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Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors: Career Profile

Supervise and coordinate the activities of ground crew in the loading, unloading, securing, and staging of aircraft cargo or baggage. May determine the quantity and orientation of cargo and compute aircraft center of gravity. May accompany aircraft as member of flight crew and monitor and handle cargo in flight, and assist and brief passengers on safety and emergency procedures. Includes loadmasters.

The Daily Work of Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors Take On?

Typical responsibilities of aircraft cargo handling supervisors span:

• Determine the quantity and orientation of cargo, and compute an aircraft's center of gravity.
• Direct ground crews in the loading, unloading, securing, or staging of aircraft cargo or baggage.
• Train new employees in areas such as safety procedures or equipment operation.
• Distribute cargo to maximize use of space.

Key Skills and Knowledge

Effective aircraft cargo handling supervisors draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

The competencies that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Related Job Titles

This career also goes by job titles like:

• Air Cargo Ground Crew Supervisor
• Air Cargo Ground Operations Supervisor
• Air Cargo Specialist Supervisor
• Air Cargo Supervisor
• Aircraft Loadmaster
• Airfreight Loading Supervisor
• Airport Operations Supervisor
• Airport Ramp Supervisor

Employment and Demand

The U.S. employs around 1,006,923 aircraft cargo handling supervisors working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +8.6% over the projection horizon.

Salary for Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$43,243
Hourly median	$20.79
10th percentile	$27,656
25th percentile	$35,450
75th percentile	$51,037
90th percentile	$58,831

Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.

How Much Do Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors Make in Different U.S. States?

State	Annual median salary
Virginia	$89,210
Indiana	$82,750
Wisconsin	$81,410
Georgia	$79,400
Ohio	$79,300
Utah	$78,990
Missouri	$77,820
Idaho	$77,200
Puerto Rico	$75,530
Tennessee	$75,300
Maryland	$75,170
Colorado	$74,930
Rhode Island	$74,510
Arizona	$74,230
Connecticut	$71,760
Michigan	$71,250
Nevada	$68,840
Florida	$68,250
California	$66,840
North Carolina	$66,190
Texas	$65,850
Hawaii	$64,270
Louisiana	$64,040
New Jersey	$64,000
New York	$63,770
Massachusetts	$63,480
South Carolina	$62,050
New Mexico	$61,420
Alaska	$60,750
Washington	$60,510
Oregon	$58,470
Illinois	$57,610
Pennsylvania	$56,700
Minnesota	$52,480
New Hampshire	$51,410
Montana	$51,280
Iowa	$45,710
Kentucky	$34,150

Where Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors Earn the Most

Earnings for aircraft cargo handling supervisors shift depending on where you work. The following regions pay the most:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Other U.S. Territories	$75,530	0.9%	1.27
Rocky Mountains	$73,167	4.3%	1.09
Southeast	$71,214	18.8%	0.95
Southwest	$66,933	18.1%	1.34
Far Western US	$65,948	27.2%	1.77
New England	$64,382	3.9%	0.80
Great Lakes	$64,234	11.0%	1.20
Middle Atlantic	$63,214	9.0%	0.58

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	DC	$89,480	110
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	GA	$85,360	160
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	IN	$84,970	50
Columbus, OH	OH	$84,300	40
Kansas City, MO-KS	MO	$82,800	30
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	FL	$82,490	130
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	CA	$80,440	70
Charleston-North Charleston, SC	SC	$77,990	40

Top Industries Employing Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors

Most aircraft cargo handling supervisors are found across these industries:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Transportation and Warehousing	9,960	$63,390
Manufacturing	50	$128,450

Below are examples of industries where aircraft cargo handling supervisors work:

Tools and Technology

• Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
• Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)

Work Environment

The work environment for aircraft cargo handling supervisors reflects the following characteristics:

• E-Mail
• Telephone Conversations
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
• Contact With Others
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team

How to Become Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors

Typical aircraft cargo handling supervisors positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.

Related Careers

Similar Occupations

• Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (Primary-Long)
• Cargo and Freight Agents (Primary-Long)
• Freight Forwarders (Supplemental)
• Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance (Primary-Long)
• First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers (Supplemental)
• First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (Supplemental)
• First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers (Supplemental)
• First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers (Primary-Long)

References

Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 53-1041.00 (Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors).