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Transport clerical workers

How to become an Airport Ground Staff Member

Official title: Airport Ground Staff

Also called: Airline Ground Staff, Airline Passenger Services Agent

Checks in passengers at the airport (counter work) and guides them onto their flights (gate work).

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university or vocational college (senmon gakko) is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start. After graduating from a tanki daigaku (junior college), senmon gakko (vocational college) or university, some people join an airline and are posted to an airport, while others join a related company contracted by an airline to handle airport passenger services. Some join mid-career. You often deal with passengers from overseas, so qualifications in English and other languages help you get a job. You need to learn about aviation law, such as items banned from aircraft and restricted areas in the airport for security, the conditions of carriage such as tickets and fares, international air transport rules, and immigration, customs and quarantine. You need a sense of responsibility to get flights away on time, and the judgement and ability to act flexibly to meet customers' many requests. As this is a service job, communication skills and a friendly manner are also essential.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Airport Ground Staff Member?

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start. After graduating from a tanki daigaku (junior college), senmon gakko (vocational college) or university, some people join an airline and are posted to an airport, while others join a related company contracted by an airline to handle airport passenger services. Some join mid-career. You often deal with passengers from overseas, so qualifications in English and other languages help you get a job. You need to learn about aviation law, such as items banned from aircraft and restricted areas in the airport for security, the conditions of carriage such as tickets and fares, international air transport rules, and immigration, customs and quarantine. You need a sense of responsibility to get flights away on time, and the judgement and ability to act flexibly to meet customers' many requests. As this is a service job, communication skills and a friendly manner are also essential.

How much does an Airport Ground Staff Member earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,797,000 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Transport and post clerical workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an Airport Ground Staff Member?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 29% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Junior college (短期大学) programme; Vocational college (専門学校) course: Travel and tourism.

Will AI change the work of an Airport Ground Staff Member?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026