Airport Management As A Career: Education Qualification, Duties & Responsibilities, Skills Required, Etc.
Written By : Pitch N Hire
Mon Dec 04 2023
5 min read
Airport management, just as the name suggests, revolves around managing airports, taking care of whatever happens in them and other such proceedings. It might sound like a great career option to many, especially people who are into management. As an airport manager, you will be in charge of making all the policies and decisions for the airport which can be a fairly crucial task. This is because an airport usually spans acres and contains many subdivisions that you will need to manage. Many departments are separated with acres of land between them. Notably, airports are known to have the most number of employees in the local area. Now, when it comes to bigger companies, airline and airport management revolves around overseeing and handling various departments.
However, when we deal with airport management of a small airport, their managers are expected to handle the basic issues like finance, maintenance, security, etc. So, if this job intrigues you and you are looking for a career as an airport manager, keep reading to find out more about this job and the various duties and responsibilities that revolve around it.
Duties and responsibilities as airport management
Managing acres of land with so many people and roles going on all the time is not easy in the least. It is going to be a lot of work which will demand a lot of attention from your side. However, there are some essential duties and responsibilities that airport management brings along with it. You must know these job duties so that you know what you’re stepping into when you’re trying to make a career as an airport manager. Some basic duties and responsibilities for an airport manager include:
- The cabin of the airport manager is usually within the airport or at least in the same city where the airport is located. On an everyday basis, you have to overlook all the operations that are happening in the airport. Overseeing all the activities and getting a final check by the airport manager is a must.
- Being in charge of an airport also means that you have to comply with FAA(Federal Aviation Administration) rules, regulations and guidelines. These include managing the air navigation equipment, the air traffic, managing the safety budget and mitigating any hazards or risks.
- You have to supervise the staff. Check their daily activities and guide them when needed.
- You will also have to work with the state and city officials to ensure that your airports keep following their rules and regulations and are safe and efficient. This will ensure that your workplace doesn’t get into any legal trouble.
Education required for a career as an airport manager
Now you might think what are the basic education qualifications that I need to have to pursue a career as an airport manager. Well, the answer is fairly simple. You need to have a bachelor’s degree in any relevant discipline. However, if you are competing with those candidates who have degrees of higher education levels or more advanced degrees, then you might lose out your job to them.
Education qualification
It is not necessarily desired that a pilot comes for an interview for airport manager. However, it is still considered a better choice if a candidate has pursued a degree in airline and airport management. Alternatively, a candidate can also do a course in any form of business and management degree. Any form of general business or management degree is deemed sufficient. This will be able to enhance your skills to manage the airport and ensure that you have the basic skill set to do the job that you’ll be assigned to.
Experience required
Airport management is no joke. You can’t hand over this task to someone who has no idea about how things go on the ground level. Generally, airline and airport management is given to those people who are largely experienced with jobs of a similar or even lower level. So, if you have served your role as an airport department head or as an airport manager previously, chances are that you’ll land this job fairly easily, especially with big firms. However, smaller firms are not that pushy about having experience. They too prefer only those candidates who have a certain time of experience in this field of job previously. It makes it very easy to train them and they take on their role easily as well.
Airport management skills
Many soft skills will come in handy when you want to get into airport management. These skills come in really handy on a daily and help you to do your job in a better manner. Some of these skills include:
- Multitasking: while you’re handling a building so big with departments so varied, multitasking becomes a must. Therefore, you must be able to multitask and have a skill set based on a range of skills. You might have to switch between a meeting and a finance call real quick, so stay ready for that.
- Leadership skills: for your career as an airport manager, you’ll be leading the rest of the staff at the airport so you should have the appropriate skills to do so. Being a leader is not about showing authority, it’s about bringing out everyone’s best and working with them.
- Communication skills: since you’ll have to supervise a lot of employees and will have to convey tasks for them to comply with, you should have good communication skills. Airport management just like any other management strives for communication.
Final words
If you want to pursue your career in airport management, there are so many doors that are open for you. You just have to be determined to do this and be sure that you’re through with all the requirements for the job. If you’re confident enough that you can satisfy these requirements and do the best in the circumstances that airport managers are subjected to, then this is just the job for you. Plan out and carry forward your career as an airport manager without bringing yourself down about how tough it is.
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