Airport Director and Manager-Airport Operations are a couple of senior airport operations jobs.

Airport directors and airport managers are accountable to either private airport owners or concerned government authorities.

Professionals handling airport operations jobs need to be competent in public relations, economics, business management, civil engineering, personnel management, labor relations, and politics.

An airport manager is involved in executive business decisions and may be required to make and enforce airport rules and regulations, plan and supervise maintenance and safety programs, negotiate leases with airport tenants, etc.

The working conditions of an airport manager’s job or an airport director’s job vary with the size of operations. While office hours are more regular and responsibilities are more defined in the job of an airport manager at a large airport, the same cannot be said with regards to the jobs of airport directors and airport managers handling smaller airports. At a smaller airport, the airport manager/airport director spends long hours in the office and handles training and scheduling roles, too.

The position of an airport manager or an airport director requires experience and training. Large, complex airports demand more in-depth background than smaller ones. While a college degree is a must for the job of an airport director or the job of an airport manager, a background in public relations, air transportation, business management, engineering, etc. is certainly preferable.

Candidates aspiring to the jobs of airport managers or airport directors must be familiar with state and federal regulations, zoning laws, environmental impact analysis, legal contracts, security, aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF), and public relations.

Career advancement for an airport manager in a smaller airport may include moving to an assistant director's job at a larger airport. An airport manager also may move upward to the position of commissioner of airports or to a state-level job concerned with state regulation of airports.

Vacancies for airport operations jobs are generally advertised locally rather than nationally. Thus, airport operations jobs are hard to find, and when airport operations jobs are advertised nationally, competition is fierce.