Ramp Agents at JIA Working in the Cold

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Travelers arrive at Jacksonville International Airport all the time. They, of course, bring luggage with them.

They drop the bags off with a ticket agent. At the Southwest Airlines counter, the bags then go onto the conveyor belt.

Ticket agents have it easy. Well, at least the warm part of the job. The cold part starts in the T-Point.

Mike Hutchison, a ramp agent, works out in the cold. He told First Coast News, "Bring it on, below zero. Um, I got my jacket and I got my sweater, t-shirt, hood and the hat and my gloves."

Ramp agents separate the luggage in the T-Point. It's a big building without a heater. So, workers warm up when they can.

The cold weather is nothing for Ernie Cook. "It ain't bad, a little chilly." He doesn't wear much when the temperature is freezing.

On Wednesday, he said he wore a "light jacket and a t-shirt. I got a long sleeve t-shirt though for the first time." Cook told us a heavy coat is not necessary. "No heavy coat, don't need it in Florida."

From the T-Point, Cook takes off to the tarmac. It's a blustery ride. Sometimes the wind makes him tear up briefly.

Many jobs are done in a short amount of time on the tarmac. Workers load luggage onto airplanes. Southwest Airlines Operations Supervisor Eric Griffin told us, "They climb up inside the bin (of an airplane) and it's not a whole lot of room in there. So, they're on their knees."

They de-ice planes. Griffins says workers know they have to be ready for the cold weather. "You've got to be prepared. You've got to layer. You've got to just keep an eye on the weather, know what kind of day you're going to be in for."

But there are the brave ones. Some, like the worker who de-iced the planes Wednesday, doesn't wear much. According to Griffin, "He's got a rain suit on and under that he's probably got his shorts. He's from Chicago. The cold doesn't affect him."

Griffin says the key is to just keep moving. Workers flag in planes. They drive around the tarmac. "It's fun. We all like our jobs. You just get used to it I think. You know, you learn to deal with it. You get warm when you can." Griffin says that's in between flights.

The ramp agents do this every day in all kinds of weather. They are moving heavy luggage. So when it's cold out, many of them are in shorts and short sleeves by the afternoon.
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Source: firstcoastnews.com