What It Takes To Lead A Team At The Worlds Busiest Airport

Between 90 and 100 million passengers pass through Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) every year. In an industry that is evolving faster than ever, leading aviation services at the world’s busiest airport is uniquely challenging.

Unifi Aviation is the largest ground handling and aviation services provider in the United States, with a presence at more than 200 airports nationwide. In addition to ATL, I oversee the entire southeast region for Unifi – that’s more than 40 stations and nearly 90 contracts with 10 customers, including Delta, United, and Southwest. But Unifi’s largest operations are in Atlanta, where we have more than 3800 employees and are the second largest employer after Delta Air Lines. Among our workstreams are wheelchair services, commissary, janitorial, bussing, and janitorial services for Delta, full handling for Air Canada and Spirit Airlines, and additional airport maintenance and international terminal services. It’s an enormous machine that must operate with the highest daily standards to ensure little to no travel disruptions.

With more than 40+ years of experience in this industry, first with Delta and now with Unifi, there are some fundamental truths I’ve learned when it comes to leading a team at a place as massive and complex as ATL.

“Expectations and demands across the business – from our customers and partners down to travelers have increased out of the pandemic pushing the aviation service industry to keep up”

Embrace Servant Leadership. When you are leading large teams with thousands of front-line employees, traditional, hierarchal leadership styles need to be revised. Our essential workers come first, so I strive to be a servant leader who empowers those I work with. It’s everything from small gestures like never passing anyone without saying hello, all the way to maintaining accountability – it starts with leadership and spreads to the workforce. It doesn’t matter who you communicate with; it’s how you communicate with them. Whether it’s a customer or a new employee who needs your attention – nothing loses credibility faster than unfulfilled commitments and unanswered questions.

Safety Must be Culture Driven. Nothing is more critical in our line of work than safety. Our employees – especially below wing and on the ramp – undergo crucial training, which is continually reinforced. Competing performance metrics should never take priority over safety. Our operational culture at Unifi starts and ends with safety. For example, positive reinforcement of good behaviors promotes a healthy work culture where employees are empowered to adhere to company policies and procedures.

The Industry is Evolving, and So Must We. It’s a time of significant change for the travel and aviation industry. Expectations and demands across the business – from our customers and partners down to travelers have increased out of the pandemic pushing the aviation service industry to keep up. Embracing technology has transformed how we work and has been a tremendous blessing for the industry. For example, new tech-enabled tools are driving safety performance, like the AlertMeter [an app that senses worker fatigue, illness, or distraction] and LYTX camera systems – to name a few. All lead to predictive risk assessment: identifying risks before they become a reality.

Ultimately, aviation is a customer-service centered business, and we share a common goal of safe, reliable air travel. Unifi works in partnership with airlines and airports every day to ensure passengers get the right care and service at each step of their journey.