baggage handler

customer service representative

agent

senior training manager

equipment maintenance technician

Swissport

Theory training was easy. 
Practical training was never provided or completed. 
Trainers were being selective about who they train and provide assistance. That was mostly their friends or friends of friends. 
A typical day at work would go with out being recognised from the minute my shift starts. My morning greeting goes unanswered by some of those clicky staff who are mostly favourited by the only 2 senior existing. 

-job roles or daily tasks are being divided based on favouritism. 
- what I've learned was the struggle to acquire knowledge when working in a clicky environment. I had to gather bits and pieces of information mostly from other staff rather than trainers in order to be able to do the job. 
-management was absent at critical times when needed.  Also management consisted of 1 manager who was replaced 3 times in less than 6 months. 
-workplace culture was very toxic and immature run by senior staff who don't follow company rules and demonstrated poor examples. Also these senior staff manipulated situations to be in their favour.
- hardest part of the job was being disrespected and being expected to accept it as well as getting necessary training to be able to do the job. 
-most enjoyable part of the job was dealing customers travelling to many cool destinations and hearing their stories.


I had a good impression at the start, submitting an online video and having a group interview at the Vibe Hotel. Then the work started.

Have to allow 45 minutes to travel, 20 mins to the airport, walk from the outside carpark, through the line at security, then have to wait MORE because you don't get your security pass for like a month, hoping someone can fetch you at the door because you don't want to be late. Because if you're late, you will be blamed since the flights runs on a schedule.

Your day consists of being bossed around by people in different coloured shifts. They made the interview all around "teamwork" but there is none. You work in the bagroom by yourself, then when all the bags come in at once and they're not stacked, you get blamed. 

Getting tired is not an option. Loading bags is five on the belt, not three, and when you're up there they won't stop even if you're getting buried in bags. Then they go on about "looking after your back with correct technique" when you simply can't keep up doing it the correct way.

Speaking of dumb rules, you have to have your facial hair at a certain length or a full beard, and you can't have any visible tattoos. Strange coming from a job that requires minimal face-to-face contact with customers.

I am now a wardsman at the hospital, where many of us deal with doctors, nurses, patients and their families all the time, and there are no such rules (this also being a government job!). A lot of us are covered in tattoos, and we get to show off a lot of our personality. A much happier, not to mention better-paid environment. Highly recommend!

If I can convince at least one person to not work for Swissport, then this was worth it. Know your worth!

Typical day starts with no one with walking through the soul crushing bag room. After that, as a driver looking for a tug which has been ' allocated' to you which you're meant to ask management to find it and their response is 'go find it yourself' as they are too busy sitting around. even turning up 30 mins early doesn't guarantee you anything. you'll be chucked on two flights at once due to severe understaffing and mgmt will have the nerve to question you why it went out late. we can't be at two places at once. some managers do have soft skills but that will depend on if they like you or not. you'll be run into the ground, you will not get a break. they will take you off your 'allocated' break to do a flight. they could get off their bottoms and do it themselves. if you fit in with the clique you have a shot but you're not going anywhere in life. they pay is poor, there is no incentive to do extra as you will be flogged. only pro is getting your airport licence, once you have that you'll look better in the eyes of better companies. in the last 6 months, most leads and widebody drivers have left for greener pastures, you don't see people from rival companies coming to swissport. training is poor, you are just left to figure out things in a very dangerous environment. there is no such thing as safety as you'll get told off for it. only go there is you really have nothing else going on in your life. even working at maccas is better because youll get free food. swissport with their new eba offer you nothing but peanuts, injuries and your soul being crushed. good luck to a work life balance. none of the equipment works

Overall, I think my experience working at Swissport can be summed up as average. The major downsides to the job - lots of manual labour, very early starts, working in harsh weather conditions etc, are listed in the job description and are explained to you during the interview so you should know well and truely what you are getting yourself into. 

I found the work itself to be kind of fun at times. There was always something interesting happening every day, and there was also plenty of downtime. If you had nothing to do you basically just had free time to do whatever you wanted. It made shifts as long as 11 hours just fly by. 

Although the work itself was alright I don't think we were paid nearly enough for what we had to do, considering all the hazards that were apart of the job. You would only get penalty rates if you worked between 12am and 6am. There were also surprisingly little to no job benefits - I think you could get very very slightly discounted flights after working there for nearly a year but that was it. Work-life balance highly depended on what shifts you were given and your life outside of work, but regardless of who you are I don't think going to bed at 8pm on a Saturday to get up at 3am on a Sunday for work is going to be very enjoyable. 

Overall not bad, I would say work the job for a little while to gain some experience but I wouldn't recommend working there for a long time, just don't really think it's worth it.

