Pros
The airport environment is exciting and full of interesting people. Everyday is a different experience and you see all sorts of new and interesting things. Very culturally diverse staff- full of international flair. An excellent environment to practice foreign language skills and a great way to get your foot in the door of the airline industry. Good for high school graduates and students with flexible schedules. Overtime pay available. Great introduction into the inner workings of airlines and the travel industry.
Cons
At times, stressful and requires a great deal of patience dealing with demanding travelers or rude CBP officers. Hours are erratic as they can begin very early in the morning or end very late at night, and can vary between 10 hours/week and 40 hours/week depending on the flying season. Training (which often consists of watching outdated video cassettes) fails to prepare new employees for actual work situations. Uniforms are terribly ill-fitting and of cheap quality. Supervisors are unprofessional and rude both in and out of the workplace (in speech and in actions) and show unabashed favoritism. Employees also work under 2 suffocating layers of supervision: Swissport supervisors and airline supervisors, and there is often a lack of communication between them. Reprimands and disciplinary actions are often carried out in public with little discretion. There is little-to-no room to grow at this company and you could be in the same position with no salary increase for 4 years or more. Say goodbye to weekends and holidays as vacation and shift trade requests are extremely limited or sometimes outright not allowed. Lunch breaks are 30 minutes short, and employees are instructed to ask permission from supervisors to take restroom breaks. Parking is out of the employee's own pocket although some airlines will provide partial subsidy. The Human Resources office is not easily accessible and the staff there lacks common courtesy and are unprofessional towards fellow employees.