The Animal Reception Center at Heathrow looks after animals that fly in to Britain: exotic species on their way to zoos, pets brought into Britain either under the Pet Travel Scheme or on their way to quarantine kennels if they come from a country outside the scheme, and animals in transit from one country to another.
It is run by the Corporation of London, and the job is so enjoyable that staff tend to stay for years so there are seldom any vacancies. However, now the procedure is simplified for anyone bringing a pet in to Britain, the Center may need more staff to handle the dogs and cats that will fly here. Believe it or not, under the current regulations, a pet flies out of Britain as excess baggage on the return it comes in as cargo (which is usually more expensive).
Off airport jobs
Advertising and PR jobs are often handled by outside agencies, even in the largest airports. Doyens of this work are Anne Kavanagh PR, which handles the consumer side of BAA, and Geoff Saltmarsh Partnership, which handles much of the work for Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.
Airport offices cost too much to rent, so freight and parcels, packages and cargo are also generally supervised and organized off airport. However, this type of traffic is very profitable and therefore important to airports, although airports don't handle as much tonnage as a port (major European airports such as Heathrow, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, etc. handle between 1 and 2 million tons each a year). Goods that come in by air are generally high value (diamonds, contracts and other papers) or perishable goods such as fruit and vegetables.
Case Study
The promotion of Luton Airport.
Luton Airport had a new terminal and decided to run promotions to encourage more tour operators to feature departures from their airport.
First they had to encourage operators to visit and see what was on offer. So they hired a promotions company, which invited a selected list of operators for a champagne breakfast on board a coach from London to Luton. No precious time was to be wasted, but the operators could get to know the airport personnel on their way to the airport.
Breakfast was best champagne with excellent croissants, fresh fruit and anything else the company thought would give an up market image. As the coach arrived, guests were surprised to find it sweeping past the terminal and onto the runway. Split second timing ensured that the runway was free as the coach sped down the middle. Suddenly fire tenders swept alongside, sirens blaring, and escorted the guests into their meeting demonstrating that Luton had some very impressive fire fighting equipment. This had meant a great deal of planning with air traffic control but the airport wanted to make the point that their equipment was the latest and best available.
Today, Luton features in many tour operators' holiday programs.
Other work
Regulatory bodies and associations need staff, such as the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). Safeguarding customers' money when they buy an airline ticket is one of its duties. It is the CAA that grants ATOL licenses, and this license protects payment.
Qualifications and training
For most jobs you need GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and Math. The BAA recruits graduates for training in computing, finance and management services. The CAA sometimes recruits people with previous experience in airport operation for managerial positions. If your aim is to become an airport manager, consider a Diploma in Business Studies, to include transport options.
Degree courses in transport administration, management and planning are offered by a number of universities.
For most operations jobs you will need a good education and to be able to drive a vehicle with a manual gearbox. You must have experience of dealing with the general public. Previous security works with the Armed Forces, Police, Prison Service, or as a store detective, etc. would be extremely useful.
Working conditions
You will be expected to work shifts for the majority of jobs. This means being available for work 365 days a year. Depending on whether the airport is open 16/17 hours (Heathrow) or 24 hours a day (most airports used by holidaymakers), you will work either 8 hour shifts such as 0600 1400; 1400 2200 or 2200 0600, or 0500 1330 and 1330 2200. You will almost certainly need transport to cope with early starts/late finishes.
Career progression
Ground staff at airports with efficient management skills and qualifications can progress to Airport Manager. They usually have responsibility for specific areas such as security, safety, and operations at the airport.
Don't just think of working at Heathrow or Gatwick although Heathrow (LHR) is the busiest and Gatwick (LGW) the fourth busiest in passenger throughput in the world. Instead, look at local or regional airports, even airports around the world.
Case Study
Norwich Airport is a busy regional airport for business and leisure pax (passengers).
Its catchment area is Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge shire. Principal scheduled services fly to Scotland, Paris and Amsterdam. Charters fly to Mediterranean resorts and other holiday destinations. There are also day flights to European cities.
Opened in 1933 for light aircraft, it was used by the RAF during World War II. Afterwards it was bought by Norfolk County Council, which developed it to take larger aircraft. In 1999, the airport became Norwich International Airport, and is fairly unusual in that it employs most of its staff, such as handling agents, information and customer services, security, air traffic control, technical services, retail staff, fire service, maintenance, administration including marketing, accounts and personnel.
Franchise companies such as car hire, foreign exchange, Customs and Excise, immigration, flying schools, helicopter operations, catering and cleaning, all employ their own staff directly. Currently planes are 'positioned' flying in with their crew to pick up passengers at Norwich from another airport. The main airlines are KLM UK, Suckling Airways and Eastern Airways for scheduled flights, and Britannia, Caledonian, Air Europe, etc. for charter flights. There is also an expanding day tour market to Iceland, Florence, Barcelona, Oslo, Venice, etc.
