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.
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