How to become Airfield Operations Specialist in 2024

Airfield Operations Specialist Ensure the safe takeoff and landing of commercial and military aircraft. Duties include coordination between air-traffic control and maintenance personnel, dispatching, using airfield landing and navigational aids, implementing airfield safety procedures, monitoring and maintaining flight records, and applying knowledge of weather information.

Airfield Operations Specialist is Also Know as

In different settings, Airfield Operations Specialist is titled as

  • Airfield Operations Specialist
  • Airport Operations Agent
  • Airport Operations Coordinator
  • Airport Operations Officer
  • Airport Operations Specialist
  • Flight Follower
  • Operations Agent
  • Operations Coordinator
  • Operations Officer
  • Operations Specialist

Education and Training of Airfield Operations Specialist

Airfield Operations Specialist is categorized in Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Airfield Operations Specialist

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Education Required for Airfield Operations Specialist

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Degrees Related to Airfield Operations Specialist

Training Required for Airfield Operations Specialist

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Airfield Operations Specialist in different industries are

What Do Airfield Operations Specialist do?

  • Implement airfield safety procedures to ensure a safe operating environment for personnel and aircraft operation.
  • Plan and coordinate airfield construction.
  • Coordinate with agencies, such as air traffic control, civil engineers, or command posts, to ensure support of airfield management activities.
  • Monitor the arrival, parking, refueling, loading, and departure of all aircraft.
  • Maintain air-to-ground and point-to-point radio contact with aircraft commanders.
  • Train operations staff.
  • Relay departure, arrival, delay, aircraft and airfield status, and other pertinent information to upline controlling agencies.
  • Procure, produce, and provide information on the safe operation of aircraft, such as flight planning publications, operations publications, charts and maps, or weather information.
  • Coordinate communications between air traffic control and maintenance personnel.
  • Perform and supervise airfield management activities, including mobile airfield management functions.
  • Receive, transmit, and control message traffic.
  • Receive and post weather information and flight plan data, such as air routes or arrival and departure times.
  • Maintain flight and event logs, air crew flying records, and flight operations records of incoming and outgoing flights.
  • Coordinate with agencies to meet aircrew requirements for billeting, messing, refueling, ground transportation, and transient aircraft maintenance.
  • Collaborate with others to plan flight schedules and air crew assignments.
  • Coordinate changes to flight itineraries with appropriate Air Traffic Control (ATC) agencies.
  • Anticipate aircraft equipment needs for air evacuation and cargo flights.
  • Provide aircrews with information and services needed for airfield management and flight planning.
  • Conduct departure and arrival briefings.
  • Use airfield landing and navigational aids and digital data terminal communications equipment to perform duties.
  • Post visual display boards and status boards.
  • Check military flight plans with civilian agencies.
  • Assist in responding to aircraft and medical emergencies.
  • Manage wildlife on and around airport grounds.
  • Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements.
  • Conduct inspections of the airport property and perimeter to maintain controlled access to airfields.
  • Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways.

Qualities of Good Airfield Operations Specialist

  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Tools Used by Airfield Operations Specialist

  • Airfield access control systems
  • Airfield lighting equipment
  • All terrain vehicles ATVs
  • Animal traps
  • Bucket lifts
  • Crack sealing equipment
  • Desktop computers
  • Dump trucks
  • Emergency response vehicles
  • Fire vehicles
  • Identification card printers
  • Lawn mowing tractors
  • Mobile radios
  • Multipurpose fire extinguishers
  • Paint stripping equipment
  • Protective glasses
  • Pyrotechnic pistols
  • Security alarm systems
  • Shotguns
  • Snares
  • Snow removal equipment
  • Sweeper vehicles
  • Utility trucks
  • Visual display boards
  • Wheeled forklifts

Technology Skills required for Airfield Operations Specialist

  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Aircraft noise monitoring system software
  • Apache HTTP Server
  • Decision Support Technologies Propworks
  • Extensible markup language XML
  • FileMaker Pro
  • Ground transportation management system
  • Internet Protocol Television Systems
  • Intuit QuickBooks
  • Linux
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft operating system
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft SharePoint
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Word
  • Operations scheduling software
  • Oracle Database
  • Parking access revenue control system
  • SAP software
  • TRMI Airport AVI
  • Word processing software