Being a Ramp Agent at the DHL Hub Leipzig
Even as a child I drew pictures of airplanes for the pilots when going on vacation. Now I finally had the chance to get closer to the DHL Express fleet during my studies, because I worked as a ramp agent at the DHL hub in Leipzig.
I don't have any pilots or cabin crew in my family and I wasn't a big Tom Cruise fan either; the interest in aviation just came over me one day and a few hundred google searches, books and movies later I knew for certain: I want to do something with airplanes. But where do you even start?
I found DHL through the help of a friend. The application process was quick and easy. Even the training was exciting. Where else can you learn how to load and unload aircraft and how to handle dangerous goods? By the way, there are also impressions of what the training is like as a ramp agent. After the theoretical part, we started the practical phase a few weeks after. Setting cones, plugging in electricity, bringing equipment to the aircraft, knowing different loading systems. All this and more is part of the job of the ramp agent at the DHL hub in Leipzig.
A loading group manages around five to six loading or unloading operations per night. Nothing is impossible with the right team. Each loading group is a well-organized team of up to ten ramp agents plus a supervisor who leads the group and is responsible for ensuring that the planes take off on time. Communication is important in this job, but no challenge is too big for a top team like mine. And we had a lot to laugh about during our breaks together. I was very lucky to be accepted so openly into such a great team.
Over time, I got to know the complex processes and work steps more and more. And the responsibility that comes with a job like this. Are there really no screws on the floor that could be sucked in by the engines? Is the aircraft being loaded and unloaded in exactly the right order? Any carelessness here represents a security risk. The work of my colleagues is all the more impressive, as they have been mastering this flawlessly night after night for years and, above all, with enduring passion. In addition to the great team and the planes, the freight was also very interesting. I found it particularly impressive, for example, how luxury cars were loaded and unloaded. And of course without scratches.
For me, the time as a ramp agent at the DHL Hub Leipzig was unforgettable. And above all, it only strengthened my fascination with aviation. Are you interested now? Then have a look here.
- Luisa Bähring