STUDENT VOICE | Page 19

COLLEGE NEWS Kilmarnock Travel and Tourism students were also given the opportunity to go behind the scenes at Glasgow Airport as part of their Airport Ground Operations unit. The tour was excellently led by Margaret Berry from Menzies Aviation who is responsible for overseeing the smooth operations of check-in for various airlines including Flybe, Icelandair and British Airways. Menzies Aviation employs 400 staff at the airport and Margaret explained that there are never two days the same. The students soon learnt that it is ‘more than just a smile behind a desk’ and that checking people onto aircraft is not as easy as it seems. There was much excitement when the group were given the opportunity to sit behind the check-in desks with staff THE STUDENT VOICE: EDITION 3 to observe the whole process including where the luggage goes after check-in. After clearing rigorous security procedures the students were taken airside and onto the runway where the health and safety issues surrounding an airport were explained to them including how staff must protect themselves against the noise levels of a jet engine! the athletes and how they were expecting lots of VIPs for the MTV EMA music awards being hosted at the SSE Hydro. “...it really helped us to understand how our learning at Ayrshire College can be put into practise in the future” More routes means more staff for Margaret and having been impressed with the students’ knowledge particularly on airline/ airport codes, she encouraged them to send their CVs to the airport during the next recruitment drive. The students said farewell to Margaret having gained a valuable insight into the day to day operations of a busy airport, with one student commented “it really helped us to understand how our learning at Ayrshire College can be put into practise in the future”.   The tour continued past the new British Airways lounge and onto the departure gates. Margaret was on duty during the Commonwealth Games and explained to the students how great it had been to meet all We also saw the improvements the airport has undergone in the last year and Margaret explained that they were looking at new routes out of Glasgow for 2015 to destinations such as Poznan, Marrakech and Las Vegas. 19