Airfield Operations Specialists

Transportation, Distribution and LogisticsO*NET 53-2022.00United States

Ensure the safe takeoff and landing of commercial and military aircraft. Duties include coordination between air-traffic control and maintenance personnel, dispatching, using airfield landing and navigational aids, implementing airfield safety procedures, monitoring and maintaining flight records, and applying knowledge of weather information.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $56,846
Projected change: +6%
Typical education: Bachelor's degree
Employment: 18.27K jobs

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What airfield operations specialists do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements.
Implement airfield safety procedures to ensure a safe operating environment for personnel and aircraft operation.
Conduct inspections of the airport property and perimeter to maintain controlled access to airfields.
Assist in responding to aircraft and medical emergencies.
Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways.
Manage wildlife on and around airport grounds.
Coordinate communications between air traffic control and maintenance personnel.
Perform and supervise airfield management activities, including mobile airfield management functions.
Plan and coordinate airfield construction.
Monitor the arrival, parking, refueling, loading, and departure of all aircraft.
Train operations staff.
Coordinate with agencies, such as air traffic control, civil engineers, or command posts, to ensure support of airfield management activities.
Relay departure, arrival, delay, aircraft and airfield status, and other pertinent information to upline controlling agencies.
Provide aircrews with information and services needed for airfield management and flight planning.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $35,880
25th percentile: $41,995
50th percentile: $56,846
75th percentile: $77,334
90th percentile: $102,128

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $56,846 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+6%average or slower

202518,268 jobs

2035 projected19,357 jobs

1,089 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

Bachelor's degree: 50.9%
High school diploma or less: 33.8%
Some college: 14.7%
Associate degree: 0.6%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Loading And Unloading
Lifting Ability
Federal Aviation Administration
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Safety Procedures
Good Driving Record
Airport Security
Just Culture Methodology
Aviation
Warehousing
Emergency Response
Auditing
Pat-Down Searches
Operations Management
Object Recognition
Safety Standards
Radio Equipment
Federal Aviation Regulations
Machinery
Occupational Safety And Health

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Systems Evaluation: Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01Ramp Agents1,199 postings
02Airport Ramp Agents1,044 postings
03Airport Security Officers367 postings
04Checkpoint Engineers336 postings
05Screening Officers330 postings
06Airport Supervisors302 postings
07Airport Operations Managers287 postings
08Wheelchair Agents244 postings
09Airport Agents238 postings
10Law Enforcement Officers189 postings
11Airport Customer Service Agents171 postings
12Airport Operations Supervisors164 postings
13Air Cargo Specialists159 postings
14Lead Ramp Agents140 postings
15Airport Managers129 postings
16Ramp Supervisors124 postings
17Airport Operations Agents120 postings
18Airport Operations Specialists118 postings
19Operations Agents109 postings
20Unarmed Security Officers100 postings

Top employers

01Unifi Aviation1,062 postings
02Allied Universal598 postings
03United States Department of Homeland Security579 postings
04Primeflight Aviation Services399 postings
05American Airlines Group340 postings
06Worldwide Flight Services289 postings
07G2 Secure Staffing266 postings
08Menzies Aviation238 postings
09Swissport189 postings
10Southwest Airlines181 postings
11Alliance Ground International174 postings
12Skywest Airlines157 postings
13Sodexo128 postings
14United Airlines121 postings
15GAT Airline Ground Support108 postings
16United Ground Express93 postings
17Trego-Dugan Aviation79 postings
18Trego/Dugan Aviation Of Grand Island78 postings
19JetBlue Airways77 postings
20Prospect Airport Services74 postings

Keep looking

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