Summer Internship

Posted by Matthew Bila on

Published by Shelbi Tierney on Mon, Sep 19, 2016

Gabriel Langley
Aviation Management and Operations

The internship this summer with the Metropolitan Airports Commission at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was fun, challenging, and rewarding in many ways and because of that, this experience has enabled me to grow professionally in the career path of aviation and airport management. The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) was created in 1943 by the State of Minnesota to operate and govern one of the largest airport systems in America. To this day, the MAC operates and manages Minneapolis St-Paul International Airport (MSP) as well as 6 other reliever airports which are smaller airports in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area that help relieve MSP airport by being the primary airport for general aviation. Learning about the MAC and the entire airport system helped me to excel in my job as well as familiarizing myself with the day-to-day operations of a large major-hub airport in the U.S. during this summer.

MSP Airport has two terminals and I had the pleasure of being selected as the only terminal intern for the airport. I was based in Terminal 2 and spent most of my daily time there but also got to experience and work in Terminal 1 and the reliever airports as well. Being at Terminal 2 was particularly special because the entire facility was common-use. Because Terminal 2 is common-use, the operations department I worked for oversaw all the equipment, gates, construction, airline operations and everything else that dealt with the day-to-day operations of scheduled and non-scheduled airlines. Furthermore, this meant that we coordinated with the trades department, Airside Operations, Field Maintenance, Airport Development as well as other departments to help maintain the terminal and ensure it operates safe and smoothly. Common-use facilities and/or terminals are becoming more popular these days because airport governing agencies such as the MAC are seeing increased passenger traffic while at the same time aiming to economically reduce expenses and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. Other airports in North America that utilize common-use as part of their operations include Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (Terminal 4), Toronto-Pearson International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport.

Because of the responsibility that we had as a team at the terminal, our department always were the ears and eyes of the terminal. We were constantly the first point of contact for the airlines, contractors and tenants by managing parking assignments for aircraft, inspecting the terminal’s secure and non-secure areas, assigning gates for aircraft and planning the future of the terminal. With that being said, two specific skills I became very good at because of my responsibilities that will benefit me in my airport management career were communicating information between departments in a timely manner and having precise attention to detail. There were countless instances of having to balance many daily tasks with unforeseeable events happening at the same time. There was one day during my internship where at the same time I had to coordinate gate assignments for two of the airlines in Terminal 2, dispatch our contractors to help out a severe baggage jam in our in-line baggage system, dispatch our cleaning contractors to clean a jet-bridge as well as work closely with our jet-bridge maintenance employees and Southwest Airlines in replacing a structural cable that broke on a jet-bridge. All of this happened in a short amount of time and required an incredible amount of precision when handling everything that was going on. Everything was successfully handled and I was happy to be with a strong team while doing so. Events like theses just go to show that every day is a different day when it comes to aviation. So many things are happening at the airport at the same time that it is imperative to be armed and ready with a solution when something happens awry. That is why those are just a couple of great examples of skills I improved that will benefit in my future career in airport management.

Outside of Terminal 2, as stated before, I had the opportunity to attend various meetings in the commission chambers conference room (located in Terminal 1). These meetings ranged from construction, airport development, safety, security, and customer service. It was amazing networking with top airport employees and hearing their passion for improvement and customer service at the airport. When going to these meetings I found that I learned a lot about patience and honesty that will benefit me in my career in airport management. These meetings involved people from various airlines and government agencies who talked about short and long term goals of the airport. With so many people involved, it is crucial to be patient in working with others and be honest with the goals and objectives that are at hand and need to get done. The combination of these two qualities ensure everyone is doing their work appropriately and helps prevent future challenges by being pro-active. Another instance in seeing these qualities being utilized was when I got to spend an entire day with the Reliever Airports department. During that day, I went to two of the reliever airports and got to experience working with all kinds of tenants in a small airport environment which was very interesting. Each airport had over 200 tenants ranging from local flight schools to corporate jet companies and quickly found that each tenant needs to be treated in their own personal way. Although I only got to speak with a few tenants, I could see how important it was to be honest with all of the tenants and treat them equally while at the same time making sure all of them abide by the MAC’s rules for operating out of the airport. The day-to-day operation of running the reliever airport system is different than the terminal but the same qualities apply in terms of customer service, honesty, patience, communication and attention to detail.

By far one of the most rewarding experiences I had this summer was a personal 45-minute meeting with the new Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, Brian Ryks. Brian Ryks was the previous Director and CEO of Grand Rapids International Airport (GRR). In his office, Mr. Ryks discussed all of his experiences and knowledge of airport management. I was able to ask him questions comfortably and enjoyed learning everything he said about his so-far 30-year experience in aviation. He told me about the trends of airports that include creating a large and accessible technology infrastructure for passengers, continuing to involve the business community and outside agencies for the improvement and development of the airport and the significance of safety, specifically internal terrorism. I was very appreciative about what he told me and am sure to bring this mindset to wherever I end up after school. I definitely learned from him to not take anything for granted, be an open resource for everyone I come across at work with and keep my eyes open for any opportunity. He told me that there are so many routes in airport management that it would be foolish to only focus on one job. It is important to get involved in as many ways as I can and work with as many people as I can to gain experience while continuing to broaden my network of connections. Overall, I was very pleased from that meeting and will always remember it being one of the many highlights of my summer internship.

My experience with the MAC this summer was beyond unbelievable and I am truly blessed to have this experience under my belt. I loved everyone I worked with and will not forget all of my crossover experiences with departments, meetings and other activities I did during my time at MSP. I will definitely recommend this internship to other students at WMU and know that I will take everything I learned from this internship wherever I go to continue to build on my experiences and attain my career aspiration of being a future airport director.