Airside operators are the ‘eyes and ears’ of the airfield team, and spend much of their working day or night out on the airfield patrolling, inspecting and then addressing situations to ensure that the flow of arriving and departing aircraft are on schedule.
Although every airport is slightly different, the role covers a multitude of tasks including area inspections; patrolling the perimeter fence around the airport; monitoring bird activity and clearing wildlife using specialist vehicles and equipment; monitoring aircraft turnarounds and marshalling.
The airside operator works in a high risk, safety critical environment requiring excellent communication, prioritising, effective decision making, problem solving and technical skills. The role requires a keen sense of situational awareness and the need to work safely to minimise incidents and accidents.
The minimum duration for the apprenticeship is 12 months.
This apprenticeship is supported by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Download the factsheet for full details.
