Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: See fees section below
International/EU: £17,155 per year -
How long will I study?
1 Year
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Where will I study?
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What is the UCAS code?
D048
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When do I start?
September 2025
Course summary
- Top up your existing qualifications to honours level.
- Learn about airline and airport strategic development management.
- Understand how safety and security management works in aviation.
- Collaborate with local and global organisations on real-world aviation projects.
- Build your professional network with aviation professionals, alumni and professional bodies.
- Visit airports to see aviation professionals putting theory into practice.
On this course, you’ll explore key aspects of a global and strategically critical sector from a business perspective. You’ll learn from aviation experts and professionals while using specialist airline and airport simulation software. Whether you’d like to work air-side, land-side or directly with airlines, you’ll be fully prepared for your career to take off.
Number 15 in the UK
We're the 15th best university in the UK for hospitality and tourism courses in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.
Come to an open day
Visit us to learn more about our gold-rated teaching and why we were awarded the highest possible rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.
How you learn
Your lecturer’s view
Watch course leader Charles Hajdu talk about the BSc Airline and Airport Management course at Sheffield Hallam University.
Our teachers have held senior positions in airline and/or airport management – sharing a wealth of detailed case studies from the aviation industry to support your learning. They’re actively involved in cutting-edge research, so you’ll understand the latest trends in the global aviation industry and apply your knowledge to live projects in collaboration with industry partners – all helping you stand out to employers.
Thanks to our extensive network of external partners, you’re able to learn through expert guest speakers and field visits as well.
You learn through:
- A combination of lectures, seminars and workshops
- Expert guest speakers
- Field trips and site visits
- Live projects with external organisations
- Independent study
- Group work
Key Themes
You’ll gain comprehensive knowledge of airline and airport operations and management. Core modules cover areas such as airline operations management, airport operations management, and pricing strategy and resource management.
We’ll give you a solid foundation to help you excel in the aviation industry, introducing you to key skills like strategic planning, customer service excellence and safety/security protocols.
Course Support
You’ll be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate-level employment through:
- Access to our unique student support triangle to help with your personal, academic and career development
- Access to our Skills Centre with one to ones, webinars and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments
- Industry-specific employability activities such as live projects and networking opportunities
Course leaders and tutors
Daniel Connell
Senior Lecturer in Aviation | Programmes Leader for Aviation, Hospitality & Tourism Undergraduate Courses | Professional Statutory & Regulatory Body Lead for Aviation & TourismStaff profile for Daniel Connell, Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University
Applied learning
Work placement
You’ll have the opportunity to gain work experience within the aviation industry, supported by your tutors and our employability specialists.
Live projects
You’ll work on live projects to build your skills and professional experience, collaborating with industry companies as part of the course. These are valuable, hands-on learning opportunities that you’ll be able to apply directly to the aviation field.
Previous students have worked on developing high-quality training content across all five airlines within the TUI group. They focused on digital training methods helping them to understand the intricacies of creating effective employee training programmes using digital tools.
Other students have contributed to a KK Aviation Consultancy white paper, focusing on Bosnia and Herzegovina's national airport infrastructure development needs. They gained insights into the challenges and strategies involved in airport infrastructure planning and development.
Students have also explored developments in air vehicle technologies. For example, the Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander series of aircraft provides valuable consultancy scope for students to think outside-the-box on topics such as sustainability and emissions, financial feasibility and operational know-how.
Field Trips
Field trips are a perfect way to develop lifelong connections with your fellow students and tutors – while putting your theoretical knowledge into context and discussing your discipline.
Networking opportunities
You’ll be able to build your network through our links with aviation professionals, alumni, and professional bodies.
Our connections with the Institute of Travel and Tourism and the Tourism Management Institute mean you can network with industry leaders, gain insights from professionals, and create your own valuable connections to enhance your career prospects.
Future careers
The UK aviation industry is global – the third largest in the world. It supports the development of many other sectors such as tourism, hospitality, and trade in general.
