Terminal One Ramp Rats

It’s a beautiful and lively sight for those who love everything-airplanes. The insanely loud turbine engines, the sirens from the Port Authority vehicles, the jet bridge alarms approaching the aircraft, the intense vibrations from engine run-up, and the strong smoky exhaust from the trucks. All are common sights in one of the world’s busiest airports, John F. Kennedy International Airport. Hundreds of flights land and takeoff from JFK every single day. Millions of travelers and luggage enter and leave NYC every year. It is the job of JFK employees like myself, an aircraft mechanic, and ramp agents, to ensure the planes, passengers, and luggage reach their destination in a safe timely manner. Working at JFK for several years, I’ve earned the opportunity to work at the terminal one ramp to gain insight on the life of a ramp agent. The ramp agents work harder than anyone, day in and day out, and without them, flight operations at terminal one would cease to exist.

JFK is humongous, with several passenger terminals; Terminal 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Each terminal caters to different airlines, with different contract companies providing the services. I decided to base my fieldwork observation at the terminal one ramp, on the Dnata ramp agents’ group. Being an aircraft mechanic, my job consistently intertwines with theirs. Although my job consists of different duties, we often collaborate our efforts to aid in the completion of both our task. The ramp or tarmac is the common term the airport employees use for where the busiest operations of servicing the plane for departure occurs. It is usually where the aircraft is parked, baggage/cargo is off-loaded and loaded, fuel tanks are refueled, galleys are re-catered, lavatories are serviced, and the structure of the aircraft is inspected before its next flight. That being said, I started my observation on an early morning at Gate 8.

It was bright and sunny, with a nice cool breeze in the air thanks to the airport’s location near the water. The scheduled flight to arrive to the gate was a Korean Air A380. There were no Dnata ramp rats in sight yet. “Ramp rats” is the nickname we mechanics give the ramp agents because of their large population and their constant movement around the ramp. I was more excited than usual as I often don’t get to encounter the gigantic A380. Working on the A380 is every mechanics dream. It features state of the art avionics, four top-of-the-line engines, and best of all, an upper and lower deck! Although we mechanics love the magnificence of the A380, the ramp agents absolutely despise it, because all it meant was more work. The plane carries up to 600 passengers, which means more luggage, more water to fill, and more cargo to off-load for the ramp agents.

The ramp was still relatively quiet, given that most of the flights arrive in the afternoon. The ramp is made of asphalt that is marked with old painted markings, signifying the aircrafts designated parking location. The ramp agents have equipment parked all throughout the ramp. Their equipment includes tugs, trucks, K-loaders, dollies, belt-loaders, ladders, and chocks. Usually, due to the use of fuel-burning equipment, the air tends to be very smoky but was surprisingly fresh that morning of my observation. Being so close to the Jamaica Bay, it sort of smelt like the beach with a strong seaweed aroma. I sat at my site for quite some time enjoying the environment in a different sense then I normally do when I’m at work. In due course, the ramp agents finally showed up just in time for the aircraft’s arrival.

The ramp rats came out of their main office located under Gate 6. When the Dnata ramp agents show up to the gate, this signals to everyone that the aircraft has landed, and is on its way to the gate. The ramp crew I observed consisted of five people, all males. The ramp subculture is typically made up of mainly males. For every eight males, there is about one female. I don’t think the discriminates by choosing males over females, but rather it is a preference from females, since most who do get hired, tend to leave the company in a short time. The ramp crew I observed all wore neon-green reflective vest, except for one who wore a neon-orange vest. He was the supervisor of that crew. The supervisor oversees the allocation of the work of his crew. He held a clipboard, which I noticed he read to his crew, about the jobs they were in charge of for that day. The supervisor, usually older, also carried a tool bag with him. Surprisingly, there weren’t any tools in there, but orange glow-up sticks used to guide the aircraft when moving to avoid collision with other aircraft. These glow sticks are the rampees most important artifact, they called them “wands”. The rampees, another term we also used for ramp agents, carried these brightly-colored wands everywhere.

