Aviation:An Overview

There are over 50 airlines in the UK, with over 100,000 people employed in air transport jobs, and many more in aviation-related employment. This figure is set to rise as more and more people and freight move by air, despite reaction to the events of 11 September 2001 and industry downsizing. Over 2 million aircraft fly through the UK's airspace every year, carrying 160 million passengers, and the best part of £100 billion worth of trade passes through Britain's airports every year.

Such a huge industry requires a vast number of people with a wide variety of skills. Skills specific to aviation include:
pilots and cabin crew
passenger services staff
aviation engineers
airport operations
ticketing and tourism
cargo managers and handlers
air traffic controllers.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) works for the Department of Transport, and is the industry's regulator. It is charged with ensuring that civil aviation thrives and that the public is properly served by the industry, including adequate safety measures.

Aircraft movement is controlled by National Air Traffic Services Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the CAA. It operates mainly at three centres - West Drayton, Manchester and Prestwick - but also provides air traffic control at 14 UK airports, employs over 5,000 people and has a training college in Hampshire.

The British Airports Authority (BAA) owns seven UK airports and operates at nine others around the world, including Heathrow, with 200 million passengers travelling through them each year.

Heathrow alone generates £3 billion in wages each year, supporting over 250,000 jobs across the country, 110,000 of which are in the local area and 70,000 on the airport itself. It handles about 65 million passenger - with in excess of 90 airlines serving 200 worldwide destinations on 1,250 flights each day - and 75 million items of baggage a year.

Aviation in the Services
Clearly the Royal Air Force specialises in aviation, running passenger and cargo operations, managing airspace, maintaining aircraft fleets and running air stations like any other large aviation organisation. The Royal Navy and the Army also have aviation branches, on a smaller scale, that carry out similar activities.

The routes from the Armed Forces into civil aviation are well established and many Service leavers have found successful second careers through following them. Holding the required licence is absolutely essential for civilian employment and can be expensive to obtain, so all pilots and engineers should ensure that they use the Service opportunities available to gain them. (For information on aviation engineering see the comprehensive article in our September 2002 edition.

However, in view of the enormous number of non-aviation specific jobs in the industry, it is entirely possible for many people in the Services to consider this as an area of potential employment. Indeed, many of the personal qualities and skills possessed by Service people are valued by major aviation employers.

Employment, training and qualifications

Airlines
Each individual airline employs its own flight crew (pilots and cabin crew), and will be able to advise anybody interested in such jobs about the qualifications they will need. Airlines run special training courses for candidates with the right aptitude for some of these positions, and have subcontracted other training to external suppliers. The personnel department of the airline will provide the criteria for each job and what each individual will need in order to be a candidate for it. Some general requirements are outlined below.

Someone starting pilot training (as opposed to converting Service pilot experience) would:
be aged between 18 and 26, fluent in English and with a clear speaking voice
have five GCSEs of grade C or above, including English language, maths and a science subject; and a minimum of two A-levels at grade C or above, or a second-class honours degree
be physically fit and between 5'2" and 6'3" tall, with normal vision
attend an 18-month course at a CAA-approved flying school anywhere in the world.

Cabin crew should:
be physically fit and a minimum of 5'2" tall and 19 years old
have GCSE grade C or above in English and maths
be fluent in English and a second language, or possess a relevant qualification
have customer service experience
complete a 30-hour distance learning programme
take a five-week training course
be confirmed as a fully qualified cabin crew member after six months' flying.

Passenger service staff issue and process tickets, check in passengers and baggage, and staff information points. They need to:
be aged at least 18
have a year's customer service experience
have GCSE grade C or above, in English and maths
complete a six-week training course.

Aircraft operations staff ensure that the right aircraft is at the right place at the right time with the right crew ready to go. Aircraft services clean and prepare the aircraft, load the right meals, load the baggage and ensure the aircraft is ready to go. Terminal operations staff co-ordinate flight and airline information, make operational decisions about flights and deal with the inevitable changes to schedules that so infuriate passengers. Dispatchers co-ordinate all the preparations from weight, fuel, maintenance and cargo to boarding, cleanliness and food before an aircraft departs.

Airline contact details can be found through the CAA website, and details of recruitment opportunities and procedures should be obtained from the CAA direct.

Airports
Thousands of different government agencies and businesses work at airports, ranging from huge airlines to local taxi drivers. As well as carrying out its own business functions, airport management has to look after its 'lodger' organisations. Some employment areas are:
security, including general guarding, baggage inspection and personal search
police, immigration and HM Customs & Excise
medical, information, customer services and escorting
driving and parking
cleaning and maintenance
restaurants, bars and cafés
shops and duty-free facilities.

Behind these functions is a business operation that may be multinational or perhaps just managing one relatively small airport. People will require the appropriate qualifications for their employment and the qualifications required by, say, a security guard at an airport are the same as those required by any other security guard. (Up to one-third of all airport jobs are security-related.)

Air traffic control
Air traffic controllers provide instructions, advice and information to pilots by radio to keep air traffic flying safely, efficiently and quickly. They deal with things like weather changes, unscheduled traffic, near-misses and emergencies. Area controllers look after aircraft transitting an area along routes; approach controllers take over as pilots get close to airports and guide them into landing patterns, while aerodrome controllers cover take-off, landing and movement on the ground.

Air traffic controllers should:
be between 18 and 30 years old (experienced ex-military applicants may be older)
have five GCSEs at grade C or above, including English and maths; and have completed post-GCSE study to two A-levels/three Highers/a Vocational A-level or be in the final year of study
attend an initial selection day, two further interviews, a computer assessment, and medical and security checks
attend an 18-month course.

Others
The aviation industry is huge, and interfaces with many other sectors. Chief among these are travel and tourism, hospitality, catering, retailing and security. Aircraft design, manufacture and maintenance are also enormous businesses that offer employment possibilities for the right person. People looking for jobs that are related to aviation but not directly essential to it should look up the relevant article on our website at www.questonline.co.uk.

Useful contacts
Civil Aviation Authority, 45-59 Kingsway, London WC2B 6TE Tel: 020 7379 7311 Website: www.caa.co.uk
CAA Safety Regulation Group, Aviation House, Gatwick Airport South, Gatwick, West Sussex RH6 0YR Tel: 01293 567171 Fax: 01293 573999 Website: www.srg.caa.co.uk
Airlines recruit individually; the CAA website has useful links
British Airport Authority plc recruits by airport with no central department; its website is at www.baa.co.uk
National Air Traffic Services Ltd, Recruitment Services, One Kemble Street, London WC2B 4AP Tel: 020 7832 5555 Fax: 020 7832 6633 Website: www.nats.co.uk

This article has focused on employment opportunities specific to the aviation industry. However, a number of other functions also provide jobs. These include catering and security staff, drivers and ICT specialists. Airports and airlines employ accountants, administrators, sales, marketing, human resources, health and safety, public relations, purchasing, logistics and maintenance staff. Other companies manufacture aircraft or, in today's multinational and modular world, components for them, and there are also specialist aviation engineering concerns - large and small.

The routes from the Armed Forces into civil aviation are well establishedMany of the personal qualities and skills possessed by Service people are valued by major aviation employersUp to one-third of all airport jobs are security-related