Hello, my name is...

Olesia and I’m 19 years old. I’m currently studying at Seneca Polytechnic in the Flight Services – Ground Operations and Cabin Management program.

Aviation has always been a huge part of my life. I’ve loved flying and traveling since childhood, and I’ve already had the chance to travel a lot on my own. Almost all of my relatives are connected to aviation — my dad is a pilot, my brother is a pilot, and many of my uncles work in aviation too. 

Ever since I was little, I dreamed about working in the sky and being part of this world. This blog is about my journey — my first steps into aviation, travel, training, and everything that comes with chasing this dream.

week 2

May 27, 2026 7:20 p.m.

This week at the airport went really well, and I feel much more confident compared to the beginning of the placement. Most of the tasks that seemed difficult at first now feel much easier and more natural to complete. I noticed that I became faster when helping passengers, answering questions, and using the airport systems and kiosks. Time was passing very quickly during our shifts because the work environment was very active and enjoyable.I found really interesting talking to strangers and getting know them closer. It's really exciting to hear their unique experiences, stories, reasons why they flight to... It was especially fun working with my classmates and the Gap Year students because everyone was supportive and friendly, but unfortunately, this was the last week for the Gap Year students. We really relied on them during the past weeks because they taught us many useful things and always helped us when we had questions or problems. Thanks to their guidance, we became more independent and confident in our abilities. Now i feel prepared to continue working and handling situations on my own without needing as much help as before.

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Airports' power off

One of the most memorable situations this week happened when the power suddenly went out for a few seconds across the entire airport. During that moment, all the electronic equipment stopped working. The kiosks shut down, the computers and televisions turned off, and even the baggage belt stopped moving. Ssbd guys were collecting all passengers' luggage at their counter until belt works again. For a short time, the situation became stressful because passengers were confused and the lines started getting longer very quickly. But we all stayed calm and tried to manage everything as professionally as possible. We continued directing passengers toward the kiosks once the systems slowly started working again and helped answer questions to keep people informed. In the end, the problem was resolved quite quickly, and the airport operations returned to normal. This experience taught me how important teamwork, patience, and communication are during unexpected situations at the airport.

 

blog #3

Working at the airport continues to go very well. Recently, the hiring gap students finished their placements, which means that now the student agents are working without the additional support that was available during the training period. So far, I still haven't had the opportunity to work an entire shift completely alone. I will also be receiving my RAIC pass soon, which will allow me to access more restricted areas of the airport. I think that once I begin spending more time at the gates, I will have many more interesting experiences and stories to share. Other than that, there have not been many particularly unusual or memorable situations recently except one i will tell in my next's paragraph. Most days have been fairly routine, with the usual passenger questions and check-in assistance.

Chinese tourist group 

One day, I was working with Karina, and we were the only two agents assigned to the self-check-in area. Karina was one out of not that many people on duty who could speak Chinese, which became extremely important when a large tour group of elderly Chinese passengers arrived at the airport all at once. There were around thirty people, if not more, and most of them spoke only Chinese and very little or no English. They all needed assistance at the self-check-in kiosks, so Karina and I spent a long time moving quickly from one passenger to another, trying to help everyone as efficiently as possible. One thing that surprised me was that while I was assisting one elderly couple, several other passengers approached me at the same time and held their passports directly in front of me, expecting immediate help even though I was clearly busy. I found that frustrating and quite shocking. Later, Karina told me that some passengers had also been rude to her, which surprised me as well. Another thing I found interesting was that some passengers did not want to come to me when Karina directed them for assistance. They told her that since I did not speak Chinese, there was no point in asking me for help because they would not be able to understand me. To be honest, I could understand their concern, as communicating in a foreign language can be difficult and stressful, especially while travelling. Despite the challenges, Karina handled the situation incredibly well. I was very grateful for her language skills. Looking back on that experience, I cannot even imagine what would have happened if that tour group had arrived on a day when I was working alone without someone who spoke Chinese. Honestly, I was very fortunate to have Karina there to communicate with the passengers and help us manage the situation. That experience showed me how important teamwork and language skills can be in an international airport environment.

Blog #4

Lately, airport life has been pretty routine. Shift after shift, everything is starting to feel more familiar, and I can definitely tell that the job is getting easier with time. I’m much more confident now than I was when I first started. Of course, there are still quiet moments when we’re simply waiting for passengers to arrive, and standing around can get a little boring. We usually talk with our coworkers to make time fly faster. Recently, something funny happened before our counters even opened. The airline next to us had closed later than usual, and when we came downstairs, one of their agents pointed out that a huge line of people waiting behind the last baggage drop counter were actually our passengers. They had formed a queue even though our check-in wasn’t open yet. Instead of speaking to everyone individually, I stood in front of the group, asked if they were flying with Cathay Pacific, and then politely announced that our check-in had not opened yet and asked everyone to wait behind the barriers. I also directed many passengers to the self-service kiosks, since they hadn’t checked in or printed their boarding passes yet. That made the line much shorter almost immediately.

