A job with an airport is a good alternative to working with an airline. Although travel opportunities are fewer, airport employment offers much of the same excitement.

Employees rub elbows with travelers from all over the world. You might meet someone from the mountains of Tibet one day, then converse with a sophisticate from Paris the next. Airport work can also be a stepping stone to airline jobs, if that is your ultimate goal. Having the aviation industry experience will give you an edge when applying for airline positions later on. Alternately, if you are interested in air industry employment that will always be close to home, an airport job might be just the ticket. And working with an airport would be a way to test the waters before relocating. Chances are, there is an airport close to where you live.

Over the years demand for different types of travel, ranging from extended vacations to daily flights to work, have increased, and airports, like airlines, have adapted to meet these needs. There are about 13,000 airports in the United States, 421 of which are primary airports. The rest, such as air harbors and heliports, are used for general aviation aircraft. Major airlines service about 650 airports in the United States. Airports with permanent, full-time workers exist in every state, with the highest concentration found in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. More and more, smaller towns and rural areas are building their own airports in order to attract new businesses.

Airports are usually managed by a director or manager who operates within the city government, port jurisdiction, or in some cases, a private company. The type and availability of airport employment depend mainly upon the size of the airport.

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