25 Airport Workers Share Industry Secrets That May Surprise Travellers

Navigating airports is often one of the more complicated parts of overseas travel. Vast terminals packed with people, endless options, and constant noise can easily leave even seasoned travellers feeling disoriented. In all this chaos, it’s no surprise that plenty goes on behind the scenes that most passengers never notice.

#1

Image source: WowHelloHi, Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Your friend who gets randomly selected to be screened isn’t randomly selected.

#2

Image source: stephmveg, ASphotofamily / freepik (not the actual photo)

The ticket agents airline workers have a lot of power. I’m not a worker but noticed this on my last flight. I was flying out of LAX and there happened to be an explosive scare. They locked down the front of the terminal for a bit and everyone missed the early morning flights. After much waiting and watching some people in front of me implode (we had already missed flight so really there was no reason), I walked up the ticket agent. He was male about the same age as me and I usually go out of my way to be extra nice just because they dont deserve to be yelled at for something out of their control. He proceeded to get me on standby and was really upfront that there are so many people that I might not get on for a while. I said that was fine and I understood. I went to my ticket place. This is where it gets weird. I missed my first standby flight just didn’t get on. But immediately after the ticket people at the gate called my name and said, ” we received notice that you had been waiting the longest so youre being moved up to the front for the next flight. So we think youll get on.” I know I hadn’t, there were about 20 people waiting about the same time so I dont think that was true. As soon as the other flight started to load I was called first and given a first class ticket. I dont know what that guy did but I think he took a liking to me or thought it was nice that I wasn’t a raging Karen and made some calls. Be nice to your flight crew. It goes a long way.

#3

Image source: Ganglebot

At the end of the year, the airport auctions off the unclaimed lost and found to the airport employees, and donates that money to charity.

Nothing like getting a $200 bottle of single malt scotch for $25.

#4

The secret to enjoying working at an airport is getting to know the janitors. They’ll tell you which bathrooms stay the cleanest/have just been cleaned, you will always have someone to talk to if working late/alone, and sometimes you get items people couldn’t take through TSA. I’ve gotten some nice beard oils, vape stuff, a cool pocket knife, and a few board games. Added bonus: most janitors I’ve met have a great outlook on life, or at least a fun-yet-crass sense of humor.

Image source: poofacedlemur

#5

Image source: suestrong315, freepik (not the actual photo)

Oh another interesting thing…apart from undercover air marshalls, there could be armed police officers escorting a criminal on board. They’re supposed to make themselves known to the gate agent so that they can alert the crew that armed police forces are on board. I had dozens of flights where there were two armed police officers in street clothes escorting a prisoner or two.

#6

Not an airport worker, but worked in a hotel that had a few contracts with airlines so their pilots and stewards would stay with us.

Let’s just say there were quite a few mornings where you would feel distinctly uneasy at the sobriety of the pilots… Our overnight girl kept a list of what hours they came back, especially for the really early flights. I would say that breathalizing pilots would not be the worst idea.

Image source: ilizashelsinger

#7

Counter/ground agent here. If there is a delay for the love of God it’s not our fault. I get that you might need to vent at someone, but we are having to deal with a LARGE amount of angry passengers, rebook them in a timely manner, most likely missing our lunch break, pulling and re tagging checked bags, all the while we have other flights we still need to check in for, load bags, prep the ramp and board. We will help you as best we can but we have a lot of other things going on at that moment than you getting into Tampa at 344p instead of 255p which for SOME reason is the end of the world because you won’t have that extra hour In Disney world.

Image source: anon

#8

Image source: suestrong315, Roll of duct tape / freepik (not the actual photo)

Most of planes are held together by gaft tape aka airplane duct tape… I worked on the smaller prop planes in Philly and the amount of tape holding parts together was insane.

Also, the bulk of security basically rests at TSA. One night after the plane was completely empty and closed about 35-40 mins later some little white lady knocks on the door. I swipe her in and ask “where were you?” As our zone was inactive for at least another hour. She pointed at the closed plane and goes “from there?” I was like why were you on that plane? Her response was she was looking for her cell phone. So basically the crew missed her and she was alone on this aircraft for over 30 mins doing god knows what cause looking for her cell phone on a 35 seate. So she leaves before I can even call anyone and in about 30 mins we were gonna start prepping the plane for departure. Well, I decided until a ground crew swept the plane I wasn’t gonna let anyone near it. I called the tower for a potential GSI (ground security incident) and told them I needed the police, dogs etc and their response was around about “do we have to?” Umm yes! I told them no one was doing anything with that plane until it was cleared at which point the tower gave me flack bc I’d be holding up the departure process. They fought me tooth and nail until they finally relented and sent over two GSI trained managers to do a quick walk around. They cleared the plane in like 30 seconds and the tower asked “happy? Can we get to boarding now?” I was completely appalled that they treated the situation so hap hazardly and it was basically a chore to have to clear a potential explosion. so yea, not as safe as everyone makes it out to be, but I wasn’t about to have something happen and then have blood on my hands for it.

