Airline Station Agent and Manager

Duties

The most important duty of the station agent or manager, otherwise known as the district operations manager, is taking care of the overall operations of a given airline at a particular airport.

This encompasses both flight and ground operations and involves coordinating flight crew, cargo crew, baggage crew, ground crew, and the information that must be communicated among all these teams. The agent or manager must make sure that cargo is properly loaded and that the plane is safe for flight. At smaller airports the agent may even be required to sell tickets and check baggage.

Qualifications

Airport station agents and managers must have strong managerial skills and several years of experience, or they may substitute work experience with appropriate education. Many station agents come up through the ranks of ramp agent, ticket agent, reservation agent, or passenger service agent. In this manner they are able to gain first-hand knowledge of all facets of an airline’s operations. Airport station agents or managers are hired through the individual airlines. They work closely with the operations agent, who is also hired by the airlines, but should not be confused wuth the airport manager, who is hired by the airport. The average starting pay is $23,000 to $33,000 per year, depending on experience and location.