Guide: How To Become An Airport Customer Service Agent

An airport customer service agent is a professional who works either at a call centre or at an airport. They offer support to customers regarding queries, problems or concerns they have about travel and logistics. They may also assist with baggage reclaim, reservations, check-in processes and ticketing mechanisms before a flight. If you are interested in this job role, you may benefit from understanding the basic steps involved in becoming one. In this article, we discuss in detail what an airport customer service agent does and examine how to become an airport customer service agent.

Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.

What Is An Airport Customer Service Agent?

Airport customer service agents are professionals who are responsible for responding to customer enquiries, either over calls or in person at the airport. They help customers compare airlines and other services, advise clients about which options meet their needs best and assist clients with calculating discounts on flight bookings. As part of their job, they may also handle a wide variety of customer complaints, including those relating to booking issues and refund requests. These professionals often assist clients and customers in comprehending the benefits of choosing a particular airline or a certain travel deal.

Customer service agents who work at the airport may assist customers with confirmation of bookings and reservations, printing boarding passes before flights, completing the check-in process and making sure that customers board a flight with no issues. They may address customer concerns in case they have trouble with baggage reclaim or luggage tracking. They are also in charge of informing customers if their flight may face an unexpected delay or in case of any other logistical inconvenience.

Related: What Does An Airline Ground Staff Do? (Duties And Skills)

How To Become An Airport Customer Service Agent?

Follow these steps to learn how to become an airport customer service agent:

1. Pursue a formal academic credential

A basic credential that can help you pursue a career in airport customer service is a higher secondary school graduation certificate. Additional degrees like a bachelor's degree or diploma can help you attain more success in this line of work. The subjects you choose to study in your degree course may determine the type of customer service you can provide. After successfully completing a bachelor's degree, you can choose to pursue a postgraduate degree in a domain like business administration. Here are some formal degrees you may consider pursuing:

• Diploma in Front Office Operations

• Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Marketing and Sales

• Master of Business Administration

2. Develop relevant skills

Successful airport customer service agents use a range of soft and hard skills to excel at their jobs. Here are some important skills you may consider developing:

• Computer literacy: Airport customer service agents may require computer literacy to retrieve flight or booking information, process bookings and communicate with customers by phone or email. They may be well-versed in file management, word processing, spreadsheet management and email or phone applications.

• Empathy and composure: Being empathetic helps airport customer service agents to communicate with clients who have limited knowledge of airline services. Cultivating qualities such as composure can help customer service professionals address client concerns and resolve them effectively, especially on busy days at work.

• Active listening skills: Working in the service industry means you may benefit from being patient and listening to customers' needs, queries and concerns on a daily basis. Airport customers can be tired and jet-lagged and you benefit from staying calm and listening well to provide an appropriate response or answer.

• Written communication skills: Airport customer service agents often send emails and messages to customers and write reports for companies. Having strong written communication skills helps them relay information in a clear and concise manner.

• Verbal communication skills: The job of an airport customer service agent might frequently involve speaking with disgruntled customers or clients, either on the phone or in person. Verbal communication not only includes the language you use but also the way you express your thoughts towards a situation.

• Language proficiency: Working at an airport means you may meet and work with customers and clients from across the globe, who speak different languages. Having the skills to hold a basic conversation in widely used foreign languages can help you provide better services.

• Adaptability: Each day and each customer can be different, and to cater to their needs effectively, you can develop the ability to adapt and improvise. Depending on flash deals, holiday seasons and flight schedules, you may see an increase in foot traffic at an airport.

• Attentiveness: You benefit from being extremely attentive with customers, to be able to help them in the most efficient manner. Heightened attention to detail is an essential skill to be an airport customer service agent.

• Ability to read customer behaviour: The ability to read and evaluate customer behaviour can be a great skill to have as a customer service agent. This can help you provide customers with the exact assistance or deal that they require, ensuring that you do not waste time on peripheral activities.

• Creative problem-solving abilities: Having strong problem-solving and creative thinking skills can help airport customer service agents resolve customer complaints effectively in a timely fashion. These professionals assess customer concerns and quickly resolve issues in a way that is beneficial for the customer and the company.

Related: Passenger Service Agent Interview Questions (With Sample Answers)

3. Gain work experience

You can work in many fields to gain the relevant experience required for an airport customer service agent. You can work part-time or as a freelancer at events, in offices as a receptionist or at call-centres during your studies. Few examples of jobs you can take up include cashier, customer service representative, support specialist or paralegal. After successfully completing your education, you can actively look for job openings at airports or airline call centres, and apply for them.

Related: How To Write Work Experience On Your CV

4. Choose a job role

There are many job roles available for airport customer service agents. Candidates can choose to work at call centres as customer service representatives, where the main job responsibility is solving complaints or queries and answering questions from customers. Airport managers are responsible for facilitating the smooth functioning of all activities and processes at an airport. Retail sales associates assist customers with buying or collecting products at the airport.

Airport customer service agents can also choose to become flight attendants. These professionals are responsible for ensuring the safety, comfort and security of passengers during a flight. Individuals may receive specialised training before they get to work as a flight attendant onboard a commercial aircraft.

Related: 9 Types Of Aviation Jobs (WIth Salaries And Job Duties)

What Are The Skills Required To Become An Airport Customer Service Agent?

To become an airport customer service agent, you may develop various hard and soft skills. These are a few prominent ones:

• Excellent communication skills

• Ability to work well under pressure

• IT and computer application skills

• Composure while dealing with aggrieved passengers

• Mathematical skills to calculate discounts or additional baggage charges

• Flexibility

• Basic fluency in foreign languages

While not mandatory, some employers prefer candidates with some experience in the leisure and tourism or hospitality industry. Adding this experience to your resume can project you a professional who is capable of speaking and dealing with customers from different cultures and countries. You may also require some experience as a cashier, as you may oversee monetary transactions when customers book flight tickets.

Related: What Is Customer Service? Definition and Career Advice

Airport Customer Service Agent Work Environment

Most airport customer service agents work close to 40 hours a week. This may include day and night shifts, working on weekends and holidays and overtime work due to contingencies. Customer service agents may work under pressure to ensure that all customers have checked in their baggage, printed their boarding passes and boarded their respective flights on time. They may also ensure that customers leave a flight safely and speak to them in case of delays and cancellations.

Aspiring airport customer service agents can apply to various companies in the airline industry. Individuals can also choose a department at the airport based on their interests, preferences and skills. Similar work opportunities for airport customer service agents include:

• Tour agencies

• Aviation firms

• Travel agencies

• Hotels

• Airline companies

Related: How To Get Jobs At The Airport: All You Need To Know

How Much Does An Airport Customer Service Agent Make?

The salary figure of an airport customer service agent may depend on their geographic location, the size of the airport and the company they work for. Their salaries can increase significantly with experience, expertise and specialisation in a particular domain. The average base salary of an airport executive is ₹24,305 per month.