For a business the size and scope of BAA’s group of airports, ensuring that every part of our operations run smoothly is of paramount importance and thanks to our dedicated engineering and logistics teams, millions of passengers are able to flow through our terminals every year.

The work of the engineering teams is in evidence throughout all areas of our operation – from check-in desks to baggage carousels, water supply to air conditioning and everything in between. Keeping everything well maintained and fully operational is the lifeblood of the airport.

The work is about far more than simply maintaining and repairing equipment – our engineers work closely with the facilities and construction and projects teams on a number of large-scale, big-budget projects dependant on their particular engineering discipline. And with a huge capital investment programme scheduled for the coming years, engineers are more important to our future than ever before.

At each airport, there are a number of key engineering disciplines:

• Building and civil
• Electronic
• Motor transport
• Electrical/mechanical

Our engineering teams operate on the cutting edge of technology. Work is organised through sophisticated computer systems and technicians are encouraged to constantly update their skills and develop their careers through ongoing training.

As you might expect, engineering forms a huge part of the way we work. It's a large team comprising of core maintenance technicians, technical team leaders, maintenance team managers, baggage service managers, facilities managers, as well as apprentices. Staff are encouraged to move throughout the airport, developing a diverse skills base during their career.

Logistics and engineering work hand-in-hand but while our engineers deal with the technical aspects of airport life, it is the logistics teams who ensure that every element of our operations flows as it should and that everyone – passengers, customers, staff and airlines – can move around the site in the most efficient way possible.

Logistics can be broken down into a number of areas, each of which takes care of specific areas of the airport:

• Landside logistics: control post security, special arrangements for VIPs, special or sensitive passengers, traffic flow in and out of the airport, guarding restricted zones, overseeing the movement of supply chain vehicles
• Logistical operations: take care of conference rooms and induction centres, as well as staff car parking
• Passenger services: help people find their way around the terminals and take care of baggage trolleys and carousels
• Front-of-house: monitors the areas in and around the terminals including the car parks and surrounding roads

Listen to one of our engineering apprentices talk about her role

[Back to top]