#9

Image source: anon, azerbaijan_stockers / freepik (not the actual photo)

I worked cargo and aircraft security at a large international airport. The company was a freight company that was shipping mostly commercial goods overseas. Most of the job was actually keeping an eye out for TSA, since they send plainclothes agents to try to sneak into the warehouses. If they get in unchallenged, the warehouse got a $10,000 fine. The rest of the time was spent xraying packages to look for explosives, but we had practically no training in how to actually identify them.

#10

Image source: revanwright, freepik (not the actual photo)

Aircraft fueler here. This is mostly American Airlines, though I’ve seen others do it, including Delta and United:
Don’t check your pets in kennels unless you absolutely have to. I’ve seen them left out in the rain or summer sun (and believe me, it gets 110+ on the ramp in TX) for an hour or more at a time, 5 feet away from an APU exhaust that’s so loud it can cause deafness in humans. I’m not kidding. I’m not even an animal lover, and I still think it’s horrible.

Don’t put anything valuable or fragile in checked luggage. I’ve seen bags and suitcases run over hundreds of times by tugs and belt loaders whose drivers simply did not care. I’m not kidding or exaggerating. Want to know where your bag is when it didn’t arrive at your destination? It’s still on the ramp in the last airport you were at, being rained on and run over by tugs.

#11

Airport hospitals are free in some countries!! I hope I never have to use the airport hospital again, but I was travelling from a country I live in (with free medical care) to my expat country (where I have medical insurance), so it never even occured to me that I would need to buy travel insurance for a 12 hour flight……until I got an angina attack mid flight. Whilst my heart was in no way behaving, it was the least of my worries as they carted me through the terminal on a trolley…..my focus was on how I was going to pay for it if i lived, ..turns out they fixed me up and made me better in the airport hospital. Thank you to Dubai International Airport…..I am forever grateful.

Image source: anon

#12

Just because it’s an airport does not mean that when you order from a restaurant like Chili’s that it will be fast.

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#13

Image source: iceman2kx, Aetb / freepik (not the actual photo)

If you pack anything that’s not a carry on and may be delicate such as electronics or glass, make sure it’s packed nicely because other luggage will be packed on top of it which could be heavy or angled directly on to that item.

Also, keep in mind your luggage is in direct contact with others. So, if they had bed bugs or was in maybe an infested hotel and their bag is right on top of yours…

Also, this should be fairly obvious but take disinfecting hand wipes and disinfect everything you may touch on the plane because I guarantee they don’t. Also don’t drink the water unless it’s bottled. The potted water is safe to drink but.. eh it’s kind of gross IMO.

#14

Image source: mwatwe01, wavebreakmedia_micro / freepik (not the actual photo)

I worked as an engineering contractor behind the scenes at several major airports installing new automated baggage search systems.

* Behind the scenes, the TSA agents are pretty normal, nice people. I trained several of them and had a great rapport. It was jarring to see them later, yelling at people about water bottles.
* The scanners they have now are like something out of the future. The TSA hardly ever has to open a bag any more, they’re so good.
* Your bags get lost because a human (usually the gate agent up front) made a stupid mistake. The automated systems that track them are practically flawless. They have to be, in order to pass inspection.
* Some of the systems running airports are ancient by computing standards, yet they still run well. This often requires airports to hire engineers who still know VAX systems and COBOL.
* Airports take security very seriously. There is no one standard airport security clearance. Every time I went to a new airport, I had to get a brand new FBI background check. The fact that I had worked on four previous airports was irrelevant.

