Airport Employee Refuses To Give Families With Kids Special Treatment

Working at an airport means finding a balance between following strict rules to maintain order while also relying on common sense when needed. This can sometimes be difficult to do, especially when passengers start to feel overly entitled.

Reddit user u/Orionyss22, an airport employee, turned to the internet for a verdict about how she handled a family with kids. The worker denied them priority when dropping off their bags because that particular airline did not have a policy to prioritize children. This, however, caused a spot of drama in the queue. Read on for the full story and to see what other internet users had to say about the entire situation.

Things can get quite chaotic at the baggage drop-off point, especially if the airport is understaffed

Image credits: YuriArcursPeopleimages (not the actual photo)

One employee explained why she denied priority access to a family with kids, starting a discussion online

Image credits: LightFieldStudios (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Orionyss22

The employee thought that the family was behaving in an entitled way

The author of the post shared how she followed the rules to the letter. Priority at the specific airline that the OP was helping at the time was reserved only for business class passengers, as well as people with reduced mobility who needed wheelchair assistance.

Overwhelmed with work, the airport employee ignored the family with kids who thought that they’d get priority when dropping off their bags. A small conflict ensued after the airport employee told them that they couldn’t cut the line.

“I’m sick and tired of families DEMANDING to be serviced first. Your life choices don’t entitle you to special rights!” redditor u/Orionyss22 vented on the r/AITAH subreddit. She stressed the fact that this all took place at bag drop-off, not while boarding.

Many readers supported what the worker had done, however, some people were unsure if she handled the situation in the best possible way.

Some redditors pointed out that the OP could have prevented the entire drama by taking a moment to communicate to the family that they didn’t have priority when she saw that they were queuing up in the wrong lane. We’d love to hear what you Pandas think about the entire situation, so feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Good communication and problem-solving skills are essential for airport staff

According to PPR, one of the UK’s leading technical recruitment businesses, some of the most important qualities for airport ground staff include the ability to plan and organize well, as well as top-notch soft skills. This is something to keep in mind if you ever plan to work at an airport.

The latter are things like flexibility, the ability to solve problems, teamwork, interpersonal skills, and a sense of responsibility. Meanwhile, good communication may be the most important soft skill to have in this workplace environment.

“As a member of airport ground staff, you will likely communicate through various methods including, internal intercoms, telephone systems, e-mail, face-to-face, and various other specialist computer systems. Communicating within an airport environment will also include inputting the correct information regarding passenger and luggage details and completing any documentation which may be required,” PPR explains exactly why this is so essential.

Staying calm under pressure and handling customer complaints well are also invaluable

Meanwhile, the Aviation Career Hub stresses the importance of customer service skills for those aspiring to become passenger check-in officers.

On top of that, employers value workers who have excellent communication, organization, and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to stay calm under pressure. The latter is especially useful in situations where you have to deal with customer complaints.

How workers handle passengers is important because it affects the reputation of both the airport and the airline. People who get treated poorly may choose to take their business elsewhere or file a complaint.

The airline Ryanair, well-known for its cheap flights and sometimes questionable customer service, has recently seen a lot of negative coverage in the news for how it treated its customers. The BBC reported how a family was forced to pay 165 pounds to check in at the airport, even though they’d done so before. Meanwhile, the airline also charged an elderly couple 110 pounds to print their tickets at the airport.