Internship
During my third-year internship for my studies, I had the privilege of working at KLM, the Royal Dutch Airlines. As one of the world's oldest airlines, KLM is known for its commitment to excellence in the aviation industry.
My internship took place in the Fleet Services department, an essential department within KLM. Here I experienced how important their role is as fleet owner and Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO). The responsibilities of this department include ensuring the airworthiness of the entire KLM fleet. As the fleet owner, Fleet Services oversees all aspects of the aircraft and acts as the CAMO, ensuring continued airworthiness and regulatory compliance within the aviation industry. This includes managing inspections, maintenance programs and ensuring compliance with all technical requirements to ensure the safety and reliability of the fleet.
During my internship I worked on part of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification. KLM needs this certification to enter into code shares with other airlines. To meet the requirements of the IOSA audit, the registration and administration of of all sections of IOSA need to be up to date and by the latest IOSA standards. KLM did comply with IOSA, but it took an enormous amount of time to provide the IOSA auditors with an accurate Aircraft engineering and maintenance (MNT) table 4.11 and 4.14. In the 6 months at KLM I researched a way to improve the management of the tables in a lean way.
All in all, my internship at KLM, Fleet Services department, was an extraordinary learning experience that gave me a deeper understanding of the complex world of the aviation industry. For the first time in my life I had an “office job”. I was at the office in KLM's OCC from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Because I started studying in 2019-2020, I was able to take classes at the AUAS for 6 months, after which I had to study at home for the rest of my studies until my internship. When I started my internship, it was very difficult for me that I suddenly had to show up at a location again, but fortunately everything quickly got used to it. One of the factors that made my time at fleet services unforgettable were my colleagues. I ended up in an incredibly warm bath, they also helped me make other connections within KLM. This has also taught me that collaboration and connections are extremely important within a company. As an individual it is impossible to know everything within a company. Connections with other departments and colleagues will take you a lot further in a company.
In addition to all the serious aspects of my internship at KLM, I must admit that I made an important discovery: my colleagues are undoubtedly cake lovers. It was almost as if there was an unspoken rule that cake was the key to the heart of every employee at Fleet Services. A well-placed box of treats on the right day could solve even the most complicated problems! But jokes aside, it was really fantastic to experience how a gesture of appreciation for my colleagues could strengthen team spirit. It turned out that in addition to connections and collaboration, cake was also a powerful tool to make the working environment even more pleasant!