- This course prepares you for a career in:
- Airline and airport customer management
- Airline operations management
- Airport operations management
- Aviation safety and security management
- Air traffic management
- Pricing strategy and resource management
- Sales and marketing
Previous graduates of our tourism courses have gone on to work for:
- British Airways
- Cosmos Holidays
- Jet2
- Manchester Airport
- NATS (National Air Traffic Services)
- Ryanair
- Swissport
- TUI
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | City Campus tour
Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEquipment and facilities
On this course you work with specialist airline management simulation software, including the Merlin Flight Simulator.
We’ve invested over £100m in new facilities to help you study how and when you want. This means 24-hour libraries and study spaces designed by our students.
Entry requirements
All students
Normally one from
• a HND or foundation degree in a relevant subject, with an overall merit profile from year two modules
• equivalent qualification in a relevant subject
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
If English is not your first language you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 or above, with a minimum score of 5.5 in each skill.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Modules
Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.
Final year
Compulsory modules
Module Aim:
To prepare students for a career as a professional in festival, entertainment, hospitality, tourism and aviation management by providing an opportunity to work on a company-based project or their own venture, focusing on the application of business and management skills within an organisational context. Students will either respond to a project brief, analyse and interpret information to develop a suite of enterprising solutions which are sustainable and financially viable or develop their own venture and business plan. In doing so, students will reflect on their personal and professional development.This module encourages students to develop, synthesise and apply knowledge and experience gained in previous levels of study.
Indicative content:
- The nature of consultancy/role of the consultant
- The tender process
- Business models
- Consultancy project planning and management
- Data collection and analysis for consultancy purposes
- Effective communication and relationship management
- The application of appropriate frameworks (and industry experience) to understand stakeholders, organisations, and the contemporary business environment
- Identifying enterprise opportunities and responding to those
- Change management and leadership
- Financial appraisal of the solutions developed
- Personality theory and team roles
- Reflection on current knowledge, achievements, skills, abilities and aptitudes in relation to graduate employability and improving career potential
- Introduction to as wide a range of situations as possible to allow students the opportunity to experience decision making situations and to develop relevant skills in the area from the viewpoint of managers and other stakeholders
- Taking a professional and ethical approach to consultancy with sustainability and inclusivity (among other principles) in mind
Aims:
The module aims to engage students to identify a research question and to design and develop a research method to investigate this question presenting results in an academic research project format.
Indicative content:
- Critical appraisal of academic research literature and the logical synthesis of this into a literature review
- How to articulate clear research aim and objectives
- Critical appraisal of research methods and approaches
- How to source, analyse and synthesise qualitative and/or quantitative data
- Ethics in research
- Risk assessment
- Developing research skills and presenting research outcomes which demonstrate academic rigour
Aims:
This module will enable students to identify and analyse the key safety and security issues in the aviation industry and critically examine how airlines and airports manage such issues.
Indicative content:
- development of commercial aviation safety
- safety deficiencies, hazards, risks and consequences
- human factors in aviation safety
- safety management system (SMS)
- the role of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB)
- security policies and procedures
- emergency planning and procedures
Aims:
Students will develop and apply the key strategic management principles and tools to the management and development of airlines and airports. The module will enable students to further develop their existing knowledge in the areas of business environment analysis, human resources management, financial management, operations and environmental impact management relative to the strategic context of airline and airport businesses.
Indicative content:
- Airport master planning, including airport systems, land and airside capacity planning and dynamic strategic planning
- Strategic management concepts, processes, and models
- Changing global and business environments and the implications for airlines and airports
- Responsible airport development
- Situation analysis-based strategic planning
- Strategic purpose, organisational culture, ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in aviation
- Creating and sustaining strategic competitive advantage through value creation
- Aviation environmental impacts and airline and airport business level mitigations.
- Impact of aviation (airport and airlines) development on local communities
- Assessment & management of environmental impacts
- Sustainable aviation - key factors towards a sustainable future of the aviation industry e.g. demand, technology
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students studying full-time in 2025/26 is £9,535 for the course. These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £17,155 per year.
Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
Additional course costs
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Sheffield Business School (PDF, 255.6KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
