“9 km of walking per day”: passionate about his job, the “terminal manager” of Nice airport tells us about his days
2023-08-05 06:45:00
Three beautiful children were born from this union. Listening to Teddy Humberset, 44, “terminal manager”, is like inhaling passion in big puffs. The smiling azure-eyed colossus entered the airport in 2002.
Nine kilometers of walking per day
Airport infrastructure, Teddy has known them all. He started in the parking mobility department, car parks. In 2008, he moved to airside, general aviation and baggage sorting.
Then he finds himself at the Operations Control Post (PCE), then at the Apoc (read elsewhere). Then opened a detachment in the terminals, two years ago. The “manager terminal” runs on T1 and T2. They are seven holders, plus a temporary worker for the summer. “I guarantee the quality of service. I make the link between the passengers, the companies and the assistants.” A queuing problem, a delay, cancellations, and Teddy carries around his imposing stature and his disarming smile to smooth the flow of passengers. He walks nearly 9 kilometers a day. Anticipation is the keystone of his profession.
His day begins with briefings with the various services at the airport, then with airline assistants and the border police. Streamlining the wait at the booths (border police booths) is also part of its missions. His role is a mix of Raid negotiator and peacemaker. “If there is a congestion, I will look for the passengers whose flight is most urgent to open a dedicated line so that they do not miss their flight.” Like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, a delay in Nice can cause delays at the other end of Europe.
Teddy likes nothing more than the company of passengers. “Often, I come home, I have the banana, I tell my wife what happened to me during the day, the meetings. In this case you know why you do this job.”
He delivers this magnificent sentence, which sums him up so well, and perfectly defines his profession: “People leave with a piece of you, and you stay with a piece of them.”
Managing flows and expectations is the role of the “terminal manager”.