Why Airline Baggage Handling is a Dangerous Job All Year
Baggage handling is a very dangerous job, and the work is not just dangerous during the busiest air travel seasons each year. While baggage handling work can become more stressful at particular times — especially during the summer months when many people are taking vacations, as well as during the holiday season when people are traveling to see family and friends — Maryland baggage handlers remain quite busy and tasked with heavy-duty lifting year-round. Many baggage handlers who live in Maryland work at BWI Marshall Airport, but many also drive to work at Washington Dulles International Airport or Ronald Reagan National Airport. Some also commute to airport jobs at the Philadelphia International Airport.
All of these airports are busy, and some are among the busiest in the nation. Even BWI, which is smaller than some of the airports named above, handles about hundreds of operations each day for commercial flights and passengers. Dulles handles over 1,000 departures daily for domestic and international flights, as well as commercial flights. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that there are approximately 3,500 baggage handlers employed across the country, spread across a total of more than 19,000 airports, including public-use and private airports. Why are these workers at relatively constant risk of injury? Our Maryland airline worker injury lawyers can explain in more detail.
High Passenger Rates and Baggage Totals Each Month
While there are certain times of the year at which airline travel and checked baggage rates increase, TSA data suggests that the busiest travel days of the year are relatively spread out, occurring in spring, summer, fall, and winter. In the early months of each new year, many people want to get away from their cold climates and take vacations to warmer locales. This trend often continues well into the spring. Summer and fall often involve family vacation travel, while the first weeks of winter involve holiday travel.
In short, no matter what time of the year it is, baggage handlers are doing a substantial amount of work that often results in musculoskeletal injuries.
Understanding Musculoskeletal Injuries Among Baggage Handlers
Musculoskeletal injuries are among the most common types of injuries suffered by airport baggage handlers, according to the US Department of Labor (DOL) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). What causes these injuries? The DOL and OSHA cite the following:
- Requirement to repeatedly bend, lift, and reach to handle baggage coming off or going onto conveyor belts;
- Manually loading gate-checked baggage;
- Bending and reaching to use hand-held scanners;
- Pushing and pulling heavy luggage; and
- Handling luggage while in confined cargo areas.
Contact a Maryland Airline Employee Injury Lawyer for Assistance with Your Baggage Handling Injury Today
Were you recently injured while doing work as a baggage handler at a nearby airport? This work is dangerous, and injured employees are often eligible to obtain compensation. Do not hesitate to get in touch with one of the experienced Maryland airline employee injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC about your case. We can help you to file a workers’ compensation claim and to prove your eligibility for benefits. Contact our firm today to get started.
Sources:
bwiairport.com/flying-with-us/about-bwi/facts-figures/
bts.gov/content/number-us-airportsa
dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20161227
