Baggage handlers are the unsung heroes of airports, ensuring that our luggage travels safely from the check-in counter to the plane and then to our final destination. However, their job is far from easy.
This article explores the significant challenges baggage handlers and managers face daily, highlighting the importance of efficient processes, and the role of innovative software in making their tasks more manageable.
Challenges for Ground Handlers
Tight Turnaround Times
One of the most pressing challenges for baggage handlers is the tight turnaround times between flights, and delays can have a domino effect, causing significant disruptions and adding to the pressure.
With the narrow timeframes in which baggage handlers must load and unload luggage, speed and efficiency are crucial. Any delay in their process can result in late departures, missed connections, and unhappy passengers, yet the processes must all be carried out in compliance with regulations pertaining to security, loading requirements, and so on.
Physical Strain and Injury Risks
The physical demands of handling baggage cannot be overstated. At London Heathrow airport, for example, 100,000 bags are handled per day.
Repeatedly lifting, carrying, and loading heavy luggage, often in ergonomically challenging positions, comes with a high risk of injuries, particularly to the back, neck, and shoulders. While safety protocols and equipment are in place, the nature of the job inherently carries these risks.
8.8 million workdays are lost every year as a result and companies pay a large amount in compensation claims related to such injuries.
Stress
The combination of time pressure, physical demands, and the critical nature of their work makes baggage handling a high-stress occupation. Things became even more difficult due staff shortages over the past few years; this gave remaining workers added stress and it lowered morale, driving many people to resign, only making the cycle worse.
Varied and Unpredictable Luggage
Every piece of luggage is different – in size, shape, weight, and fragility. Baggage handlers must quickly assess and handle each item appropriately, a task that becomes more challenging with the increasing variety of luggage types. From oversized bags and sports equipment to delicate instruments, handlers must be adept at managing this diversity at-speed without causing damage. And of course, this variation leads to variation in the loading process, an already-complex activity.
Adverse Weather Conditions
Working in all weather conditions is another significant challenge. From heatwaves to snowstorms, ground handlers have to perform their duties regardless of the weather. This not only adds to the physical discomfort but also poses additional risks and challenges, such as handling wet or icy baggage and operating machinery in poor visibility.
Communication Barriers
Effective communication is vital in ensuring baggage handling runs smoothly. Handlers often work in noisy conditions, making it difficult to communicate with team members, and this can lead to errors, inefficiencies, and safety issues, so clear, concise, and reliable communication channels are essential.
Baggage Handling Management Challenges
Of course, it’s not just ground handlers that have their work cut out for them. Let’s review some of the areas that are challenging for management.
Customer Service and Problem Resolution
Managers often have to handle customer complaints related to lost or damaged luggage. Resolving these issues in a way that maintains customer satisfaction is a delicate and sometimes challenging task.
As they say, prevention is better than cure, so it’s better to minimise the chances of lost luggage by using baggage handling software. However, mistakes can still happen which makes it essential to keep customers informed.
Resource Allocation and Staff Management
Managing a team of handlers efficiently, especially during peak times, is a complex task. Managers must allocate resources effectively, ensuring adequate staffing while avoiding overstaffing and the excessive operational costs that follow.
We also have to consider seasonal volume fluctuations. Air travel is highly seasonal, with significant peaks during holidays and summer months. These fluctuations result in a dramatic increase in the volume of luggage to be handled, further straining resources and escalating the challenges faced by baggage handlers.
Maintenance Management
Baggage handling is only as effective as the equipment involved; these complex systems are essential for the timely and accurate movement of luggage from check-in to aircraft and vice versa.
Regular and thorough maintenance ensures that they operate at peak efficiency, minimising the risk of breakdowns that can lead to delays, lost or damaged luggage, and a negative impact on passenger experience. Proactive maintenance not only extends the lifespan of the equipment but also enhances safety for both workers and passengers.
How To Overcome Baggage Handling Challenges
For both handlers and managers, cloud based baggage handling software can be a game-changer. Such software streamlines operations on all fronts, provide real-time tracking and monitoring, and make things less stressful overall.
Efficient Loading
Loading is a labour-intensive and complex task that needs to be executed with precision. Staff must ensure the aircraft is properly balanced, which means following the load plan to the T, making last-minute adjustments, and reconciling these changes with the original load plan. Entering loadsheet data manually adds more time to the process, a resource that is limited in this fast-paced environment.
Software enables staff to carry out this task more efficiently and accurately. For example, our tablet app, FirstLoad, mobilises traditional weight and balance software, for increased productivity and faster turnaround times. It optimises load balancing and capacity calculations up until departure, it’s configurable for various aircraft types, and data is captured for auditing purposes.
Better Resource Planning
Software enables effective resource planning, ensuring that the right staff are allocated to the right tasks at the right times, in the right locations. When allocating staff, such systems also consider their skills, travel time, SLAs and the availability of parts.
Tools like these streamline all the admin that comes with workforce management and make it easier to manage seasonal fluctuations, helping prevent staff burnout during challenging times.
Improving Staff Communication
Mobile apps are a winning solution for providing instant communication among ground handlers and ramp managers while on the move. Apps such as FirstFIDS shares vital flight information to all staff devices simultaneously so that everyone is up-to-date, eliminating the need for information to be passed from one team to another.
Users have access to details on all arrivals, departures, terminal and airport information, and it works offline as well, refreshing when the device is back in range. There’s also an ‘Update Notes’ feature that enables instant communication.
Our customers have seen significant improvements in on-time performance across the board as a result of FirstFIDS.
Customer Communication
Customer anxiety is eased when they can track the location of their baggage, and our passenger status update app lets them do that.
It’s unlikely that baggage will get misdirected when a high-performance software solution is in place; however, people can still make mistakes and should luggage not reach its intended destination, customers can stay up-to-date about its whereabouts until the situation is resolved.
Not only does this bring peace of mind, it reduces the number of enquiries from customers seeking updates.
Asset Management
Ground based support and asset management systems are key to maintaining and repairing specialised airside equipment in a timely and compliant manner. They help reduce asset downtime, manage the entire asset lifecycle, and streamline task allocation, augmenting the efficiency provided by the resource planning tools mentioned earlier.
Conclusion
Ground handlers and managers face many challenges each day. Software plays a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency of baggage handling operations, ultimately leading to smoother airport experiences for both staff and passengers. The result is lower turnaround times, fewer mishandled bags, and reduced costs on many fronts.
Some challenges come with the nature of the job, such as the physical demands, but the ability to optimise staffing allocation at least helps tackle seasonal fluctuations amidst labour shortages. In addition, improving communication and efficiency minimises the stress of having to correct errors or work with cumbersome processes. To learn more about our world class aviation software – or to book a demo – contact us today.
