luck and guesswork, but it would have made life a lot easier if I had taken a few minutes to check out one of these internet sites for airport arrivals information.
Flight Arrivals.com
This site allows you to search for travel information by flight number, airline, arrival airport or departure and arrival airport. This is perfect if you’ve been given incomplete or erroneous information by your lovely friends and family! It gives you a list of all the flights with details of when they’re due to land, when they’ve landed and if there are any delays or cancellations. British and international airlines and airports are covered by this feature. The site also offers more detailed information on weather and delays at American airports.
Flight Stats.com
The homepage of this site has a map which shows you, at a glance, which airports are suffering from delays. This is indicated by green, yellow or red dots on the map, according to the amount of disruption to flights. You can click on the dots for more information on the airport, weather and so on. The site covers airports all over the world, but the map feature works best for Europe and the United States. As with the previous website, you can search for arrivals information by flight number, airline, airport or route. You can also register to have alerts sent to you by email or text message when the plane lands, or if it’s delayed or cancelled.
Flight Wise.com
If you want to track the progress of your friend’s flight across the world and imagine what sights they can see out of the window, this site is the place to go. You can search by airport, airline, flight number or aircraft type, and call up a map with a drawing of the plane’s position and its route. You can do this for any aircraft or flight on an IFR flight plan anywhere in the world (that means most scheduled airline flights). You also get a wealth of other information including flight plans, altitude, speed, time elapsed and time to go before landing. So there’s no excuse for not being prepared to meet them when that time finally comes!
Airport Hotels.com
When you’re planning your journey to the airport to pick up your friend, you might find it helpful to take a look at the guides right here on Airport Hotels.com. We’ve put together useful information on 28 UK airports, including public transport options and details of short stay parking arrangements, for those travelling by car. In the current climate, most airports have done away with pick up and drop off areas right outside the terminal, so you will probably have to make your way to a car park even if you’re only stopping for a minute. Many airports offer a brief period of free parking for this purpose. We cover all the main British airports, including Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Airport.
Picture Credits
1 – John Wardell
2 – Flight View
We’d like to hear from you!
Have you found these websites to be useful? Are there any other good ones we should know about?