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Unloading baggage from a bag belt

In the airline industry, a baggage handler is a person who loads and unloads baggage (suitcases or luggage), and other cargo (airfreight, mail, counter-to-counter packages) for transport via aircraft. With most airlines, the formal job title is "Ramp Agent". Image File history File links Wikitext. ... An Airbus A380 of Emirates Airline An airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight. ... Luggage is any number of bags, cases and containers which hold a travellers articles during transit. ... A typical suitcase A suitcase is a narrow box-shaped bag, usually made of cloth or vinyl that more or less keeps its shape, has a handle at one end and is used mainly for transporting clothes and other possessions during trips. ... The Luggage. ... This article is about transported goods. ... For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation). ... Flying machine redirects here. ...

Within the airline industry, a baggage handler is often referred to as a "Rampie" or "Ramper": one who handles cargo on the "ramp" (outside the airline industry, the ramp is popularly referred to as the "tarmac", a term popularized by the media). Pejorative terms for Rampie/Ramper are "Ramp Rat," "Bag Smasher", "Bag Jockey", and "Luggage Monkey."

Baggage handlers also work jobs which are out of view of the flying public. Some of those places are the bag room, operations (or load control), and the air freight warehouse.

When baggage is checked in at the ticket counter or with a sky cap (where it receives a bag tag indicating the passenger's itinerary), it is often placed onto a moving bag belt which carries the baggage to an unseen destination within the airport. That unseen destination is the bag room. This is where numerous checked bags are sorted so that they will be loaded onto the proper flight. The bag tag which was previously affixed to the baggage during check-in is then read by a baggage handler and placed into the proper bag cart (usually a 4-wheeled trailer) or ULD (Unit Load Device; a machine-loadable container). The bag cart or ULD is then eventually pulled from the bag room by a bag tug and out to the aircraft for loading by baggage handlers. Unit_Load_Device Ultra Low Delay Audio Coder ...

In addition to "pushing" an aircraft from the terminal gate (with a "push back" or "tow motor") to position it for engine start and eventual taxi, baggage handlers also may tow aircraft to and from another gate or to a "remote" or RON ("remain over night") parking area . There will be a mechanic in the flight deck 'riding the brakes', who communicates with ATC ground control (for movement clearance), and operates of the APU ("auxiliary power unit"), breaks, lights, while the agent will operate the tow-tractor.

Operations (load control) agent: An aircraft has weight and balance limitations in order to ensure safe operation. There is a limit to how much a loaded aircraft can weigh; therefore the cargo, passenger and fuel load must be distributed so that the aircraft is "in balance" -- in other words, not too nose-heavy or tail-heavy. One of the jobs of the Operations agent is to ensure that the aircraft--as finally loaded--is "legal" (within safe limits) before the aircraft departs the gate. Upon satisfaction of this mandated requirement, that data is used to generate information which the pilot requires in order to ensure the safe operation of the "equipment" (aircraft).

Warehouse agent: The air freight warehouse is where inbound and outbound air freight is processed. It is usually located on or adjacent to airport property and is usually separate from the passenger terminal. This is a secure (sterile) area where only authorized persons are allowed access. If inbound international shipments are involved and have not been cleared by customs, those shipments (and the warehouse) may be "in bond" which requires additional security clearance/authorization of employees.

Various Jobs of Baggage Handlers

Ramp Agent: The people working on the ramp that are typically seen loading bags are referred to as "Ramp Agents". They are responsible for various things such as ensuring the inbound flights are unloaded in a timely fashion. On outbound flights, the ramp agents will load the flight and in some instances be responsible for accounting for what baggage may have been loaded in which compartments to ensure proper weight and balance, although this job is often the responsibility of Flight Operations employees.

Transfer Agent: This term is loosely used to refer to any agent who operates a vehicle that is used to transfer bags either from one flight to another or to refer to the agent carrying bags from the "bag room" to the proper flight. Another common term for this position is "runner".

Offloader: The "offloader" is the agent in charge of delivering bags from an inbound aircraft to the baggage claim carousel.

Lavatory Service

Lavatory Agent: Each aircraft equipped with a bathroom or lavatory needs to expend its waste somehow. This is where the Lavatory or "lav" agent comes in. After an inbound aircraft arrives it is the lav agent's job to flush the lav system. Despite what one may expect, the lesser physical demands of this position put it in equal or higher demand with other positions. In stations with higher volumes of passenger traffic, lavatory agents will usually utilize trucks adapted with large tanks on-board that do not need to be emptied as often. These are also configured to facilitate access to the waste ports of the aircraft, which can be out of reach by other means. In places where fewer or smaller aircraft are being serviced a "lav cart" (essentially a small lav truck pulled behind a Tug) is used to service the lavatories.

Mail/Freight Agent: As mail and freight arrives at a destination to either terminate at that location or continue on to another destination, certified agents handle and deliver US Mail or freight. They are responsible for scanning each package and delivering it to its proper aircraft.

Bag Room Agent: As baggage is delivered into the bag room via conveyor belt it is the bagwell agent's job to sort bags into carts according to routing.

Notable Baggage Handlers

• Bill Boyer Jr. - a baggage handler for Alaska Airlines who invented the digEplayer in-flight entertainment device and now owns Mokulele Airlines.
• John Smeaton - a Scottish baggage handler at Glasgow International Airport who became involved in thwarting the 2007 Glasgow International Airport Attack.

Bill Boyer Jr. ... Alaska Airlines, (NYSE: ALK) is an airline based in Seattle, Washington, United States. ... A digEplayer is a self-contained, portable video on demand (VOD) hard-disk based entertainment unit preprogrammed with movies, television shows, cartoons, videos, music, as well as airport maps, destination information, promotions and advertising. ... In-flight entertainment (IFE) refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. ... Mokulele Airlines is an independent commuter airline based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. ... John Smeaton QGM (born Bishopton, Renfrewshire[2] in 1976[3]) is a Scottish baggage handler at Glasgow International Airport. ... Glasgow Airport redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Mohammed Asha be merged into this article or section. ...

See also

Line Technician A line tech attaches a tow bar to a small private jet A Line technician (commonly known as a line tech or ramp rat) is someone who works on an airport ramp at a Fixed Base Operator (FBO), a business that typically handles general aviation aircraft as opposed to commercial...