As Station Manager, Raj leads operations at Heathrow and Gatwick, managing up to 1,000 bags a day and ensuring travellers are reunited with their belongings – even in the face of major challenges like extreme weather and airline disruptions.
He said "We’re an exciting company. There’s so much opportunity and progression if you want it. Through hard work and dedication, there is no limit."
Raj Athwal Eagle Couriers Heathrow Gatwick – his story
Raj Athwal | Baggage repatriation London
Working in logistics and luggage has always come naturally to Raj Athwal. He knew that when he jumped straight into the industry after university by building his own luggage company from the ground up. So, when the opportunity arose to join the baggage team as Station Manager at our sister company Eagle Aviation, he took it on with open arms and was off to a flying start. Hear from Raj himself about his journey with Eagle Aviation and Eagle Bags.
Where did your journey with Eagle Aviation begin? I’ve always been in the luggage industry, so when this job came about, I just kind of fell into it. I started off in the control department and soon progressed my way toward a Station Manager position once I got to grips with how the business was run.
What does an average day at Eagle Aviation look like for you? No two days are the same for me. One day I might be working on the clock to repatriate luggage on behalf of airlines, the next I’m involved in business development. On an average day though, I’m managing the depot, coordinating staff and liaising with airlines to relieve the stress of travellers whose luggage has been misplaced. Some of the drivers we have always feed back really great stories when people are reunited with their luggage. It’s everyone’s worst fear, not getting their bag back.
What has been some of the challenges in your role? We’re the biggest provider here at Heathrow and Gatwick and we deal with about 70% of the airlines here and 500-1,000 bags every day. We could have an absolutely crazy day where there’s more bags than expected due to a plane not being loaded with bags at the origin country and we don’t come to know of it until the morning. So it’s quite a challenge but it’s quite rewarding getting everyone’s bags back to them. During a major weather disruption in Dubai last year, there were 5,000 bags that got misplaced. Despite the scope of bags being beyond our capacity, the team successfully repatriated the bags. That was a specific challenge that highlighted the efficiency of the team, and it was a real relief seeing the result.
Is there anyone that has inspired you through your journey with Eagle Aviation? The trust of my colleagues, specifically of Samuel and Fiona, has allowed me to help grow the business and foster important relationships which keep everything running smoothly. We’ve got a great team spirit here and it’s a great culture. Everyone’s in it together, especially when things are hectic, everyone just mucks in. Also, I come from a family who are quite business orientated. So there’s many figures that have set prime examples throughout my life. I’ve got uncles and my mum, in fact, she’s a business lady in her own right. So there’s been quite a lot of inspiration.
What advice would you give to someone keen on a career in luggage logistics, or even with Eagle Aviation? Hard work, dedication and team work, that’s what got me here. From starting my own business, I’ve worked really hard at it and got involved in any opportunity available to me. We’re an exciting company. There’s so much opportunity and progression if you want it. Through hard work and dedication, there is no limit. Eagle are strong on progression and promoting from within to make sure everyone has growth and development opportunities. It may be that we’ve got drivers whose talent we recognize and then bring them into the office side of things. It works, we know them and if there’s a talent there, why not nurture that?