As the aircraft got closer, the rampees got into position. Some rushed to their assigned spots, while others lagged behind. It was obvious some were tired of the job with the lack of enthusiasm that was present. The airport grew noisier that quiet morning as the A380 neared the terminal. The airplane grew larger and louder as it approached, eventually coming to a full stop. The ramp supervisor used his own wands to inform the pilots to stop and shut off the engines. Then he entered a large tow-truck and connected a tow bar from the truck to the plane. This part is what surprised me most. He pulled this colossal aircraft with a truck that is 1/50th of its size. It was an incredible site to see, how such small machinery can move an object that weighs several tons. After a few minutes of pulling the plane to the gate, his crew installs chocks to prevent the plane from moving, the jet-bridges are connected, and then passengers disembark.

The ramp agents got straight to work. Some I noticed were more intrigued to get the job done than others. It seemed the more experience you had, the less you had to work. It was easy to tell who was new to the job, and who was seasoned in just by observing the job performance and the cleanliness of their reflective vest. Usually the longer you’ve been a ramp agent, the less questions you ask, and the dirtier your vest becomes. New ramp agents lacked training, which I feel is a major issue in the industry. To become a mechanic, I spent many years training and preparing to work on and around large aircraft. On the other hand, the ramp agents receive almost little or no training. Yet, they’re placed in a work-site where their job requires them to handle large and expensive million-dollar equipment. That is why, they often get into situations where they need higher-experienced assistance to prevent injuries and damages. That is typically when they ask for assistance from us mechanics. They also get paid very little for the work they are doing, which I feel is another major issue. There is a constant influx of new hires, because many leave so frequently due to the intense work and low-pay. Which means, more inadequately trained staff on the ramp.

The ramp crew I observed rarely conversed with other airport employees, aside from the airline agents. The airline agents are hired by the company flying the aircraft, and they are in charge of overseeing all of the operations. During my observation, they were Korean Air agents. I could tell the ramp agents weren’t very fond of the airline agents. The rampees didn’t like taking orders from the agents, as they shrugged when the airlines nagged or tried to get the job rushed. After the plane arrived, the smell of the ramp changed entirely. The sounds from the APU filled the air, the smell of burned fuel and oil reeked, the suns blinding glare disappeared, and everyone was focused on getting this plane out of here as soon as possible. The ramp agents were split up based on their qualifications. The more-experienced agents drove the large K-loaders which were used to off-load and load the cans from the belly of the aircraft. A belt-loader was then connected to the bulk cargo area. The bulk-cargo area is where bags, strollers, and pets are sometimes stored during flight. I was happy to see that people’s personal belongings were handled carefully, as the common misconception of cargo handlers mishandling cargo says otherwise. The newer ramp agents drove tugs, which were used to pull the dollies that carried the passenger’s luggage. This was the more strenuous job as they had to load it and off-load it by hand instead of using heavier equipment like other operations. While cargo was being off-loaded, other ramp agents took care of servicing potable water in the aircraft, emptying the lavatories, and carrying the loose cargo up the bridge to passengers. The work was hard, and there was no time to rest. Nonetheless, the ramp agents made the best of it. Even though they were assigned to specific jobs, they constantly helped each other out. They were all there for one purpose, and that was to get the job done. They laughed together about things that would happen outside of work. They’d talk about random things like the basketball game from the day before. Overall, they helped each other when help was needed. When the job was done they waited for one another, and left for break together.

Once all the preparations were completed for departure, the magnificent A380 was loaded and fully ready with new passengers on their way to Seoul International Airport. Most of which can be attributed to the work of the ramp agents. It was time for pushback, and so the supervisor got into the tow truck again, connected the tow bar, and pushed the double-decked aircraft all the way to the taxi-way. With his crew guiding, ensuring he doesn’t hit any other planes, he finally came to a full stop. He then informed the pilots to start all four engines, disconnected his tow truck, and gave the final signal wave, goodbye.

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