I’ve always thought that working in an airport must be a gruelling job. They are such busy places, and the demand for travel never stops, whether it’s 3 pm in the daytime or 3 am at night. You constantly have to be on your game, no matter what job you might be doing. And believe me, there are plenty of different jobs at an airport! Everyone is working tirelessly to make sure that your trip will go smoothly. Let’s pick out a few examples of behind the scenes stuff that you might not necessarily think about at the airport.
- Maintenance & Refuelling
When the flight attendant informs you that you’ll be a little late because the plane is still refuelling, you understand it. Heck, you’re probably just glad to hear that the plane is being fuelled before taking off. However, we rarely think about all the work that goes into getting a plane ready for every single journey. Aircraft refuelling trucks pump tens of thousands of gallons of fuel during the refuelling process. Routine maintenance is also carried out to ensure the plane is ready to go.
- Safety
You don’t normally hesitate to plan a trip due to safety concerns, and instead move on to booking plane tickets, looking at the airport you will be departing from, and look for hotels at your destination. This is because we all know that airport safety has continued to evolve over the years to ensure the safety of both passengers and crew. A big part of this is focused around the baggage and passenger checking systems that are now commonplace. Police presence has been upgraded considerably as well, and fire services are always on hand to assist in case anything goes wrong.
- Transport On The Ground
Airports work with a tremendous amount of transport on the ground to get everything running properly. This all starts in the car parks where shuttle busses are often on hand to transport people between terminals. You’ll often find that many airports have multiple airport shuttle services that run 24/7. Then, there are the busses that take people on the ground to each individual aircraft. Just like in the air; travel never stops.
- Management
Airport management is extensive, challenging and profit-making in most cases. They take a lot of money to implement but also reap the rewards on the other side. Normally, airports own all their facilities and rent them out to retail shops and services, as well as charge for things like fuel and parking lot maintenance service like concrete sealing. Most staff will actually work for a specific airline, rather than the airport itself. Of course, just like any business, airports have departments for finance, marketing, and whatever else you can think of.
- Techniques & Strategies
You don’t realise it at the time, but airports use strategies in your journey throughout the building. The shops are obviously strategically placed to make you want to spend more, just as they are in many places. Queues are normally confined to one big line because we traditionally don’t feel at ease when competing across two. A lot of things go on that aren’t purely confined to the airport. We see it everywhere, and it’s a way of trying to make your experience more satisfying while also generating money.