#15

I worked at an airport for years. One thing that I can’t quite explain is the feeling of the airport feeling almost like a different country with its own rules and culture. Like once you go through the door its just different. One thing is how seriously they take having your ID visible at all times. All the restricted areas (where passengers aren’t allowed) are super strict. Every employee has to keep their airport ID visible at all times and if you see someone walking around without it visible you are required to “challenge” them. They would occasionally send people around purposely without ID and if you didn’t stop them they could revoke your ID. The culture is also hard to explain- its kind of a city within a city with its own law enforcement, fire department, restaurants and shops (just like a real town everyone knows which one is the “good starbucks” etc)- we even had a chapel. When I left the airport it was like moving away from a town and never being able to visit parts of it again. Whenever I meet someone who has worked at my airport or at an airline in general I often find us talking shop at length, its like being part of a club. Again kind of hard to articulate why it feels that way but ask anyone who has worked at an airport and I think they’d agree with me that the airport is just a different kind of workplace and it’s hard to compare to anything else.

Image source: Private_Stock

#16

Image source: anon, DC Studio / freepik (not the actual photo)

Pilots are not like in the movies. They’re essentially taxi drivers of the sky.

#17

Image source: Sierra-X117, AG20044018 / Wikipedia (not the actual photo)

Briefly worked at a major intentional airport. 90% of the keypad-locked doors have the same code. That has not changed in 8 years. You could walk from the public parking-lot on to an airplane in 5 minutes.

#18

Dogs are not cold when flying, they can actually get quite toasty below with the luggage, so don’t wrap them up in all sorts of bloody coats like some people tend to do.

Image source: titties_4_lyfe

#19

If you have SSSS on your boarding pass you get a little extra attention during security. Sometimes the gate agent will write it, other times it is random and is printed on there.

Image source: hdsl

#20

Volunteered at the Winnipeg Airport in Manitoba, Canada about 6 years ago as a general hand, saw how everything worked.

Every airport has a religious spot of some kind, somewhere quiet to worship, do not sleep there.

If you need sleep, use the observation decks.

Most hotels offer a free shuttle from the airport. There’s probably a billboard right after you get off the plane with phone numbers, if not, ask the information desk.

Don’t leave luggage unattended. Either someone will steal it or you will get searched.

Getting searched really isn’t a big deal, usually it takes 5 mins unless you piss someone off. Maybe this is worse in the US.

Do not transport pets on public airlines. Just don’t. Use the expensive specialty companies designed for it.

Westjet>>>Air Canada>>>Delta.

Oh, and one last thing, do not try and smuggle anything. Think: If you would have issues presenting it to the airport security, then do not bring it.

My airport has a public museum with fascinating ways people tried to smuggle contraband and exotic weaponry. I guarantee you’ll get caught, but I recommend you be clever and you might just end up with your work on display.

Image source: anon

#21

Image source: stenetronic, Planet Volumes / unsplash (not the actual photo)

If you’re running a private charter domestic flight through a private terminal in Canada there’s no law that says you need to be screened by either private security or CATSA.
I’ve been ground handling for 4 years at one of these operations for four years.

#22

Former airline employee here. I worked for an airport as a ramp agent for 4 odd years. Where to start……

TSA is a joke. It’s all for show. Yes you have to get screened, the pilot gets screened, the flight crew gets screened, it all seems secure. What you don’t realize is some guy who just turned 18 who only had to pass a background check can scan his badge through a door and have full access to the ramp, airplane, anything besides the private hangers and the flight control tower.

It’s a necessity of the job though, I need to be able to receive your bags, have them go through TSA, load them on a cart, marshal in the plane, unload and reload it, then push it back out, along with drop off your bags to the carousel sometime between that. It was up to 3 of us to have all this done in the 40 minutes the airplane was supposed to be on the ground.

Any questions, I have stories and can answer most questions.

Image source: Mercy_Flushed

#23

If there is any type of security breach at the gates they announce, “paging passenger (not telling you the code) to gate (where the problem is)” in the same calm voice as usual. You weren’t supposed to say anything to anyone just make sure you stay clear. Not sure if that’s changed, I haven’t worked there in several years.

Image source: Pho-Cue

#24

Image source: Lukebr4, Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

The only real fast track in an airport is travelling with someone disabled. Honestly takes all the stress and queuing out of the equation.

I’m not saying throw yourself down the stairs for the sake of 20 mins but when you’re planning your next trip…

#25

I work in a UK international airport on the ramp(baggage handling), a small tip, alot of the main UK airlines give you a free gate bag to take on board, however these have to fit in the overhead and is a first come first serve deal. So get to the gate as early as possible, when we count to a certain number of bags they then go in to the main hold. I see a lot of people get pissy when we take their bags off them.

Image source: anon