Ground Staff

Overview

Who is Ground Staff?

Also known as Aviation Ground Crew or Ground Operations Team, ground staff work in the aviation industry where they are engaged in various roles at the airport. The ground staff ensures the safety and comfort of passengers, including checking in baggage, providing information, assisting disabled passengers, confirming reservations, and selling tickets. They are responsible for clearing the runway and gate area of any debris or garbage, in order to prevent foreign object damage by an object being sucked into an engine.They are also responsible for solving the queries of the passengers, providing flight information and ensuring that they face no difficulties during the flight.

Typical day at work

What does Ground Staff do?

The ground staff's work is to handle and manage all the work related to the aviation industry at the ground level. They are usually engaged in roles related to the airport. The ground staff often ensures that the safety and the comfortability of the passengers stay intact within the airport.

They are involved in the checking of the suitcases and the baggage of the passengers, they provide all the flight-related information to the passengers and also guide them through the gate from which the boarding starts. They also assist and help the elderly and specially-abled passengers.

The checking of the Id cards, the confirmation of the reservations, and providing the ticket (either based on the online purchasing or immediate offline purchasing of the ticket), all do not be the ground staff. They need to be very hospitable to guide the passengers patiently.

• Load, unload, secure, and tag after inspecting aircraft cargo, baggage, and luggage
•  Assist in any work or needs of the passengers
• Collect and transport baggage from the cargo to the conveyer belt
• Assist passengers to locate and claim their lost or misplaced luggage
• Restock refreshments, food and beverage items, and goods on sale in the aircraft that are distributed during flight
• Answer questions, provide information regarding, and assist passengers about flight times, delays, gate number or location, etc. before boarding
• Announce and call-out passenger’s name who are late for boarding
• Prepare for boarding by queuing the passengers based on their seat numbers
• Help board people with disability, elderly, and pregnant females early in the aircraft
• Manage and maintain Airport security and passengers safety
• Ensure safe, enjoyable, and hassle-free journey for the passengers
• Working at offline ticketing counters, warehouse, etc.
• Distribute cargo to optimize use of space.
• Evaluate load weights for different aircraft compartments
• Assist in check-in luggage and security check counters.

Abilities & aptitude needed

What are the skills, abilities & aptitude needed to become Ground Staff?

To be a part of Airport Ground Crew, a prospective employee need to be polite and approachable, and should have the ability to build good rapport and relationship with passengers. Being fluent in many languages, in both domestic and foreign, can be an added benefit.

They must be courteous, attentive, and need good listening skills when dealing with critical needs of passengers to ensure customer loyalty. They also need to have good communication and interpersonal skills to explain information to colleagues and passengers. Ground crew must have good problem solving skills to resolve conflicts and provide solutions to passengers.

Great organisational, multi-tasking, time management, negotiation, critical-thinking, decision-making, and judgement skills are extremely important for those looking to become a Ground Crew. They need to be calm, tactful, discreet, detail-oriented, adaptable, and reliable in identifying passengers’ concerns and resolving problems in a timely manner.

Self-motivated, ability to think independently, responsible and are extremely driven to provide the best services to passengers are the qualities an employer is looking for in a ground staff. Lastly, physical stamina is expected as they often work long hours, mostly on their feet, standing or walking around or even lifting and carrying luggage.

Courses

Which course I can pursue?