 

Tourist group #2

Another moment happened while I was working with Skye. During our briefing, we were told that a group of around forty tourists would be arriving, so we were mentally prepared for a busy shift. I was working with Skye who speaks Korean, so we didn’t have anyone who spoke Chinese that day. Luckily, this group was younger than we expected, and many of them could communicate in English, which made everything much easier. To be honest, by the time I came downstairs, the terminal was already busy, so I barely even noticed when the tour group arrived. Everything went by surprisingly fast, and before I knew it, we were almost finished. It probably felt much busier for Skye since she was on SSBD position, when i was at the kiosk. Overall, work has been going really well lately, and in July I’m planning to work a few shifts completely on my own. I’m excited to see how that experience will go.

Blog#5

This week continued to go very smoothly, and I feel much more confident in my role. Every day the job becomes easier because I am getting used to the procedures and working with passengers. Time goes by surprisingly fast during my shifts. For now, I am mostly assigned to the self-service kiosks, where I help passengers check in, print their boarding passes, and tag their luggage. Since I have repeated these tasks many times, I can now assist people much faster and with much more confidence. I also feel more comfortable answering passengers’ questions and solving small problems on my own before asking a supervisor for help.

On 12th July was especially busy at the airport. I was working at the SSBD position. We had a full flight, so there were passengers everywhere. I have realized that I actually enjoy working at SSBD even more than at the kiosks. During my shift, several passengers had carry-on bags that were over the allowed weight limit. I offered them the free checked baggage option that our airline allows in these situations, but they refused. Instead, they came back several times to weigh their bags again, after trying to determine their weight between bags but it stayed the same each time. I was unsure how to handle the situation, so I asked one of my colleagues for advice. He told me to send the passengers to him, and he would take care of it. I think there may have been a language barrier, and one passenger also seemed to have nowhere to move the extra weight from her carry-on bag. I only have two or three shifts left this month before I have a short break until August, which I am really looking forward to. Balancing my co-op placement with my college classes has been more challenging than I expected. On top of this placement, I also have another job, so keeping up with everything has been mentally exhausting at times. Even though I feel tired, I know this experience is helping me grow both professionally and personally.

Blog #6

Over the past two weeks, I have not been at the airport because I planned my July availability differently. I decided to work many shifts during the first half of the month so that I could have the second half free to spend time with my relative, who came to visit me. Before my schedule was finalized, I asked Eagle if he could give me a morning shift on the day my relative was arriving because the arrival time matched perfectly with the end of my shift. Thankfully, everything worked out well. After finishing work, I went directly to the airport arrivals area to meet my relative, and since then we have been spending a lot of quality time together. It has been nice to take a short break after a busy first half of the month while still staying excited about returning to work soon.

Before my break, I also had my reflection meeting with Ava and Eagle. They gave me feedback about my performance during my co-op placement. They told me that I am doing a good job, that I communicate well with passengers, and that I have become more confident in my role. They also mentioned a few areas where I can continue improving. I really appreciated their advice because they were kind, supportive, and encouraging throughout the conversation. Their feedback made me feel more confident and motivated to keep learning. It is hard to believe that my co-op placement will be finished in just two or three weeks. Time has gone by so quickly, and I have learned so much during this experience. I have enjoyed working with the team, meeting passengers from different countries, and developing new skills every day. I know I will miss everyone at the airport, and I am grateful for all the support and opportunities I have received during my placement.

As our final semester is coming to an end, so is the last week of our placement at the airport. Looking back, I can honestly say that I really enjoyed this experience and I am very grateful to the college for giving us such a valuable opportunity. It allowed us to experience what it is like to work in an airport environment, communicate with passengers, solve real problems, and even have the opportunity to work at the gates. Unfortunately, I was not able to receive my RAIC because of issues with my documents and because I received them quite late, which I was disappointed about. However, this did not stop me from gaining a lot of experience. During my placement, I became even more confident in customer service and communication, learned how to solve problems and help passengers even when the airport was extremely busy, and practiced how to stay calm when other people were stressed. I also finally realized how stress-resistant I really am, something I believe I inherited from my father. These are all skills that I know I will use in my future career.

I would also like to give a special thank you to all the workers who helped us throughout our placement. They were always kind, patient, and willing to explain things or give us advice. Without their support, it would have been much harder for us to adjust and handle different situations. Overall, this experience also helped me understand more clearly what I want for my future. I used to dream of becoming a flight attendant, and it is still something I would love to experience because it has been a childhood dream of mine. However, even before starting this placement, I had started thinking that working in an airport might be a better fit for me. After spending more time in this environment, I became even more certain that I would enjoy building my career here. I think the workload and lifestyle of a flight attendant could be difficult for me to maintain long-term, especially because of my health, although I would still like to try it for some time, perhaps for a year, and finally experience my childhood dream. In the end, this placement gave me not only practical experience, but also a much clearer understanding of myself, my strengths, and the direction I want to take in my future career.

 

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