How to become an air travel assistant
Official title: Air travel assistants
Also called: Air hostess, Air steward, Air cabin crew, Passenger control assistant, Passenger service assistant, Passenger traffic assistant, Passenger services assistant, Airport information assistant, Cabin crew, Service agent, Cabin manager, Cabin steward
Air travel assistants issue travel tickets and boarding passes, examine other documentation, provide information and assistance at airport terminals and look after the welfare, comfort and safety of passengers travelling in aircraft.
Main tasks
- Receives passengers at airport terminal, examines tickets and other documentation, checks in luggage and distributes boarding passes
- Checks emergency equipment, distributes reading material, blankets and other items, and ensures that the aircraft is ready for the receipt of passengers
- Welcomes passengers on board the aircraft, guides them to their seats and assists with any hand luggage
- Ensures that sufficient stocks of meals and beverages are on board the aircraft prior to take off and serves passengers during the flight
- Sells duty-free goods during the flight
- Makes announcements on behalf of the pilot, demonstrates the use of emergency equipment and checks that safety belts are fastened
- Directs and instructs passengers in the event of an emergency, ensures safety procedures are followed
How to become one
Entrants usually possess GCSEs/S grades. Fluency in a foreign language may also be required in some posts. Training typically lasts between 3 to 6 weeks followed by a 6 to 12 month probationary period of on-the-job training.
Ways in
- Apprenticeship (England): Aviation customer service operative (level 2). England. Typically 12 months. Skills England standard ST0907.
- Apprenticeship (England): Cabin crew (level 3). England. Typically 12 months. Skills England standard ST0558.
- University: Creative Arts & Design degrees, Offered by 26 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £28,738 a year The middle half earn £25,518 to null.
- About 42,100 people work in this job now, and about 43,600 are projected by 2035. (+3.6%)
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Questions people ask
How do I become an air travel assistant?
Entrants usually possess GCSEs/S grades. Fluency in a foreign language may also be required in some posts. Training typically lasts between 3 to 6 weeks followed by a 6 to 12 month probationary period of on-the-job training.
How much does an air travel assistant earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £28,738 a year (Office for National Statistics).
Is an air travel assistant a growing career in the UK?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 4% by 2035, from about 42,100 to about 43,600 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become an air travel assistant?
Not always. 38% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Creative Arts & Design degrees; Aviation customer service operative (level 2).
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.