Baggage Handlers at work

In the airline industry, a baggage handler is a person who loads and unloads baggage (suitcases or luggage), and other cargo (airfreight, mail, counter-to-counter packages) for transport via aircraft. With most airlines, the formal job title is “Fleet Service Agent or Clerk”, though the position is commonly known as a “Ramp Agent”, due to the job’s location on the airport ramp (tarmac), amongst airline employees.

Within the airline industry, baggage handler is often referred to as a “Rampie” or “Ramper”: one who handles cargo on the “ramp” (outside the airline industry, the ramp is popularly referred to as the “tarmac”, a term popularized by the media) Although the technical term is AOA (Aircraft Operation Area). Offensive terms for Rampie/Ramper are “Ramp Rat,” “Bag Smasher”, “Bag Jockey”, “Luggage Monkey”, and “Thrower.”

A baggage handler also works jobs which are out of view of the flying public. Some of these are the bag room, operations (or load control), and the air freight warehouse. Some of these jobs have union representation and due to this baggage handlers can be very well compensated with an above average pay scale and good medical, retirement and benefits packages.

When baggage is checked in at the ticket counter or with a sky cap (where it receives a bag tag indicating the passenger’s itinerary), it is often placed onto a moving bag belt which carries the baggage to the bag room. This is where numerous checked bags are sorted so that they will be loaded onto the proper flight. The bag tag which was previously affixed to the baggage during check-in is then read by a baggage handler and placed into the proper bag cart (usually a 4-wheeled trailer) or Unit Load Device (ULD; a machine-loadable container). The bag cart or ULD is then eventually pulled from the bag room by a bag tug and out to the aircraft for loading by baggage handlers.

Wikipedia

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