First of all, ideally apply for a job at Swissport Australia if you are:

(1) Have nowhere else to go jobwise OR
(2) You are a student, and you look for part time work AND
(3) You 'love' lifting 16 - 30 kgs bags on a regular basis.
(4) You don't mind being low paid.
(5) You love shiftwork and weekends work.
(6) You have NO LIFE outside work

Their payrate from July 2023 will be a standard rate not including any allowances they have had previously so if you have to pick between Swissport Australia and a similar role, choose the other role you apply for.

They have regular management and supervisors change, but it does not help changing the company's corporate image as those supervisors and managers that have raised most of the current issues are long term employees and still stick around.

If you want a supportive and responsive management environment with great pay, and flexibility with regards to the roster, work life balance and career advancement, please look elsewhere as people are leaving the company in droves.

DON'T COME HERE. YOU MAKE A BIG MISTAKE!

There is no typical day here with shift times and lengths varying markedly from one day to another. 0315, 1250, 0735 starts for example and shift lengths could be 4.5, 9.5, 5.0 hours. The same with meal breaks. You will get above the minimum required break however.
You can work an entire shift and have no interaction with supervisor - they wouldn't even know your name
Expected to be training new hires when only one week in
"Training" emphasis was on getting modules ticked off on the computer rather than actually training how to do the job
Staff rostered to commence before their supervisors
Poor pay rate but their argument is they pay more than award so they don't need to pay shift penalties etc.  No overtime rates unless you've worked more than 12 hours in one shift

In a nutshell, you will learn and have the opportunity to upskill quickly and diversify however no matter how qualified, experienced, dedicated, proven and reliable you will still be expendable. 
The working enviroment is chaotic and driven so by lazy and self serving, less than remarkable Duty Managers.  Excellent managers have left and excellent leadership has been replaced by "Green", inexperienced or limited in ability or insight supervisors and mid management who are simply self preserving.
Reduced hours, lack of respect, poor pay, poor understanding of how to keep the best and most skilled staff has meant that the operation is run with a continuous revolving door of new staff that do not know what they are doing.
Don't waste your time if you have any self respect or want a long term opportunity in aviation customer service.

Management is terrible, they don’t care about their staff at all only care about making money. Force staff to work difficult hours with low pay, completely disregard any staff with outside commitments. You have no social life and forget about your kids and family, uni or another job or hobby if you work here. They want you to dedicate your life to this toxic company when there is a lot of favouritism and they are biased. 
They hire everyone and anyone and they put questionable staff in higher roles like supervisor or duty manager with no professionalism and allow their higher ups to talk down on staff, allow them to bully staff and spread gossip. They target which staff to pick on and which staff can get away with everything and anything. Nothing is confidential, you’ll be lured into managements office and they’ll tell you they are “here to support you” and for you to open up to them, once you tell them your struggles whether it’s at work or at home that is very personal and then it’s the topic of the office the next day. No thanks! 
Overall the job is good, most good people within the job and the operations. 

I loved my job, however once i started working fully trained they were horrible to me. I was bullied by management and singled out in a very discrete way therefore i had trouble consulting then about it. The higher trained staff were so childish and cliquey, it really made every shift harder and harder to feel comfortable at work. I had tried many times to communicate with the managment team but all if then treated me and many others i know if the same way. They just ignored us or straight us disrespected us and our time. It became so childish to the point i would request no early mornings for a small period of time due to terrible anxiety at night time and all my shifts suddenly were change to two hours earlier in the morning, or i would ask for my friday nights off for youth group then all of a sudden i would have a shift on only fridays. Such wicked people work for Melbourne Swissport!

Working at Swissport as a baggage handler and ramp agent is both challenging and rewarding. The role demands physical stamina and attention to detail, as you are responsible for loading, unloading, and transporting luggage efficiently while ensuring safety standards are met. The fast-paced airport environment keeps every shift dynamic, and no two days are exactly the same. Teamwork is crucial—collaborating with pilots, ground staff, and fellow ramp agents ensures smooth operations and timely departures. While the work can be physically demanding, the company provides thorough training and emphasizes safety, which helps build confidence on the job. One of the highlights is the exposure to the aviation industry and the opportunity to learn about aircraft operations and logistics. Overall, working at Swissport develops resilience, teamwork skills, and operational awareness, making it an excellent choice for anyone seeking hands-on experience in airport ground services.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Baggage handler 12 salaries reported	$26.92 per hour
Customer service representative 3 salaries reported	$27.00 per hour
Agent 4 salaries reported	$25.75 per hour
Senior training manager 2 salaries reported	$90,000 per year
Equipment maintenance technician 1 salary reported	$46.68 per hour

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