When traveling by air, you may have noticed airport personnel guiding aircraft into their designated parking positions. These professionals are known as marshallers, often referred to as aircraft parking guides. While on duty, marshallers typically wear reflective vests, headsets, and use batons or illuminated signal wands to communicate with pilots.

According to Asta Academy, a flight training institution, a marshaller’s role is to provide visual guidance to pilots as aircraft taxi into parking areas after landing. The hand signals used by marshallers are standardized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and applied worldwide, allowing pilots from any country to interpret the same signals without verbal communication.

A single incorrect hand signal can lead to serious consequences, such as an aircraft wing striking a structure, engines ingesting foreign objects, or even collisions on the apron. For this reason, marshalling is considered a high-risk profession within airport operations.

Given the critical responsibility of ensuring aircraft are parked safely, marshallers are required to deliver instructions with speed, precision, and accuracy. Becoming a marshaller does not require a university degree; high school graduates are eligible as long as they obtain proper certification or licensing from an authorized institution.

In Indonesia, the primary marshaller certification is issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) or accredited aviation training centers. Naturally, the compensation for aircraft marshallers differs significantly from that of ordinary parking attendants.

Data from the Indonesian Aviation Technology Institute (STTKD) shows that marshaller salaries in Indonesia range from around Rp7 million per month for entry-level positions to over Rp15 million per month for senior roles. Salary levels may also vary depending on the airport and the ground handling company employing them.