Airport Ambassadors

Airport Ambassadors help airport employees to see the airport from a passenger’s point of view. Many Airport employees experience this situation every day: travelers assume, that everybody who either waers a uniform or lives in Montello, works for this thing called the airport. In reality, that is not the case, because airport employees, even though they work at the airport, often don’t work for the airport, but for many other companies. Especially passengers in a rush tend to ignore this fact and often blame airport employees for not doing their job, while in fact they are doing their job and not someone else’s. Still - we need to consider the airport as one “whole” thing that tries to get passengers through efficiently. Courteous, swift and secure is one of our motto’s. So, if a passenger asks, if the flight from JFK is delayed and the response is: “I don’t know. I am the coffee maker at this airport.” the answer is correct, but not satisfying. The trained response would be to take an interest in the passengers question and then trying to find the answer.

It’s part of the ambassador’s job to constantly encourage the idea that things could work. If facilities are not attractive or out of order, the fact has to be recognized. An “Excuse our appearance” sign could be installed.




Looking at the surveillance footage of Sept.15, 2006 I noticed that most passengers did not carry their carry-on luggage. This is unusual, don’t you think?
I am wondering: Did passengers, who got delayed on September 15, 2006 at IAM for about 7 - 24 hours abandoned their luggage on purpose? If yes, why? And, what kind of a passenger is the one who travels without baggage?
I don’t think the incidence was a matter of logistics. Despite the fact, that Justin the luggage handler did not show up for work that day, there were one or two suitcases checked in for every passenger, most of them standard black ones, with two wheels and a handle. All of them clean and in good shape, not too heavy to pull or lift. While passengers were transported from one terminal to the next, layover support and the shuttle bus driver did a great job to keep the suitcases all day long in close proximity to the passengers. But, except one little boy (who had all his toys in his suitcase) and a mother with a baby (who had all the diapers in her suitcase), the great majority of passengers never touched their luggage.



It almost seemed they had all forgotten about it on purpose. The question is, if it has anything to do with what Jackie, the producer of the film crew, had overheard at the bar: “You come to Montello to disappear.”

There is a bone in every zone and I see you around, in the air or on the ground.
Airbassador