What Are the Duties of an Airline Ground Staff?
The duties of an airline ground staff include all aspects of aircraft handling at the airport, except on active runways, and ensuring customer comfort by handling aspects such as cabin service, passenger service and catering. Airport ground staff ensure safety at the airport by taking measures that prevent aircraft collisions while landing or navigating the runway.
As part of their ramp service duties, airport ground staff marshal aircraft into and out of parking positions, ensuring safety in so doing. They also perform lavatory drainage, water tank refills, and luggage and air-cargo handling. They are responsible for putting passenger stairs in place, and if there are passengers on wheelchairs, they perform the necessary wheelchair lifts. The staff perform aircraft refueling, and if there is need, they remove ice, snow or frost from the aircraft’s surface.
The ground staff are responsible for passenger service duties, which include the manning of check-in counters for departing passengers, as well as arrival and departure gates. To ensure passenger comfort, the ground crew is responsible for all cabin services. This includes cleaning of the passenger cabin and the resupply of passenger consumables and washable items such as towels. Also, unused food and beverages are removed from the aircraft, and replaced with fresh supplies.
