Ground Handling Agent (Ramp Agent) CV Examples & Writing Guide

This sample is for a ground handling agent with about seven years at two stations: below-wing baggage and cargo first, then aircraft movement and a lead role on a narrow-body wave. The person and the companies are invented. Keep the structure and swap in your station, aircraft types and equipment.

Ground handling recruits in volume and screens hard. The recruiter is really working through a checklist before your experience even matters.

• Can you get an airside pass? Airport ID passes need a fully referenced history going back five years and a criminal record check, and some roles also need a Counter Terrorist Check (CTC). If your history has gaps, account for them on the CV, because you will have to account for them on the pass application anyway.
• Can you drive? A full UK driving licence, a clean record and eligibility for an airside driving permit. Ramp jobs are mostly equipment jobs.
• Will you work the wave? Ramp shifts are 4am starts, split shifts, nights, bank holidays and overtime during disruption. Say what you can work.
• Then the actual job: aircraft types, equipment operated, turn times, bag volumes, safety record, and whether you have ever done pushback or de-icing.

“Half the applications I get would be hired if the person had written three lines: valid licence, no felony convictions in the last ten years, available for a 4am start. Then I want aircraft types and equipment. Someone who has run a 30 minute A320 turn and pushed with a headset does not need much training.”

Three or four lines: years, aircraft types, turnaround times or bag volumes, equipment, then pass and licence status. If you are new to aviation, write a career objective and put availability and driving first.

Searching for the duties and responsibilities of a ground handling agent gives you a list of tasks. Turn each task into something a station manager can measure.

Split the list into aircraft work, equipment, and the things that make you schedulable.

Aircraft and ramp work:

• Loading and offloading narrow-body, regional jet and wide-body aircraft
• Weight and balance and load instruction compliance
• ULD container and pallet build-up and breakdown
• Pushback, towing and marshalling with headset or hand signals
• Chocks, cones, GPU, air start and air bridge operation
• Toilet and potable water servicing
• Aircraft de-icing and anti-icing with holdover time logging
• FOD walks, safety zone discipline and damage walk-arounds
• Cabin cleaning and turnaround support where the station requires it

Equipment you can name:

• Belt loader, baggage tug, cargo trolleys, pushback tug (towbar and towbarless)
• Main deck cargo loader and high loader
• Toilet service vehicle, water bowser, de-icing rig
• Forklift and pallet truck in the baggage hall and cargo shed
• Handheld scanners and bag tracking systems

The things that decide whether you get scheduled:

• Clean driving licence and eligibility for an airside driving permit
• Ability to pass 5-year referencing, a criminal record check and drug and alcohol screening
• Working outdoors in heat, rain, snow and jet blast
• Lifting bags of 23 to 32 kg repeatedly in a confined hold
• 4am starts, split shifts, nights, bank holidays and overtime during disruption
• Radio discipline and clear communication over engine noise

Nearly everything on the ramp is controlled by a pass, a permit or a training record. Listing them correctly is worth more than any adjective.

• Airside ID pass. The airport-issued pass for airside and security restricted areas, issued after 5-year referencing and a criminal record check, plus a Counter Terrorist Check for some roles, and security awareness training. Say if yours is current, and at which airport, since passes are tied to one airport and employer.
• Access zones. Passes show which restricted zones you may enter, such as the baggage hall, stands or international arrivals. Worth naming if your pass covers more than the basics.
• Airside driving permit (ADP). Issued by the airport after a driving test on the airfield, usually for the apron and stands, with a separate authorisation for the manoeuvring area. Say which you hold.
• Pushback and towing qualification. This is an employer scheme, not a national licence. Write it as an employer qualification with the year.
• Dangerous goods awareness training, with the course name and expiry. Ramp staff take a CAA-approved course pitched at their role, renewed every 24 months.
• De-icing training, which is recurrent every winter. Say how many seasons you have done.
• Your employer's drug and alcohol policy. Many handling companies test at recruitment and at random because ramp work is safety-critical; a clear record is worth one line.
• First aid, and any aviation security or modern slavery and human trafficking awareness training your station required.

• One or two pages; one is usually enough. Ground operations recruiters screen hundreds of applications a week.
• Account for employment gaps with a short line. You will have to explain them for the airside pass, so do it up front and remove the doubt.
• Put availability in writing near the top, including whether you can do a 4am start and bank holidays.
• No photo and no date of birth, even though many overseas ground handling CV templates include both.
• List aircraft types by designation (A320, B737, E190, ATR 72) rather than saying "various aircraft".
• If you worked for a handling company rather than an airline, name the airlines you handled, since the station will recognise the operation.

Mirror the advert: ramp agent, ground handling agent, baggage handler, below wing, above wing, turnaround, on-time departure, D0, weight and balance, load plan, ULD, GSE, belt loader, pushback, marshalling, de-icing, FOD, airside pass, airside driving permit, dangerous goods. Many airlines and handlers advertise the exact same job under three different titles, so use theirs in your headline.