Airport passenger volumes are projected to reach 17.7 billion globally by 2043, and the operational infrastructure needed to serve that demand is strained. Airport workforce management challenges include labour shortages, high turnover, compliance gaps, and the collapse of workforce visibility across organisations. Together, they represent a structural risk to airport operational performance, safety standards, and the passenger experience. We will examine the key challenges shaping the sector and what resilient workforce management looks like in response.
The labour shortage
Airport and ground-handling workforces have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels globally. A 2025 survey found that 59% of air cargo workers had seriously considered leaving the industry, citing unpredictable scheduling, limited career progression, and technology environments that feel outdated. The competition for talent has widened, too. Airports now compete with sectors offering remote working, more sociable hours, and faster routes to advancement.
Safety-critical roles see a more complex problem. Security officers, air operations staff, and technical maintenance personnel require regulatory certification, security clearance, and specialised training before they can fulfil their roles.
Attracting and retaining qualified staff is one of the most pressing strategic challenges in the air travel industry, compounded by competition from sectors offering conditions that the airport environment structurally cannot replicate.
The high cost of turnover
High turnover is both a symptom and a driver of airport workforce management challenges. At some ground-handling operations, annual staff turnover approaches 100%, creating near-continuous recruitment cycles that consume significant resources and erode institutional knowledge. According to research from the Airport Cooperative Research Program, replacing a departing worker can cost an organisation up to 150% of that employee's annual salary. This figure encompasses recruitment, onboarding, lost productivity during the transition, and the accumulated knowledge that leaves with the individual.
The visibility and coordination gap
Most airport executives cannot give an accurate, real-time picture of the skills, certifications, and deployment status of their workforce. Without this visibility, forecasting gaps, planning succession, and demonstrating regulatory compliance become reactive activities.
Spreadsheets cannot track certification expiry in real time, nor can they flag compliance risks, or support workforce planning at the scale modern airports require. Static tools consistently fall behind the dynamic, integrated systems in both efficiency and regulatory readiness.
Airports operate 24/7 without scheduled downtime. Any misalignment between cleaning crews, security teams, maintenance staff, and ground operations during peak periods, be it due to last-minute flight changes, unplanned absences, or shift handover failures, creates pressure that cascades across the terminal in minutes.
Seasonal peaks and staffing flexibility
Seasonal demand variation creates a structural staffing dilemma. During peak travel periods, major hub terminals can see double their normal throughput, placing immediate pressure on rostering, coverage, and compliance.
Temporary or flexible staffing can absorb some of this volume, but safety-critical roles cannot be filled by insufficiently trained personnel. The workforce planning required to manage seasonal peaks without compromising regulatory compliance is significantly more complex than conventional shift scheduling, and organisations without centralised, real-time workforce data cannot do it reliably.
Building workforce resilience
The Airport Cooperative Research Program's workforce development framework identifies four interdependent functions that determine long-term workforce strength:
- Attracting the right people into aviation roles
- Engaging personnel through culture and career pathways
- Equipping personnel with certifications and cross-functional skills
- Sustaining employee contribution through retention-focused strategies that protect institutional knowledge.
Each function requires data, process discipline, and ongoing management. Airports that invest in structured workforce development, including cross-functional training, succession planning, and integrated compliance management, are better positioned to absorb demand fluctuations and regulatory change without operational disruption.
Managing airport workforce complexity requires more than scheduling systems. It requires integrated process design, real-time compliance visibility, and the operational expertise to manage workforce challenges across roles, shifts, and regulatory environments.
How can Infosys BPM help with airport operations workforce management?
Infosys BPM airport operations and workforce management services support travel and hospitality organisations in building the process and analytics infrastructure needed to manage these challenges at scale. We help aviation and travel organisations build workforce resilience that improves operational regulatory readiness and performance.
Frequently asked questions
Airport workforce management is most affected by labour shortages, high turnover, compliance requirements, and limited real-time visibility into staffing, skills, and certifications. These issues make it harder to plan shifts, maintain service levels, and respond quickly to operational disruptions.
Workforce visibility helps airport leaders see who is available, which certifications are current, and where staffing gaps may appear. Without that visibility, planning becomes reactive, compliance risks increase, and coordination across security, maintenance, cleaning, and ground operations becomes more difficult.
Labour shortages reduce operational flexibility, while high turnover creates constant hiring and training cycles that increase costs and weaken institutional knowledge. Together, they can affect safety, service quality, and the airport’s ability to handle peak demand efficiently.
Seasonal peaks can double passenger volumes, but many airport roles require specialised training, security clearance, and regulatory certification. This means airports cannot simply add extra workers at short notice, so workforce planning must balance flexibility with compliance and operational readiness.
Airports can build resilience by combining structured workforce development, cross functional training, succession planning, and integrated compliance management. A more connected and data driven approach helps them attract talent, retain skilled employees, and adapt to changing demand without disrupting operations.
