So What Do You Actually Do at the Airport?
So What Do You Actually Do at the Airport?
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that…
Seriously. It’s one of the most common questions I get:
“So what do you do at the airport?”
And for a while, I’d kind of dodge it. I’d say something like,
“I don’t even know. A little bit of everything.”
Which sounds funny, and honestly, it’s not that far off, but it’s also selling the job short.
Because I do know what I do. It just takes a few minutes (or a whole blog) to explain it.
Here’s the deal.
I work in airport operations, which means, if something touches the airfield, passenger movement, airline coordination, or safety of the traveling public… I’m probably involved.
We inspect runways before the sun comes up.
We respond to wildlife reports.
We shut down taxiways for construction projects.
We coordinate with airlines what gates they can use and when.
We inspect jet fuel trucks.
I even get to lead our college co-op program.
It's not glamorous. It’s not always clean. It’s definitely not easy.
But it’s one of the most interesting jobs I’ve ever had.
And here’s the thing: most people, even some who work at the airport, have no idea this job even exists.
So I’m going to start writing about it.
Why now?
Because I’m learning something new every single day.
There’s no handbook that covers it all.
There’s no classroom that prepares you for what this actually feels like.
You learn it by doing. By listening. By paying attention.
And for the next couple months, every time I work a shift, I’m going to try and write about one thing I saw, did, or learned. Just one.
It might be something small, like how I inspect a taxiway light.
Or something huge, like why I’d close a runway during active operations.
Maybe a funny story about working with the public. Maybe a technical breakdown of how fueling operations get coordinated. Maybe an emergency response call where I watched ARFF roll out in under two minutes.
Whatever it is, I’m writing it down.
Some of what I’ll cover
Airfield inspections — every inch of every runway and taxiway gets checked, every day, multiple times a day.
Security checks — not TSA, locked gates, perimeter patrols. (This may be kinda limited for security reasons)
Wildlife management — yes, we chase coyotes and birds off the runway (and no, it’s not as easy as it sounds).
Gate and airline coordination — aircraft don’t just “go to a gate.” Somebody assigns it. Somebody fixes it when it’s broken.
Working with the public — helping the person who missed their flight, is lost in the terminal, or parked in the wrong parking lot.
Leading co-ops — mentoring students who are learning what this world is all about.
Construction coordination — making sure contractors don’t drive dump trucks onto taxiways during live ops.
ARFF and fueling coordination — yes, we have to know where the fire trucks are. And no, we don’t fuel planes ourselves, but we do have to know how the system works.
Snow removal, NOTAMs, PPRs, ops plans, lighting systems, gate repairs, fence breaches, VIP movements, TFRs... the list goes on.
This isn’t just about me writing a journal.
It’s about giving a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most complex systems in the world, your local airport.
Why I’m doing this
Partly because people keep asking me, “What do you do?” and I want to be able to point to something that actually shows it.
But mostly?
Because I don’t want to forget what I’m learning.
This job is crazy. It’s complicated. It’s full of nuance. You can work here for twenty years and still not know everything. And I don’t want the lessons to slip past me just because I didn’t take five minutes to write them down.
So this is my version of capturing it.
One post at a time. One story at a time. One lesson at a time.
If you’ve ever wondered what happens behind the jet bridge, out past the taxiway lights, or behind those giant “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY” doors… you’re in the right place.
Let’s get to work.