People You See at the Airport!

Welcome to Behind the Scenes at the Airport where we show you all the amazing things that happen from arriving at the airport to flying in the plane.

On this page we’ll be telling you all about the people you can see at the Airport..

Look around the airport and you’ll see lots of people working. At large airports, there might be over 80,000 of them – that’s as many as can sit down at Wembley Stadium!

They all have important jobs. So who might you see?

Airfield Crew

Some of the jobs are like those you find in other places. Airports have their own builders, drivers, fireman, security officers and cleaners to keep things running smoothly, and help in an emergency.And don’t forget about all the people working in restaurants and shops to make your stay at the airport as enjoyable as possible.

However, even if you might find them elsewhere, you can bet their job will be different here! For example, with half a million people travelling through our airports everyday, the cleaning teams end up dealing with 700 tonnes of rubbish every year!

One of the most important parts of the airfield are the runways. Airfield Managers patrol the airfield throughout the day making sure there isn’t any rubbish on the runway, and check for any damage or wear, and even the build up of rubber from the tyres!

Behind the scenes, aerospace and aviation engineers and mechanics keep the planes repaired, whilst baggage handlers look after your bags and make sure they get on the same plane as you, often by driving special baggage trucks.

One slightly odd but really important job is done by Load Planning Officers. They work out the best way for everything to fit in the hold – just like a big jigsaw puzzle or computer game where you have to fit in all the pieces.

Pilot and Air Crew

You might have played with toy aeroplanes and wondered what it would be like to fly the plane for real – well pilots get to do just that, every single day!

The pilot in charge is called the Captain. He or she is in charge of checking the route before take-off, making sure all the controls are working, and giving instructions to all the air crew about any unusual conditions that are expected – and flying the plane of course!

There is normally a First Officer on board too who is another trained pilot who can take over in an emergency.

While they’re busy doing that, the nice friendly cabin crew will make sure you’re comfortable and relaxed for your trip. You can normally spot them by the smart uniforms they wear in the airline’s colours.

Their most important job is to ensure everyone inside the plane is safe and secure. You’ll watch them demonstrate how to use the safety equipment and they’ll make sure all hand luggage is stowed safely.

They also check that everyone has their seat belts on and are trained to manage any sort of emergency – even babies being born!

The Control Tower

One group of people you probably won’t see, but they’re very important indeed! That’s the people in the Control Tower, working hard to make sure all those planes land and take off safely. Click here to find out more about The Control Tower

Want to explore more Behind the Scenes at the Airport? Click here!