Airport information assistant

Airport information assistants make passenger announcements about flights, deal with enquiries and help people find their way around airport terminals. In this post, we explore how to become an airport information assistant.

Work activities

Airport information assistants help passengers make their way around airport terminals. The terminals can be busy, crowded and noisy, so many passengers need help finding their way around. Most of the assistant’s time is spent as part of a small team, looking after an information desk in the main concourse. Their responsibilities include:

Answering telephone enquiries.
Making announcements for passengers over the public address system.
Dealing with passengers face to face.

Passengers who do not speak English may, where possible, need to be assisted in their own language. Airport information assistants monitor flight information systems in order to keep passengers up to date on arriving and departing aircraft. They provide flight information and direct people to travel and terminal facilities. Airport information assistants sometimes have to locate a lost child or help someone whose friend or relative did not arrive when expected. In smaller airports, the duties of airport information assistants are sometimes expanded to include foreign currency exchange, lost property, booking hotels and car hire.

Personal qualities and skills

To do this job well, you’ll need:

Good customer service skills.
The ability to remain calm under pressure.
A clear speaking voice and the confidence to make your voice heard.
The ability to deal with customers who may be difficult or distressed.
Some interest in aviation or travel.

A background in the travel industry or experience of dealing with people is an advantage. The ability to speak a language other than English will also be an advantage. Most employers will expect you to live near the airport. This usually means living within one-hour’s travel from the airport and being able to drive and have your own transport. Shift patterns mean that you can be working hours that start early and finish late, when there may be no public transport.

The following future skills shortages have been identified:

Customer service skills.
Communication skills.
IT skills.
Safety/accident management skills.

Pay and opportunities

Airport information assistants earn in the range of £13,000 per year, rising to £22,000 with experience.

Airport information assistants work a basic 36-38-hour week. Shifts may start as early as 4am, with late shifts finishing at 11.30pm. Part-time and seasonal work may be available.

Employers are airport operators. Larger airports provide most opportunities for employment. Opportunities for airport assistants occur at airports throughout the UK.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised on all the major job boards, on the Government’s Find a Job service. Recruitment information can also usually be found on airport websites. Now let's find out how to become an airport information assistant.

How to become an airport information assistant

Let's tackle the question of how to become an airport information assistant. Employers would normally ask for GCSE passes in maths and English. Other useful subjects include modern foreign languages and leisure and tourism.

A number of apprenticeships may be relevant:

Aviation customer service operative (level 2 / intermediate)
Aviation ground operative (level 2 / intermediate)

Training normally covers things such as:

Familiarisation with the layout of the airport.
Evacuation procedures.
In-house customer service training.
Instruction on how to use the public address system.

Training may be through group activities, training exercises, videos and presentations. This is usually followed by several weeks of on-the-job training working alongside an experienced team. If you do an intermediate apprenticeship, you’ll work towards a relevant level 2 qualification as well.

Progress can be to supervisory positions. Some information assistants move to another area of the industry, such as working as an airline customer service agent. For people already in employment who wish to move into more senior roles, there are several university courses in airport and aviation management.

Qualifications

Entry requirements vary between employers. Many state that they have no set academic requirements, however, in practice, applicants usually have GCSEs in maths and English (or equivalent qualifications). As competition for posts is competitive, some applicants will have A-levels or equivalent qualifications.

If you wish to enter this career through an apprenticeship, you will need GCSEs in English and maths, although you may be able to complete these alongside your programme.

Experience of work within the travel industry or similar service industry is an advantage, and sometimes a requirement. If you’ll need to speak a foreign language in the job, it’s common to have to take a verbal test.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Previous work experience in dealing with the public, customer service or retail sales is helpful. Fluency in foreign languages (especially French, Spanish, and German) can be an advantage in certain posts.

Now we've learned how to become an airport information assistant, let's have a look at some similar career pathways.

Related careers

Airline customer service agent
Bus/rail customer service assistant
Flight attendant
Flight dispatcher
Holiday rep
Hotel receptionist
Railway station assistant
Tourist information centre assistant
Travel advisor